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Hello all. I have a set of LP Aspires, and am looking to upgrade, but another set of congas are not in the budget right now, new or used. I was thinking that maybe I could just upgrade the skins, and maybe that would improve the sound a bit. Would this be a waste of my time and money, or would this actually improve the sound of my drums enough to hold me over until I can afford a better set?

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

A reasonable skin would be at least $50+ each.

Are your Aspires full size? ie Quinto, Conga or Tumba or those ridiculous smaller sizes

I would put the money towards a more decent set when you can afford it and carry on with the Aspires for now.

Have you considered selling the Aspires and add to that the budget you had for the skin and get yourself a previously used Matador, Classics or similar.

They are the standard quinto and conga size. Yeah, I was probably planning on looking for a good used set such as the ones you mentioned when I am ready to upgrade the drums. Just got a lot going on right now, and probably won't be able (financially) to do it until the fall. I do regular performances at a small bar, and was hoping that I could maybe upgrade the skins to get me through the summer and sound a little better at my shows, but I guess I'm just gonna have to be patient!

Every case is unique of course, but in general I would prefer *any* drum with a really good skin to a standard issue Matador or Classic...

Hmm... what have you got against Matadors?? Seem to be good, solid, utilitarian tubs that give great sound value for the money, and with a set of mule skins, I don't think you can go wrong.

Seem to be good, solid, utilitarian tubs that give great sound value for the money, and with a set of mule skins, I don't think you can go wrong.

Operative words here being, "with a set of mule skins."

That was my point: To me, any decently-made drum with a good head on it is generally preferable to an LP with that standard LP head they ship with.

They call them Aspires because as soon as you get them you Aspire to something better.

Save your money and get a better set of drums. The hardware on those Aspires is
seriously weak, and could easily bend or break if you put too thick of
skins on them.

I did that to my first set of bongos, Aspires, changed the skins and bent the lugs.

a while ago I replaced the stock skins on my aspires with some steer skin...ever since they have sounded a hell of alot better and when i bring them out occasionally i usually get complements...but BNB is correct, the hardware will bend, and I've had to compensate by putting washers on the lugs..i use them more for practice now than anything so....thats the deal...

guarachon,

yep, we're together on that one, bro. (BTW no disrespect meant)

Thanks for the input! At this point, I think I'll just keep playing on the Aspires as is, and probably go with a new set of LP Matadors in a few months. I'll probably even keep the Aspires just for the heck of it, for rehearsing and practicing and whatnot.

Flashman2,

IMO, you've made a wise decision. You can instead apply the money saved from not buying the upgrade skins to the Matadors.

Btw, since you're located here in the U.S., particularly in So Cal, have you ever considered the Gon Bops Tumbao Pro Series congas? Not only is each one about $50 cheaper than the Matador. In addition, they come with Gon Bops' sleek and efficient chromed contour-profile hoops that are similar to the more expensive Alex Acuna Series and their top-of-the-line California Series. They're a hybrid version of the traditional rim that I believe more serious congueros prefer, if they can help it. The color choices are classic too.

Hello everyone,

I recommend getting rid of the Aspires and buy a better series.

In my case the difference was dramatic sound of the Aspires and now with my quinto, conga y tumba Roland Meinl.

bongosnotbombs wrote:The hardware on those Aspires is seriously weak, and could easily bend or break if you put too thick of skins on them. I did that to my first set of bongos, Aspires, changed the skins and bent the lugs.

How long ago did your hardware break? I am wondering if the hardware on your bongos is the same grade of quality as my 2008 Aspires?

I recently bought my daughter a set of Aspires and I am thinking about upgrading the heads; I don't want to break the Aspire hardware. I am a long time djembe player and I appreciate quality shells and skins (I have 7 drums from Drumskull).

Many thanks

Skully

Skully wrote:How long ago did your hardware break? I am wondering if the hardware on your bongos is the same grade of quality as my 2008 Aspires?
I recently bought my daughter a set of Aspires and I am thinking about upgrading the heads; I don't want to break the Aspire hardware. I am a long time djembe player and I appreciate quality shells and skins (I have 7 drums from Drumskull).
Many thanks
Skully

The hardware in the new Aspires is the same as it's been for the past few years, not very good. Keep in mind that the only way you could improve on the sound quality is by changing the heads which usually means a thicker set of skins, that being the case requires the tuning to be a little more intense or strenuous, which means that sooner or later your hardware will give out. If you try and compromise the tuning in order to save your hardware you will also be compromising the sound quality in which case would have made your upgrade redundant. Please I don’t mean to sound negative but that is just the fact. When the Aspire series first came out they had a traditional rim, it's not until the comfort curve style came out that the hardware took a dump. If you’re patient enough you will no doubt come across a good set of used rims or you can always have JCR, RITMO or Jay Bereck (SOS) make them for you. Good luck.