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These are two vintage Cuban congas my friend has. The green one is from his dad who was a Hollywood studio percussionist in the 50's and 60's in Hollywood. He got it in Cuba. The second is a Cuban drum he got several years ago off of eBay. Anyone know what they are or who made them? Your guesses are welcome

Top one does not look Cuban to me, could be, but just doesn't look like it, looks more like a Gon Bops, or a Mexican drum.

Second one is almost definitely a Requena.

The first one is a Gon bop, see picture, and the second is no doubt Requena.
The side plates are interesting on this one in particular as the tuning lug ring is rivited bellow the center of the plate itself.
Cheers.
K.C.

I don't think this is a Gon Bops drum. The only thing that looks like Gon Bops is the side plates, and Maybe, just maybe the Crown/Rim. I say maybe because the ears look too steep to me. The shell has 5 bands, which I have never seen on vintage Gon Bops, and the bottom of the drum is too narrow to be a Gon Bops in my opinion. So all I see that might be Gon Bops is the side plates, and maybe the crown/rim.

the shape is kind of off for a Gon Bop too. Maybe a Franken drum.

The bottom one is a Candido Requena, the first one looks Mexican to me.

KING CONGA said....

The side plates are interesting on this one in particular as the tuning lug ring is rivited bellow the center of the plate itself.

No doubt this was done to help support the plates from trying to be pulled up and outward at the base, and to make it less stressfull to the two screws on the bottom of the plate. My opinion.

Please check out the extreme taper in the bottom of the drum. My friends dad studio percussionist Milt Holland brought it back from Cuba.
Milt played percussion on classic films such as " The King and I", "The Great Escape" and "West Side Story". He also played on the Doobie Brothers, Loggins and Messina and several other albums of that era. Anyway, we know it came from Cuba, we are just trying to figure out who made it. Milt had affiliation with Gon Bops who may have helped him put on replacement side plates perhaps.

Mr. Rumba..... wonder if you can tell what kind of wood it's made of from the inside? That drum looks so tempting as a project to remove the paint and refinish the wood? The things I could do with that drum. haha.

Also.....in taking a close look at the Handle, it appears to be an original Junior Tirado Handle. hahahahha.

Thebreeze wrote:Mr. Rumba..... wonder if you can tell what kind of wood it's made of from the inside? That drum looks so tempting as a project to remove the paint and refinish the wood? The things I could do with that drum. haha.

My friends father was well known in the percussion world in the 50's and 60's so he may very well have had a Juniro Tirado handle put on the drum. We do not know the history. It is really hard to tell what kind of wood it is. It's thick and heavy, unlike other Cuban drums from that era I have seen and played. I am guessing it is Cedar, but that is an uneducated guess, based on smell. LOL! And it sounds great! Has a mule skin on it.