New Gon Bops Tumbao Pros

[CongaTick]

Ali,

Mule? I rate them at 11 on a scale of 1-10. Often said, in case of a house fire, I'd have a hard time not grabbing my mule-skinned tubs first. Once they are broken in, you will fall completely in love with them. They take average tubs and raise them to a new level.

[alabubba]

Ali,

Mule? I rate them at 11 on a scale of 1-10.

It couldn't get much better than that. They are in my future. Thanks!

[Loman]

Alabubba: In response to your question "A foolish question, if you don't mind answering one. On a scale of 1 -10, how would you rate your satisfaction before, and then after, changing to mule?"

I would rate my tumbao series congas out of the box as a "7". Thats because of the slight ring and it took me come time getting the conga to where I like it. Now, after I changed to mule skins, I would say 9. I would have said a 10, it just so happens, that a couple weeks after I changed my skins to mule I took a trip to New York City's "Drummers World". And there for the first time I saw and played a Gon Bops California Series Conga, and it blew me away. I'm no pro but when I played that drum I even thought I sound pretty good. The California Series is heavier, the heads are thinker (even thinker than the mule skins), and you can visually see the difference in the Cal series and the Tumbao Pro. Thats the only reason I gave it a 9 and not a 10.

KKonga: You are truely blessed to have those congas. I'm sure your skill level warrants such great congas.

[the hobbit]

Wow! Those are nice! I have a set of three Gon Bops (Quinto,Conga,Tumba) that I bought a few years ago.I'll try to post some pix. I bought them at a great price too! I have no Idea what they are worth if i was to sell them. "which I'm not" but I'm still curious as to what they would sell for. I Love these Drums they sound great and I get a feeling of peace when I play them.
Now if I only had some drumming talent!! I guess that will come in time too. I just found this forum and will search for instructional videos and such. If you have any recommondations I'd appreciate an e-mail or PM. (tomwiseunderfoot@gmail.com)

Thanks, The Hobbit.

[the hobbit]

Here is a close up of one of the labels.
Hobbit.

[alabubba]

Wow! Those are nice! I have a set of three Gon Bops (Quinto,Conga,Tumba) that I bought a few years ago.I'll try to post some pix. I bought them at a great price too! I have no Idea what they are worth if i was to sell them. "which I'm not" but I'm still curious as to what they would sell for. I Love these Drums they sound great and I get a feeling of peace when I play them.

I am finding that feeling of peace - I don't have words to describe it but there is something very spiritually dynamic and satisfying in the voice of these drums and the connection between your hand, body and drums. I feel like I'm learning to dance all over again, just in a different way than before, and there are so many more steps and variations of steps than I can imagine!

Your drums are beautiful; keep practicing and playing them and they will surely help you achieve that level of talent that we all must work to achieve. I would love to have such drums, which look like true original Gon Bops, made long before DW acquired the name. But I know that I'm blessed that I finally have what I have, and have now started my conga adventure. I think that DW is showing a high level of care in their stewardship of the Gon Bops name, and although I couldn't afford the California series, I've now gotten as close to my heart's desire as my budget could possibly take me.

[OLSONGO]

Alabubba, if you or anyone else are in the market for some gon bops, I know of a man in Orlando, Fl who refurbishes drums and does a great job at it, knows his woods and skins , also how to properly mount them. Here is a pic of a GP Tumba and other drums he has available.

Paz
Olsongo

[alabubba]

Update 1: In case it's of use to someone trying to make a decision on a bag, I wound up getting the Kaces padded bags off of eBay for $55 each shipped, so I saved about $20 off of the Musicians Friend price for the Kaces or the Gator bags, which were both priced at about $65. They meet my expectations for build quality and padding thickness, which are both acceptable to me for my use. It seems to be configured almost identical to the Gator, with a top handle, a side handle, backpack straps, wheels etc. The fit of the Gon Bops tumba in the bag is most excellent. There is a very good balanced feel when lifting with the side handle. All in all I have peace of mind now that they won't be damaged while I'm transporting them about town in my car. Right now, both drums are in their bags, seat-belted into the back seat ready to leave the house with me in the morning.

Update 2: I now have a spare flesh ring for each drum, so that when I get the $$ set aside for new skins, I will be able to keep the originals as spares. The skins now on them seem to sound better and better as they get broken in (played/detuned/retuned etc.) and they are now singing not ringing!

Update 3: I think mine might be getting company soon! My youngest son has convinced his grand-mother to order him a pair for his 17th birthday. He's going to get his in the "Burnt Toast Burst" finish.

[Jaisen Torres]

hey bob , how you doing ? my name is jaisen , i was wondering if you have a sec try to email me off the board , wanted to ask you a question about your gon bops ... jaisen torres tucosabuena@yahoo.com - thanks & hope to hear from you ...

[Gwadaconga]

Nice set of 3 GB mariano congas!

They have that "roots" feel & look that I like as well...

The new ones are nice too, but there's nothing like the old stuff