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I got some mule skin from Michael @ L&H percussion.

Nice dark skin. Finally had some time to mount them, and pics per below. They are my LP Valje set. Mule on the macho and steer on the hembra.

I should be able to play them tonight, so will report on that later.

Enjoy,
T

Looks great bro.

Awesome!!!! looking forward to getting my mules hopefully today from Mike.

Im sure the bongos will be great... I will be running some specials again soon... so be on the lookout. Right now ive got 2 18 inch cow hide 2.5-3mm thick that i can sell @ deep discount. They have brands on them... should not give you trouble with tuning... The area is not to tough or gnarly. i will put up pics on my site blog if interested.

Mb
L&H Percussion


http://www.landhpercussion.com

Mike , diggin the mule skin so far. It does need some break in time.

I used the thinner one on my LP Valje's.

Juancho, post pics or it didn't happen

T

Hopefully tonight with help from Mike. Will post pictures once done.
jc

Ok with the guidance of Mike here is my first mount of my mule on macho.
Lord bless
jc

Viejo Tonio,
When did you tune it to your liking after mounting or how long did you waited to be tuned all the way.
juancho

Juancho loooking good !
I waited 3 days to dry. Once the access skin in the crown hardly moves it should be OK to play. I usually tune it up alittle less than optimal for a few times, to really let is settle in. Then I start to crank it up. But thats just me.

I think I'm going give it a short corojo treatment.

Notice you have some whitness coming through on the bearing edge/ same as on my hembra. Thats a sign that it was tighened too much during mounting. Actually that is the skin breaking down, it should be ok though.

How long did you soke the skin?

T

Hola Bongoceros,long time without posting. Great looking skins. After a couple days of slow natural drying you should be able to cranked up to the point where you like it. In accordance with murphy law if something is going to go wrong it will. So if it going to break, it will. I use to own a set of those Lp Vajies, light and very comfortable, do not install a too thick skin on the Macho because it will crack the shell , try to buy some tuning lugs before they disappear form the market ,that bongo is discontinue and the lugs are not the regular type like on other Lp Bongos and they break. About skins, Mule is good but is not going to make too much different in sound , cow is as good. I have been a Bongocero for a long time and skins may look great but sound so so, other looks crappy and sound superior, it is a matter of luck. For me, there is no breaking period for a macho skin, it should sound clean and bright as soon as it is dry. It is no point on trying to keep the same skin for a life time (the macho) , use it until is stretch out or breaks and then buy a new one.

Good to hear from you Caballoballo. Still gigging in Puerto Rico? In reference to the LP Valje Bongos
is my understanding they are made to order only. You have to place a special order and LP will make
them. I believe Generation 3's are on the same boat special order only. I know the LP Valje congas
has been discontinued for a number of years now. Take Care.

Hola Ritmo, Yes I still gigging down here, I am playing now with 2 bands. Sometimes a lot, sometimes kind of slow. Next month we have about 5 gigs to play. The valjie is alright ,only you have to be careful about the skins because the shells are kind of thin but it is a good Bongó. Have you seen the New Dandy Rodriguez Bongó ? Steve Weiss online store is selling them for $245. If the shell are thick enough I may buy one. Saludos

Hola. Good to hear you are gigging, 2 bands, wow. I have seen them Dandy Rodriguez bongos on line. Dario said they used "Mongo's Old Vegara" (which Dario owns) to model the bongos. Nice combination of oversized 9" hembra and the 7" macho. Then they used the LP Valje hardware with beechwood. The only thing I do not feel is that black strip around the bongos. I have been toying with the idea of getting me one specially at that price, can't beat it. Nice to hear from you Boricua, Take Care!

Hola Caballo,
I saw the Dandy bongo on Steve Weiss store too. That is a great price @ $245.00.

T

Hey T, I was not getting the sound I wanted from my new skins. I kept getting a ringing sound when I was tuning them. I guess I was not tighten them too much since I kept thinking of murphy's law. I asked Mike and he said the skins could take it so I crank it up and sure enough got that crackling sound that I was looking fore. I have another set of bongos that I bought a few months ago and on the macho skin it has a big O for Osiris. Has anyone ever heard of this brand?
later
jc