Help Me Decide Between These Two Sets

[mydogsowner]

OK, I finally narrowed it down to these two sets:

http://www.thedrumworks.com/LP_Matador_ ... ing_B.html

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Latin-Percu ... 1383963.gc

Value and Sound Quality are important to me. Which set would you choose and why?

Help me decide, I can't seem to pull the trigger on this!

[SalseroBoricua71]

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[mydogsowner]

Steven~

Thanks for your quick response. The Matador Set is the "custom wood" set. Are there any differences besides the black hardware, instead of the chrome, on the regular Matadors?
I am assuming the sound between the Matador versions would all be the same, if they are both wood?

I would purchase the matching tumbadora down the road to go with the set if I chose the Matadors. The price then would be more than the Classic II's.

It's odd to me, but I can't seem to locate info on the Classic II's on LP's website?

I cannot find a store near me that has both sets in stock to play/hear side by side, hence my post here. I am looking for overall versatility in playing music styles too.

Thanks to all who take the time to respond and help me!

[SalseroBoricua71]

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[mydogsowner]

The look is OK with me and I can live with it. I like the price of the set in the link, esp with the free bongos and stand. Thanks for your offer though!

You have def steered me towards the Matadors, regarding the shape of the shells, esp. I am hoping to hear more folks opinions before my final decision though.

Peace and Many Blessings to You!

[SalseroBoricua71]

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[doctor bloor]

Welcome, but the first thing you have to learn is that if you ask members for advice while choosing between two options, they will immediately suggest a third (and sometimes a fourth, fifth, and so on).

For example ( ), have you looked at the Gon Bops Tumbao Pro line? $750 shipped for a set of three on eBay right now, superior hardware to both of the LP options. If you search them here, you'll see posts from many happy owners.

If you really like the LPs, though, grab the Matadors. I have a set myself, and they're a solid buy--better than the others.

[Mike]

The look is OK with me and I can live with it. I like the price of the set in the link, esp with the free bongos and stand. Thanks for your offer though!

You have def steered me towards the Matadors, regarding the shape of the shells, esp. I am hoping to hear more folks opinions before my final decision though.

Peace and Many Blessings to You!

That Matador set is surely OK if this is the price range of yours, Steven is right there.

To add a pinch of torment: If you want a better set of congas, go vintage or custom-made, i.e. off the mass-production track!
Better can mean better in sound and construction. But it really depends on what you want and what you would like to spend.
Plus you have to be lucky and clever sometimes, some gems are hard to find. One thing is for sure: Some construction features have not become better over the years, especially with LP/Matador products.
Apart from the arguable hardware, I would be especially careful about the skins, those Matadors as well as the LP Gen II might have some crappy skins.
If youre unhappy with them, you will need an additional bunch of dollars to upgrade them, apart from the hassle of mounting them.
BTW, telling you all this I openly admit that I personally own a bunch of LP/Matador drums, but they are somewhat older. I have taken great effort to supply them with decent skins though, so I am very happy with the sound.

So all in all, I cannot really say BUY! straight away. At least you should know that with both sets that you mention you get instruments that are slightly middle-of-the-road, but still OK....

And there are other brands too...
I have heard good things abut Toca traditionals on this forum: viewtopic.php?f=14&t=4359&p=44052&hilit=toca+traditional#p44052
Also about Pearl folkloric congas - which are renowned for very good skins right out of the box.. Check them out if you are in the USA - they are hard to get in Europe.

Hope this helps a bit...
Cheers
-Mike

[SalseroBoricua71]

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[Mike]

Hey Mike,

You suggested some great drum choices to this guy, But based on his initial posting he clearly stated that he narrowed it down to the either the Matadors or the Classic II series line.My assumption is these are the choices that his budget will allow for, So therefore I went ahead and recommended the Matadors to him instead.

Hey Steve,
youre right, I also noticed mydogsowner´s budget limit. On the other hand, if you try hard,
you might get a (more) decent set second-hand.

All the best
Mike

P.S.: How are you getting on with you fiberglass conga?

[SalseroBoricua71]

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[umannyt]

mydogsowner,

Admittedly, I'm not an LP fan. (If budget weren't much of an issue for you, I personally would recommend that you buy the Gon Bops Tumbao Pro which starts at $230 each.) Nevertheless, between the 2 sets of LPs, I'd recommend buying the Matador Custom Wood set. Why?

1. I read the specs of the Matador from the drumworks.com link you supplied and, IMO, except for the non-chromed hardware, it's still essentially the same well-regarded Matador.

2. The LP Classic II is not the same as the LP Classic. The former is evidently an inferior version of the latter.

3. The Matadors come with a stand, a good deal and a convenient feature if you (also) plan to play standing.

4. I personally prefer the traditional crowns of the Matador Custom bongos over the comfort rims of the LP Classic II bongos. Although I haven't actually experienced playing bongos with comfort rims, the traditional crowns are supposedly more comfortable (how ironic) on the thighs when the bongos are played seated. Obviously, this won't be an issue if you plan to put your bongos on a stand also. Nevertheless, I still prefer the looks of traditional crowns.

5. I don't know what your level of playing is, but if you're just starting to play congas, most people here would recommend starting with just 2 drums, preferably a conga and a tumba. With the Matador Custom Woods you'd be right on. Starting with 3 drums (such as the LP Classic II set) would be unnecessary and a handful for a beginner. Besides, should you decide down the road that you don't like playing congas after all, then you'd have less and cheaper items to dispose of, which should make it less of a hassle for you.

Hope this helps,

[mydogsowner]

Wow, I am REALLY bummed out! After reading the excellent advice here, I decided to call and order the Matadors. They can't honor the on-line ad, and in fact removed the web page from their site. It was a special offered through LP and their dealers back in October. I guess they forgot they still had that web page up.

Maybe this is a blessing in disguise though? It will give me time to look at vintage drums in my area as was mentioned. I never considered pawn shops before, but will give that a try. I will also seek out the Gon Bops in my area to see what they are all about. I am still leaning towards the Matadors though at this point. I need to learn to be patient now in my search, I just can't wait to have a set in my home though!

I went back through every page in this section and noticed that similar topics were already discussed before so I am sorry about the redundancy. I didn't notice the "search" box before, and would have done that first before posting.

Thanks to all my Bro's who responded! Looks like you guys got yourselves a new sister!

Lisa

[SalseroBoricua71]

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[Derbeno]

Keep an eye out on ebay, but watch out for the con artists that want to charge you an arm and a leg for shipping

Craigslist also deserves a mention,..... I have picked up quite few drums from CL (Vintage Matadors as it happens) with no shipping