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I recently acquired these Meinl Artist Series Mongo Santamaria Model drums from Jaisen and just wanted to mention a little something about them and to compare them to the LP Galaxie Giovanni Series. First of all, the skins are new skins that came from Jaisens supply of skins that he currently has on hand. I believe the Conga which measures 11 3/4 has a steer on it while the Tumba which is measuring right at 13" ( I know it should be 12 1/2, but it measures 13 ) has a Bull Hide on it. I am very happy with these two drums and can't wait to get out with some friends soon to do some drumming.
As far as a comparison with LP Gios, they are both made out of premium Ash, they both use the heavy duty hardware ( 3/8" tuning lugs etc..). And although I have not picked up any LP Gios to tell the weight, I can tell you that these Meinls are very heavy drums, and I am guessing that the LP Gios would be about the same? I went into the x8.com drums website and these drums List right at under 1000 dollars, and retail right at about 600 dollars. That is just about the same for LP Gios as for the Meinl Artist Series Mongo Santamarias. Any comments fellas?

Some may dispute this but imho as far as I have seen lately the meinl congas are of better quality than the lp congas. The hardware on the meinl is better and the congas sound a little better but again just my opinion.

Nice score by the way they are beautiful.

Thanks vinnie, Jaisen did me right on these. By the way, the date inside the shells on these are November of 2003, so they are 10 years old. The newer models have a different looking badge. As with all drums, the skins make a big difference. At first I was contemplating sanding them and staining them Ebony, but after inspecting the super thick finish on these I decided to leave well enough alone and keep them as is.

Looking forward to attempting to keep these for a long time. The problem I have is trying to keep drums for more than a few months. I want these to be a keeper/playing set.

The typical LP design has the traditional barrel shape and Meinl has the angular Valje shape.

(In my opinion)
The Meinl would be my choice. I love the bass tone from the fat Valje design that Meinl borrows here. (I love all of the congas designed with the Valje angular belly!)

From my experience, the barrel design works well for Ritmo, Gon Bops, Volcano and Isla. (I have not had hands on SOS, Manito, Spirit in the Wood ...)

Enjoy your congas!

I'm looking for a conga and/or a tumba Pro series with those badges. Thanks, TT