Sad thing just happened: my bongos developed cracks

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Re: Sad thing just happened: my bongos developed cracks

Postby scavard » Sun Jan 30, 2022 12:51 pm

That's a good point. At the end the most important criteria for me is that I need to like it :D. If I don't like it, I don't play it as much.

Anyway, I haven't found anything about Valje model on the LP site, so maybe those models are already discontinued..
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Re: Sad thing just happened: my bongos developed cracks

Postby Chtimulato » Sun Jan 30, 2022 1:01 pm

scavard wrote:Anyway, I haven't found anything about Valje model on the LP site, so maybe those models are already discontinued.


Yes. The only remaining one is the "Dandy" model.
https://www.lpmusic.com/products/bongos/lp/john-dandy-rodriguez-signature-bongos

But it could be possible to still find some others in music shops or on websites.
Here for instance, the beech model :

https://www.gewamusic.com/product/21275/latin-percussion-bongo-valje.html

And Akbar's model :

https://www.gewamusic.com/product/22435/latin-percussion-bongo-valje-heritage.html

You have to be curious and patient.
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Re: Sad thing just happened: my bongos developed cracks

Postby Juaort » Sun Jan 30, 2022 8:07 pm

Hi Scavard. Chtimulato shared a ton of great info here. Between both LP Gen3 and the LP Akbar Valje other than both being Bongos there’s no real comparison. Sound, Weight and Feel are different. It all comes down to what you like when it comes to those 3 factors. Oh and price as well. The Akbar LP Valje are no longer made I believe and if you find one for sale they usually run $600 - $800+. Most online stores that list them usually don’t have the stock, so you have to call them to find out.
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Re: Sad thing just happened: my bongos developed cracks

Postby Juaort » Sun Jan 30, 2022 8:16 pm

Here’s the LP Akbar Valje I currently own. This is the Mahogany set. Like Chtimulato added, they were made of Red Oak and Mahogany.
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87194D4D-7E84-4AC7-9533-7B44D66182C5.jpeg
LP Akbar Valje Bongo
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Re: Sad thing just happened: my bongos developed cracks

Postby Juaort » Sun Jan 30, 2022 8:17 pm

Here’s the LP Akbar Valje I currently own. This is the Mahogany set.
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87194D4D-7E84-4AC7-9533-7B44D66182C5.jpeg
LP Akbar Valje Bongo
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Re: Sad thing just happened: my bongos developed cracks

Postby scavard » Mon Jan 31, 2022 8:16 am

Juaort wrote:Here’s the LP Akbar Valje I currently own. This is the Mahogany set.

Wow, those look terrific. Thank you.

I guess I will look around and see what I can get, I'm not rushing it at the moment.
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Re: Sad thing just happened: my bongos developed cracks

Postby Beatnik07 » Thu Feb 03, 2022 12:25 pm

As mentioned in my OP, the bongos which developed cracks on the wooden shell are the Dandy Rodriguez ones.

While not as expensive as the Valje bongos, the Dandy were considered upper range in quality (as I understood).
And still, the Dandy developed these cracks ....
Upon returning them I decided not to get an identical replacement.

And so, following the advice of one of the respected posters here, in march 2020 I got a Gen III. I paid for them 250 Euros (brand new).
Really glad I did: almost 2 years latter, my Gen III are still in a perfect shape. And sound great too, actually more crisp and alive than the Dandy were ...
:)
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Re: Sad thing just happened: my bongos developed cracks

Postby scavard » Thu Feb 03, 2022 1:10 pm

Thanks for the input Beatnik. I think I will buy the Gen III in near future :)

Anyway, I really envy you that price, right now it's at ~350 euros..
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Re: Sad thing just happened: my bongos developed cracks

Postby FidelsEyeglasses » Thu Feb 10, 2022 6:47 am

Beatnik07 wrote:After 4 months my new LP Dandy Rodriguez bongos developed two deep hairline cracks on the wood inner surface of the Macho: one crack is about 3" long, the other about 1". And this despite taking great care of them. The bongos fortunately are still under warranty. I am going to return them to the dealer. I really liked them, and I liked also a lot the 9 " size of the Hembra. But I wonder: is it a freak event or is it the wood that's maybe insufficiently seasoned or with quality issues that's bound to occur again ?

After they receive my bongos back, I must decide whether to request them to send me a replacement of the same LP Dandy bongos, or instead to send me the Meinl WB500ZFA-M Woodcraft. The Meinl has also a 9" Hembra, but a bit smaller Macho (7" instead of 7 1/4"). The prices are about the same.

My question:
Would you recommend getting the same LP Dandy bongos or instead the Meinl WB500ZFA-M Woodcraft ?

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Stay away from "mass produced assembly line" bongoes.... have a pair made by Manana:
https://www.facebook.com/mananapercussion
Vintage, classic and contemporary Cuban tumbadoras a.k.a. congas and bongoes made in Cuba:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1418352131820747/
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Re: Sad thing just happened: my bongos developed cracks

Postby Thomas Altmann » Wed Feb 16, 2022 11:34 am

Hi FE,

nice to see you visit the old forum again!

I had never heard of Manana Percussion before, and I'm afraid I'm not the only ignorant here. So thanks for adverting us to this new manufacturer. Who is behind it, anyway? Looks like some beautiful work.

The other FB page is your own? Very interesting content, and great photos. So your father was son of Yemayá and Obatala? I am omó Obatala with Yemayá as my mother.

In my opinion, instruments of that class are not recommendable to just anybody. They are generally more expensive and harder to obtain than mass-produced drums, especially in Europe, and on the other hand, LP bongos are not really useless instruments, especially for beginners. As to myself, at one time I had been thinking about asking Mamey for a custom-made set of congas, too, but finally came to the decision that for a 67+ year old drummer with limited performing opportunity, it would neither be worth Roberto's hard work nor my money to take this step. And I really love my 1980's Gon Bops congas and walnut bongos. I don't know whether you would include these in the "assembly line" class, but they have been my companions through my entire professional life, and that makes for a personal relationship that even "better" drums couldn't fill in immediately.

At one point, when a musician has all those great instruments that he/she has ever dreamed of, it should be time to waste a thought or two on how to further advance artistically or how to improve skills, before looking for the next better one. That's where I see myself.

Greetings from Hamburg,
Thomas
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Re: Sad thing just happened: my bongos developed cracks

Postby Thomas Altmann » Wed Feb 16, 2022 7:53 pm

I just checked the internet and found out that the man behind Manana Percussion is Máté Jakab, and he is located in Hungary! He also has a regular website:
http://mananapercussion.com/
You can look up everything that I could tell you right there.
Thanks again to FidelsEyeglasses!

Thomas
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Re: Sad thing just happened: my bongos developed cracks

Postby vxla » Sun Sep 25, 2022 9:34 pm

FidelsEyeglasses wrote:
Beatnik07 wrote:Stay away from "mass produced assembly line" bongoes.... have a pair made by Manana:
https://www.facebook.com/mananapercussion


This is bad advice. Production drums have a place for everybody who isn't a serious collector.

There's plenty of excellent players playing LP, Meinl, etc., drums.
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