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Now I know where this word came from. I was reading a little bit of history from Eddie Bobe about Natalio Tirado Ruiz "Junior" and this word was part of the subject. I also went to mapquest his address in Brooklyn to the steps where he sat down with Mr. Bobe back in the days. 94 Havemeyer, #1 Brooklyn, NY 11211 should be a museum or maybe it is? Maybe one day I'll take a drive by there and walk those steps and feel the history. Speaking of "Junior" it has been mentioned to me that his relatives are coming out soon with bongos. Attached are some pictures that were made this past summer.....Yes this was mentioned by no other than Mr. Faustino.
Wishing all the bongoceros and families all the blessings.
juancho

Natalio "Junior" Tirado was my personal friend, many times I went to his apartment and basement workshop on Havermeyer St. in Brooklyn and ate Puerto Rican asopao prepared by his girlfriend. Presently I have 4 of his congas. I had 2 bongos of his, but I sold them a few years ago. To me he was the pioneer conga maker in the States, following Gonzalo Vergara's tradition from Cuba. Junior was a warm simple man, the best craftsman I ever met. He restored Mongo's Vergara bongos for me. May he rest in peace.
Enclosed: His congas, my bongos and a photo of the man. Puerto Rican pride, Junior!

Que tal Dario,
am glad that you got to know him personally and those are awesome sets.....ya me dio hambre del asopao.
take care

Junior, and a few others, have been described as making the "Stradivarius" bongo. But, Stradivarius was a family name. Even though there was one considered the master in a village (Cremona) of instrument makers there were many family members working in different workshops with many helpers and apprentices who were being groomed to to open their own shops or take over. In fact, when the master passed on, there were many instruments in various stages of completion that were finished by others. The “secrets” of the woods and varnishes and construction methods were known by many. Today, with a Stradivarius violin, viola, or cello, we really don't always know for sure who made what and when. Happily, we still have both family members and apprentices who continue the heritage of their fathers, patrons, and teachers.

I have a bongo that I believe to have been made by Junior but I'm not 100% sure. I don't know anything about it's history and I don't know anything about the person I got it from. I have heard, and not only from Cuco, that there are some bongos out there passing as being made by Junior that were made by others. And also, that Junior made some shells that are known as JCRs and Osiris bongos.

Do we really know for sure if a bongo was made by Vergara, Requena, Ismael. Landretta, Junior or any of the others that are now considered classics? Didn't they all change designs, woods, sizes, over time? Didn't they all have assistants/apprentices that made instruments with them or for them. Do we know how many any of them made? Was Junior really a one-man shop? Who inherited Junior's tools?

That bongo' in the picture is a Junior, I can tell because I knew the man, I was down in his basement (workshop) many times and I can recognize his hardware. I can honestly tell you Junior was a one man operation, Jay, from Skin on Skin, has had assistants from time to time, at onetime his brother, then his son. Junior's basement was very small and and full of staves, skins and tools. Junior had learned his craft from Raul, Arsenio Rodriguez's brother. Junior still had the first bongo' he had made, I offered Junior all the money in the world for those first bongos, but he never let them go, also a campana that Raul had made for him.There is something about the sound of Junior congas, they have a sound of their own. I learned about Junior in the mid 70's via Gene Golden and Milton Cardona, when I saw their congas while they were with Willie and Hector, I was blown away. Forget Gon Bops, Valje or LPs, Junior congas were it for me.

Dario

Dario, Thank you for that information. I was pretty sure they were by Junior but not 100% sure - now I am. They certainly sound better than any of my other bongos and are very comfortable to hold and play. I'm pretty sure the wood is ash with a dark stain. They look a lot like a set you once had - could they be?

COÑO!!!! Tremendo bongo!

tengo un set de bongos junior pero,no suben cuando lo quiero afinar.no se pueden afinar igual que un bongo lp.
al contrario de sus tumbadoras que suenan muy bien.
no creo que estos bongos son tan buenos...

a lo peor, los mios tienen un défecto?

voy a lijar el borde del macho pa'que sea mas redondo.el angulo es muy agudo.

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Psych1 wrote:Junior, and a few others, have been described as making the "Stradivarius" bongo. But, Stradivarius was a family name. Even though there was one considered the master in a village (Cremona) of instrument makers there were many family members working in different workshops with many helpers and apprentices who were being groomed to to open their own shops or take over. In fact, when the master passed on, there were many instruments in various stages of completion that were finished by others. The “secrets” of the woods and varnishes and construction methods were known by many. Today, with a Stradivarius violin, viola, or cello, we really don't always know for sure who made what and when. Happily, we still have both family members and apprentices who continue the heritage of their fathers, patrons, and teachers.

