Conga history and makers - Need your input on ideas

[Berimbau]

Dear Olsongo,
Screw those stands! Sell that crap on E-Bay then go buy ya a comfy drum stool to sit on, then put those tubs right on the floor and play 'em Cuban style!!! Your beer or rum drink is then hidden within reach right behind the tumba.........just to make it look "professional."


Saludos,



Berimbau

[OLSONGO]

Berimbau, It all depends on the gig. with the ensemble is all sitting down. But when doing concerts I have to move around fast to get to the other instruments which are plenty and spread out.Timbales here, gong there,berimbau overthere, etc. etc. So its easier to move around.



Edited By OLSONGO on 1142919235

[GuruPimpi]

Olsongo,

Do you own those Del cielo congas?

Berimbau, i agree with you about playing congas old skool way, sitting, if its possible I play sitted but sometimes it is hard to do, when you play other instruments, like Olsongo said. Once or twice i hit the congas skin with a tamburin and scratch it :O Geeez i almost froze...
But then again it is much more comfy when you sit on cajon and play the congas, mmmm.

my 2 cents now, since we now we have Euro!

PimpS

[Facundo]

Natalio Tirado (Junior) and Jay Berek, both from Brooklyn in NYC, have carried on the tradition that was strated by Gonzalo Vergara in La Habana in the 40's and throughout the 50's.Both Junior and Jay make a Cuban style tumbadora that resembles Vergara's,but are actually much better made and much stronger.In my opinion,no other conga comes close, forget LP,Toca,Pearl,Meinl,Gon Bops, Valje,Timba or Sol.The only conga maker that shadows Junior and Jay in todays market is Matthew Smith from Ritmo Drums in Pennsylvania.
I've included pictures of my Skin on Skins and of my Juniors.The sad thing is that there are hardly any gigs in Miami and my wife hates all these congas. Abrazos, Dario

Nice drums Dario, a true piece of history there.
They look awesome, I bet they sound fantastic.
However I think my Palladiums will give them a run for their money!

Sorry Abakua,

I've heard and played Skin on Skin, Junior and Ritmo drums and "trust me" and nothing LP, Pearl, Meinel or Toca makes can touch them. However, I have to note that I have an old set of Toca Traditional that really sound good. We play them in rumbas and they more than hold their own with the Palladiums being played. Vintage Junior drums produce unbelievably sweet and warm tones and are in a class by themselves along with the pre 60's Cuban drums. Truth be told, the sound of any given drum is subjective according what the person likes. I think the real difference in sound is the wood type used. Many of the old drums from Cuba were made with old grouth woods and may be the key to their exceptional sound. Much of the best wood is now in a protected class very hard for even the small drum makers to obtain. When they do have the really good woods, the price reflects the availability.

Facundo

[ralph]

Many of the old drums from Cuba were made with old grouth woods and may be the key to their exceptional sound. Much of the best wood is now in a protected class very hard for even the small drum makers to obtain. When they do have the really good woods, the price reflects the availability.

Facundo

Facundo,

You reminded me....I got a Matthew drum last year, actually almost a year and a half ago when they were still $450 a pop! Afican Mahogany, chrome hardware the works....anyway...call him about a month ago thinking ok, its about time to get another drum, i'll be able to set aside the $500 bucks in no time and viola another exceptional drum...well little did i realize that the price of drum would almost double...to about $700 dollars a drum...compound the price of quailty wood, (forget about mahogany) and the price of hardware and skin...and fughedaboutit....advice to those that want to get handmade drums...get them now...or learn how to make them......its has said time and time again by the craftsmen...its hard work little pay and the cost of everything going up makes it a hard trade to eek out a living in.....but they are beautiful drums...needles to say if i can get the extra money....i would still get a Matthew drum...thats how nice they are...unfortunately a Junior drum is no longer an option unless you buy them off someone...and a Jay drum is just as hard to get a hold of...even though he is still alive as far as i know



Edited By ralph on 1170101845

[Facundo]

