Today my Matthew Smith Requinto arrived.
I dont know how to start this off, Im just blown away by this masterpiece of a drum.
It arrived heavilly packed and protected, multiple layers of foam and thick bubble wrap, plywood top and bottom for added protection, heaps of padding. You wcould bounce the package on concrete!!
The workmanship is spectacular, the finish amazing. The hardware is fantastic. Lugs are nice and thick 3/8" (same size as LP GIovanni/Palladiums), the skin is beyond words, nice thickness, and smoothe.
The drum plays itself, I took it up to Requinto levels and its screams, the tone projection is like nothing I have EVER seen, heard or played before in my life. It sounds as though the drum is mic'd up, the resonance and tone is incredibly rich, it sings, and the slaps... like a whip cracking while being aplified through a world class PA system.
Thank you Matthew Smith for creating this one off, amazing drum for me. I will get a vid happening in the next few days. This baby is going to tear shit up at the next rumba! Got it just in time before I head off to Cuba next week!
As it began.....