I have a bongo that I believe to have been made by Junior but I'm not 100% sure. I don't know anything about it's history and I don't know anything about the person I got it from. I have heard, and not only from Cuco, that there are some bongos out there passing as being made by Junior that were made by others. And also, that Junior made some shells that are known as JCRs and Osiris bongos.

Do we really know for sure if a bongo was made by Vergara, Requena, Ismael. Landretta, Junior or any of the others that are now considered classics? Didn't they all change designs, woods, sizes, over time? Didn't they all have assistants/apprentices that made instruments with them or for them. Do we know how many any of them made? Was Junior really a one-man shop? Who inherited Junior's tools?

Re: the term "Stradivarius" as specifically applied to drums "hand made" by Natalio Tirado Ruiz a.k.a "Junior".
The term "Stradivarius" was being used to describe Junior's "drums" years before Eddie B. mentioned it in that interview/article, in fact the term "Stradivarius" was often used when drummers (here in the Northeast) talked about/mentioned Juniors "hand crafted" work... "Stradivarius" was used and applied as a "highly respectful" term which also meant "cream of the crop" o sea "creme de la creme" a.k.a. "top of the line", "the very best", "nada mejor".
I remember hearing this term used and applied to Junior's drums in the 1970's.

"Stradivarius" was not applied to "the person"... but respectfully applied to the finished "hand crafted musical instruments" (drums) he made, meaning unequaled, unsurpassed, legendary, nothing better.
We should also note that Junior made cuts to shape his stave's... Jay Bereck uses a "steaming" barrel to shape his.
Big difference. There is something about a drum made by Natalio Tirado Ruiz that for many of us is "Da' Bomb"

"How do we really know for sure if a drum was made by Vergara, Requena, Ismael, Landretta, Junior or any of the others that are now considered classics?"
Just as you can tell and see a difference in a guitar made by Gibson as compared to one made by Fender or Rickenbacker, you know the distinct "style/signature", shape, feel, sound etc.

Musicians, collectors, instrument archivists like Dario, Faustino/Cuco are skilled at knowing drum making "signatures".
While Jay and Junior both had "helpers", it was really them that "made" the drum/s.
In Jays case, his brother made some of them in the very early days of Skin On Skin.
I had one his brother made.

Markito

Musicians, collectors, instrument archivists like Dario, Faustino/Cuco are skilled at knowing drum making "signatures".
While Jay and Junior both had "helpers", it was really them that "made" the drum/s.
In Jays case, his brother made some of them in the very early days of Skin On Skin.
I had one his brother made.

Markito[/quote][/quote]

Exactly the point I was trying to make. Rembrandt was not only a great painter, he was also a great teacher. When students working in his studio created a great work that he approved of, he signed his name to it. Whose work was it again?

When I was a student I wrote papers that my professors published under their own name. It was all just part of the "game." We both got what we needed out of the deal - they get tenure, I get the degree. But still, whose work was it?

When it comes to Junior, OK - his was a one-man shop. But the others?

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hola cuco,no te pongas tan bravo pa'na.el cuero lo cambie.lo cambie pa' un cuero de mula bien fino que compre al greco.
y te aseguro que el macho del bongo tiene un problema de afinacion.
tengo 7 bongos de differentes modelos,y ninguno tiene este problema pa' subir.
pienso que el parche no se mueve bien sobre el borde del macho porque el borde esta un poco rugoso.
no es question de saber afinar o no.
llevo 30 anos de percussion y yo pienso saber afinar un bongo,gracias.
que sea stradivarius o no,cualquer instrumento puede tener un defecto.esto pasa a veces.nadie esta perfecto.

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ok faustino.yo se que tienes experiencia en esto pero el cuero que el tiene es bien fino.
no te preocupes que yo no estoy tan loco pa' danar este instrumento.
cuando te compre el leedy,tu has visto que yo tambien tengo unas joyas en casa.
lo que te digo es verdad.
tengo 5 jicamos de junior que no tienen problema pero este bongo si.
yo voy a lijar un poquito el borde con papel especial y poner le de nuevo un poco de varnis y despues estoy seguro que esto bongo sonara como tiene que sonar.
un saludo cordial desde francia.