You reminded me....I got a Matthew drum last year, actually almost a year and a half ago when they were still $450 a pop! Afican Mahogany, chrome hardware the works....anyway...call him about a month ago thinking ok, its about time to get another drum, i'll be able to set aside the $500 bucks in no time and viola another exceptional drum...well little did i realize that the price of drum would almost double...to about $700 dollars a drum...compound the price of quailty wood, (forget about mahogany) and the price of hardware and skin...and fughedaboutit....advice to those that want to get handmade drums...get them now...or learn how to make them......its has said time and time again by the craftsmen...its hard work little pay and the cost of everything going up makes it a hard trade to eek out a living in.....but they are beautiful drums...needles to say if i can get the extra money....i would still get a Matthew drum...thats how nice they are...unfortunately a Junior drum is no longer an option unless you buy them off someone...and a Jay drum is just as hard to get a hold of...even though he is still alive as far as i know

Ralph,

Yeah, it was in my conversations with Mathew and doing research on the internet about different woods that I found out how some wood types are hard to get. This also explains why the large companies make their with woods that are easily available and in do their manufacturing in places like Thailand. This leaves very few choices for the drummer, who wants the rich tonlaity that only comes from particular wood types. There are even fewer choices of custom drum makers that are willing to non-standard woods.

I never realized how hard it is for a small craftmen doing specialized work. Recently, I took 3 drum shells to Mathew to have chromed hardware and heads put on. He noted that the shop he used for chroming was going out of busiess and he was having trouble finding someone local that did this kind of work. It turns out that there are a lot of chemicals involved in the process that are very expensive to have disposed. This is driving the small chome shops out of business. Just another thing to make custom drums even more expensive. All the more reason to take good care of your old drums.

Facundo

[onile]

Alafia Abures Mi!
I hope that you are all well and in an abundance of blessings!

I will soon be able to add my name to the list of owners of Mathew Smith "Ritmo" Congas! Oh Yeah!

I promised myself that I would get a set of his beautiful drums as my 'retirement' gift to me, well I didn't waste anytime. I placed my order with Mathew in December!

He is a very nice and informative person, I really enjoyed speaking with him. I should be able to expect my drums in June, September at the latest. He did explain the part about the increase in cost with certain wood (Mahogany being one of them).

I will post some pics as soon as I receive, play, and totally exhaust myself with them!

Many blessings!

Onile!



Edited By onile on 1170177106

[ralph]

Onile,

Oh man your in for a treat it'll take a while but you won't be sorry...he is a nice guy...

Facundo,

Matthew mentioned the same thing, about the chrome hardware obviously this was easier to do since he was using a local shop...now he has to ship them somewhere?


Onile is on the right track

[Omelenko]

Onile,

When you get your Matthew's you'll be selling everything else you have.I have Junior Tirados and Skin on Skin,but let me tell you,Matthew has gone a step beyond.His hardware is the best ever and his congas have the best sound. Hey, I don't get kickbacks,but the guy is a class act. "Honor a quien honor merece","las timbas mas encojonas' del planeta,ya tu veras".
I'm curious to see your Fat congas,can you post a picture, I played Poncho's years ago but didn't like the sound. AGUANILE BONKO'. Dario

PS. Enclosed 5 Matthew Smith's

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[onile]

!Vaya Abure Omelenko!
Espero que todo este bien contigo Papa!

I wrote on your other post where you listed this beautiful picture!
Here are a couple of pics of my Fats! I have been desperately searching for another one, but it appears that no one wants to part with theirs!

Oh well!



Edited By onile on 1170218620

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[onile]

here are a couple more!
I can't figure out how to put more than one pic in a single post....



Edited By onile on 1170221068

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[onile]

otra mas....

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[onile]

Here are a couple of pics for Abure Abakua.....

oldies but goodies (heavy as hell though)...

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[onile]

otra mas....

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[onile]

Here is another set of drums which I should be receiving in 30 days, they're going to have an "Early American Walnut finish" on them though!

BTW! these are Isla "Matanza Model" drums



Edited By onile on 1170220694

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