cha cha bells

[Dangler]

Ola amigos,amigas
I am going to add a small cowbell to my percussion collection. I like the sound of the lp cha cha bell es-2(the smaller 1):

http://www.lpmusic.com/Product_Showcase ... a_cha.html

Can anyone recommend any others that are similar?

gracias

[Mike]

Yes, the one you mention is very fine.
But I like my ES-12 (the low-pitch one) too,
rather dry, yet cutting enough.

[Ernesto Pediangco]

Any one considering a cha cha or a higher pitched charanga bell, should find & test play the JCR brand Latin bells ( timbale bells, hand bells etc ) Lp cha cha bells that are grey metal ( Salsa line ) are in fact a copy of JCR's which originate from old cow bells used in classic recordings of Charanga & Mambo bands but were refined by JCR. The LP's original line of bells ( black painted ) are built from several pieces and welded / spot welded in some cases & do not have a full tone compared to JCR's one oiece metal, formed into shape & full seam welded. Every JCR bell is hand made in the Bronx, N.Y. , U.S.A. and each has a unique sound but are alive w/ tone. Many Asian made bells are built to the shape of latin bells but are not built for musical tone. Notice the construction of various brands ~ some are only spot welded & the ones w/ chrome plating or heavy powder coatings are all muted & have odd over tones. The one exception that I like are the Meinl pro line of bells. Pearl bells & Gon Bop bells are like entry level bells to my ears & I have never used them on my timbale sets because sound is more important than brand name to me. A latin bell is like a cymbal to a drum set player.Its very personal & unique to playing style, style of music musical quality considerations. I prefer to buy American made products and in the case of Latin percussion, there are many alternatives to Asian made over priced / cheap import copies of Latin drums & percussion. In this day & age, the internet brings you direct to authentic products from craftsmen and specialist of such particular musical instruments. They may not be available out side of specialty drum / percussion stores, only because cheap copy imports makes more % of $ to the music store. It has nothing to do w/ authenticity or being better ! Its just marketing. After all, you wont find a Ferrari or Lamborghini at a Toyota dealership ! The markets cater to the lowest common denominator.

[Mike]

Lp cha cha bells that are grey metal ( Salsa line ) are in fact a copy of JCR's which originate from old cow bells used in classic recordings of Charanga & Mambo bands but were refined by JCR.

[...] In this day & age, the internet brings you direct to authentic products from craftsmen and specialist of such particular musical instruments. They may not be available out side of specialty drum / percussion stores, only because cheap copy imports makes more % of $ to the music store. It has nothing to do w/ authenticity or being better ! Its just marketing. After all, you wont find a Ferrari or Lamborghini at a Toyota dealership ! The markets cater to the lowest common denominator.

I do know they are a copy, but by no means a bad one.

To your second point: I agree with most of what you are saying about the marketing and all.
Still, it is difficult in some parts of the world to get hold of the "authentic products" you mention.
I was very happy to win a JCR Bongo bell at German ebay a couple of years ago!
Of course I would also cherish a JCR cha cha bell for my timbales, but it is near to impossible
to find it here. And paying a fortune on shipping from the US cannot really be an option.

[pcastag]

What about Sonor bells? I just bought a whole line of them for 12 bucks each on e-bay here, I'm curious as to how they sound, I figure they'd be pretty readily available in Europe.

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-SONOR-CCB5-5-DE ... 53e60d4b18

PC

[Mike]

What about Sonor bells? I just bought a whole line of them for 12 bucks each on e-bay here, I'm curious as to how they sound, I figure they'd be pretty readily available in Europe.

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-SONOR-CCB5-5-DE ... 53e60d4b18

PC

Have not heard about Sonor bells yet,
but as you mention it, the Meinl Steel bells are very good too,
not all, but I once tried a really full-toned small bell by Meinl,
but I can not remember which series, perhaps this one:
http://www.thomann.de/de/meinl_stb45m_cowbell.htm

Besides, the little LP Black Beauty bell is still a very nice cha cha bell too.

[Ernesto Pediangco]

Lp cha cha bells that are grey metal ( Salsa line ) are in fact a copy of JCR's which originate from old cow bells used in classic recordings of Charanga & Mambo bands but were refined by JCR.

[...] In this day & age, the internet brings you direct to authentic products from craftsmen and specialist of such particular musical instruments. They may not be available out side of specialty drum / percussion stores, only because cheap copy imports makes more % of $ to the music store. It has nothing to do w/ authenticity or being better ! Its just marketing. After all, you wont find a Ferrari or Lamborghini at a Toyota dealership ! The markets cater to the lowest common denominator.

I do know they are a copy, but by no means a bad one.

To your second point: I agree with most of what you are saying about the marketing and all.
Still, it is difficult in some parts of the world to get hold of the "authentic products" you mention.
I was very happy to win a JCR Bongo bell at German ebay a couple of years ago!
Of course I would also cherish a JCR cha cha bell for my timbales, but it is near to impossible
to find it here. And paying a fortune on shipping from the US cannot really be an option.

Other decent cha cha vells that may ve in your market area is Rhythm Tech, Yamaha, Meinl.