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Recently I found a Palisades Park 12.5" tumba in purple glitter.
My question concerns the build specs and quality of the various LP eras. Is there any difference between the Palisade Park and Garfield NJ drums? I see the Palisade Park drums revered and praised on these forums but haven't found the same type of reverance for the Garfield NJ instruments.

Do you have the drum in hand? Is the drum in fact a Patato model?
I ask because cannot really tell whether is a Patato or not by looking
at the photo you provided. You can always buy a used drum of a different
color and have them refinished to the same color. Something you can do
yourself.

RitmoBoricua wrote:Do you have the drum in hand? Is the drum in fact a Patato model?
I ask because cannot really tell whether is a Patato or not by looking
at the photo you provided. You can always buy a used drum of a different
color and have them refinished to the same color. Something you can do
yourself.

I don't have the drum yet - I should have it Wednesday morning. It was advertised as a Patato, but if it turns out to be an Original that's fine too!
I know I can refinish a different colour drum in a solid colour....but in a glitter?

The LP fiberglass congas are called "Original"
the LP wood congas are called "Classics".

The finish on the drum in the photo seems to be a little rough.
I can see lots of scuff and scratches it would not be a bad idea
to refinish the drum anyway if you want to. If you buy another
used drum and the color does not match you can always refinish
both to the same color either with solid colors or a metalfleck
(glitter) paint, whatever fancy you. You can go to most auto part
stores and pick-up Duplicolor Metal Specks lacquer aerosol that I
think come in 4 or 5 different colors to get your glitter finish.
Lots of electric guitar players use Duplicolor to refinish their
guitars with the glitter finish.Good luck in finding the other
matching drum, I have seen lots of used Patato's popping-up in
the market lately, is a very popular conga.

RitmoBoricua wrote:The finish on the drum in the photo seems to be a little rough.
I can see lots of scuff and scratches it would not be a bad idea
to refinish the drum anyway if you want to.

Hi - no, I would never refinish this drum. The scuffs and scratches are part of its history and charm - those are all gig-earned battle scars!
The main reason I bought the drum was because of the somewhat rare finish. I'll just polish it up with Turtle Wax and enjoy it.
I should have it by Wednesday - I'll post pictures after I polish it, if you like.

Congadin wrote:Hi - no, I would never refinish this drum. The scuffs and scratches are part of its history and charm - those are all gig-earned battle scars! The main reason I bought the drum was because of the somewhat rare finish. I'll just polish it up with Turtle Wax and enjoy it. I should have it by Wednesday - I'll post pictures after I polish it, if you like.

No problem, very well. l have "lightly" refinished some
drums before where I wanted to preserve some of the
signs of wear and tear, basically I just cleaned them-up
and sprayed some clear top coat. Post some pictures of
you drum whenever you have a chance.Take Care.

Okay, now I have the drum in hand.
It turns out to not be a Patato model as advertised, but rather an "Original" model. It has a Palisades Park paper sticker.
It is 29" tall. The condition is not bad - I braced myself for the entire drum to be scratched and gouged. It has road rash and battle scars, but just in certain places. The finish looks different under various lighting conditions, just like my Tempus drums - the camera flash makes this drum look pink, but in person it looks more purple.
The handle is missing.
The thing that knocked me for a loop is that there are three pairs of holes drilled through the shell on the bottom portion of the drum.
Were these for legs that have also gone missing?
Does anyone have a catalog from the '70s that shows the various leg options for LP congas?
The vendor who sold me this drum discounted the drum to make up for the deficiencies described above - I really received great Customer Service from them.

Could these be the type of legs that were previously on this drum?