congaplace.com

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Well, I've said it before here but I'm happy to say it again. 1971 was a special year for me - a lot of good things happened. So, I bought myself a present. I went down to Manny's and bought a mahogany LP bongo. That bongo has been around the world many times with me - lots of miles and lots of hours. It is like a part of me. Most of the people who know me know that bongo too. Besides all that nostalgia - That is a great sounding bongo with good hardware and not too heavy. I have played some of the best bongos ever made and that PP LP can stand proudly with any of them. Are there better bongos? Maybe, but not for me!

Current favorite is the Gon Bops California series with horse hide on macho and cow hide on hembra, due to its light weight and minimal hardware with lugs that hug the shell. I also have Gon Bops Alex Acuna special edition with synthetic heads, Gon Bops Tumbao series with original heads replaced with JCR mule skin heads, and LP fiberglass with original buffalo skin on hembra replaced with cow hide. All can be made to sound great with good heads and good tuning. So the California series wins for me because it is the most comfortable to hold between the legs.

I have played on a set of Juniors and found them to be great bongos, but heavy. I haven't been fortunate enough to play the other brands.

Craig

Like Psych1, I cherish my LP Palisades Park mahogany bongó,
mule on macho, thick cow on hembra. A timeless classic.

But my Raúl bongo has got a killer sound too, although it is
a bit on the heavy side.

EDIT: Not only Valje, etc. that leedy mentions
but also Hector Roche´s El Piernas
are missing in the voting list.
Maybe the moderators can change something there,
otherwise the poll would turn out not really representative IMO.

Craig wrote:Current favorite is the Gon Bops California series with horse hide on macho and cow hide on hembra, due to its light weight and minimal hardware with lugs that hug the shell.

Craig

Which is my pick as well, and that is because I only have a set of Matadors and my GB's. Anything else would be something I played at the music store which would include a JCR (at Guitar Denter of all places) set that I wasn't that impressed with or a vintage Valje that the owner wouldn't let me tune up properly so that I wound up playing my Matadors.

Shouldn't the Gon Bops selection be separated into original and current manufacturers?

roberthelpus wrote:Shouldn't the Gon Bops selection be separated into original and current manufacturers?

I would also think that is a hell of a difference!

So, if the poll should be of any use in the sense of reflecting what the board members here prefer,
the mode should be really altered by extending the list.

My favorites are Mongo's oversized Vergara from 1954 7" and 9" and my 1950's vintage Gon Bops. Enclosed photos. Both very light weight and unsurpassed sound. I have and have had many great bongos, but these 2 are my favorites.

Dario

Hven't had a lot of bongos, I've got sme 84 lp's that sound geat, but my current favorites are my pallisades park mahiganies. Phenomenal!

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My current fav's are my Cuban Requena's, incredibly light (made of Cedro), brought back to life by "El Maestro" Matt Smith.
I can literally feel the soul in these 60-ish year old drums every time I touch them.
Playing them is kind of like the difference between driving a Hummer and a Mini Cooper (the Requena's being the Cooper).

http://fidelseyeglasses.blogspot.com/2010/04/candido-requena-bongoes-hecho-en-cuba.html

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