Possibly vintage bongos?

[sancho27]

I got these from a guy that I was learning from back in 85 & they were pretty used back then. Pretty sure they are a bit old. I put them away for like 6 years, I did not play for a long time & the skins were both ripped open after while. They were the original skins. I started to play again now & I put some new skins on them & man they have such a good tone. What model you guys think that they are? Thanks..

[Mike]

Hi sancho27,
I cannot tell for sure, but there is a striking resemblance of your bongó to my
Supercussion bongos which are from the 1980s. So they are some vintage bongos.
Even if yours have got a somewhat darker wood, they look similar to mine:

SUPERCUSSION bongos refurbished.JPG (10.28 KiB) Viewed 4963 times

Here are some other pics:

Bottoms up.JPG (11.49 KiB) Viewed 4963 times

The bottom rims and other hardware of your and mine bongó look similar, dont they?

SUPERBONGO awaits playin.JPG (11.14 KiB) Viewed 4963 times

BTW I mounted a macho mule skin by Isaac and a recycled LP head on the hembra.

Supercussion bongos are or rather were a Dutch offspring of Martin Cohen´s first bongo generation models. For further information you might want to take a look at these threads:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=964&hilit=supercussion
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=989&hilit=supercussion

I hope this could help a bit. even if I am not totally sure sure if your bongo is from Supercussion, because there are may bongos around that resemble those LP generation I and later Matador design. Emulation seems to be the key of building instruments sometimes

The important thing is: Enjoy your instrument!
How do the synthetic heads go with the bongos ? Personally I do not like their sound too much,
but that is a matter of taste of course.

Cheers
Mike

[sancho27]

I took some more pics & you can see LP stamped on the crown & underneath each bongo on the hardware. Even each tension rod is stamped. I think these are from the late 70's maybe? Cause my friend that I got them from was playing alot back then with Sergio Mendes. And yes, I love the way my bongos sound now with the Remo heads. I put a Fiberskyn 3 on the 7" and a Nuskyn on the 8" 1/2 . Nice contrast in sound between the 2.

[Mike]

I took some more pics & you can see LP stamped on the crown & underneath each bongo on the hardware. Even each tension rod is stamped. I think these are from the late 70's maybe?

You could have mentioned that earlier, mate!
Yeah, they are definitely LP

Wow, that is a fantastic vintage set on bongos for sure, dude! The wood is probably mahogany.
I also bought one of those 1970s - yes, they are from the seventies - models from congaplace member Steven
aka Salseroboricua 2 years ago, and they sound AWESOME!

Here´s a pic of mine, they are painted, so dont worry about the colour) - on the floor U see the Supercussion bongó again

From another angle:

Still, as you can see, I am a natural skin man! Again: J.C.R. mule on macho, bleached cow on hembra -
the sound is gorgeous - my favourite set

Ponte duro, bongocero!

[sancho27]

OOOPPSSS!! Sorry Mike, I meant to say they were LP from the start, I was just meaning to ask if anyone knew what model they looked like as in Matador etc. Nice set up you got there bro. So you think they are Mahogony huh? They are kinda heavy. One shell is lighter than the other in color cause at one point, the guy I got them from was going to refinish them but said they were too much work to sand down so he stopped, lol. Anyhow I figured they were from the 70's. I will not let these go for sure. Take care my friend & keep slappin away!

[Mike]

Congrats on your set too.
Even if they were not mahogany, but which I think they are, they are of considerable value,
you have a collector´s item now.
And most important of all a quality bongó sounding great.
Enjoy!

Mike

[traumtyp]

Bonitos los bongós!!! looks like a Bongós Matador LP!!

[Mike]

Bonitos los bongós!!! looks like a Bongós Matador LP!!

Si, Senor! Those LP generation I or pre-generation II, as you like it, were the model for the later Matador series,
which lacked only decent skins, but else they were and still are not bad regarding them being mass-manufactured.

Mike