Who builds MAHOGANY congas? - bring back mahogany!

[BATZONG]

Hello, Forum!

Who builds nowadays congas made of mahogany? The old Gon Bops "International" series were made of mahogany and those are the real deal (in MY ears! :p )... a maho shell and good, thick heads make for that dry, warm woody sound that I know many of you guys like as well...

But no one seems to make them anymore. Everywhere you look there is oak, even the "new" GB company offers only oak tubs... ???

There's probably a trend in the latin/salsa world for bright, loud sounds and no doubt oak is suited for that style of music. But for rock, soul, funk or afro-funk (listen to all those old Ottis Redding, James brown, Eagles, Santana, etc. etc. albums...) those old Gon Bops mahogany congas were the real deal, IMHO, of course.

Allthough there are deffinitely makers out there that build tubs from other woods than oak (maple, canoe, cherry, mango... etc.) ...


...WHO builds nowadays congas made of... MAHOGANY ???

[taikonoatama]

those old Gon Bops mahogany congas were the real deal, IMHO, of course.

Hate to break it to you, but no, they weren't. What they used was Luan, aka Philippine mahogany. It's not really mahogany, though - a cheaper imitation. Philippine mahogany is to real mahogany as Siam oak is to real oak. It's not that it's all that bad, actually, but it is not the real deal. Here's some more info:

http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/persona....can.htm

Swietenia, the species that, in its variants, grows in the Caribbean, Central and South America, is pretty much a protected species at this point and extremely difficult to get into the States, I've heard. Occasionally woodworkers will come across an old stash in a warehouse or something, already in the States, for example, and use that, but importing it is really tough.

Khaya, however, the African species, is by all accounts a very high quality wood and more readily available.

As for a quality comparison between Swietenia and Khaya, I've heard they are comparable, but I cannot personally vouch for it. I wouldn't be surprised if people accustomed to Swietenia swore by it just because that's what they're used to, but I cannot say.

The only conga craftsman these days I know for sure using Khaya (African Mahogany), is Matt Smith in Pennsylvania. There are some other threads here about him - he's near the top of anyone's list of master drum craftsmen.

~Taiko



Edited By taikonoatama on 1181344603

[BATZONG]

You're right about the fact that those were Philippine mahogany, Taiko... I remember having read that somewhere (maybe here on this forum). I know that the south american species is almost impossible to get. Interestingly, when Timba started business they offered a mahogany variant of their congas under the name "cubop", and if memory serves me those were made of south american mahogany (Honduras if I remember well...)

When I say those are "the real deal" I mean that those where the nicest sounding tubs, regardless if they were "real" maho or the asian variant, again I M H O.

Not as loud as oak, somewhat "muted" sounding, but warm & woddy...

Interesting info on those african/south-american species, Taiko!

[blango]

Its nice to hear this discussion. As an armature botanist, im fascinated by the characteristics of, and the sounds from differing species of wood.

I do know that most true Mahoganies grow in very isolated small groves in dense forest.

In order to harvest them, short of elephant harvest, they have to cut a road to the grove. This makes Mahogany one of the less eco-friendly woods, and it is not a very common species, even in its best habitat.

To me, the ethical thing is to play something more sustainably harvested, as i think American Cherry is (anyone with info about that? ill try to check it out)

Or, better yet, get an old Mahogany tub and rebuild it, bring it back to life and the old tree gets a few more years of respect. The aged Mahogany sounds better to me, anyway, even with a few repaired cracks.

There is a requinto from the late 50's on ebay right now thats about to end. i bet it sounds nice. its at 200 and something.

Tony

[pcastag]

Mountain Rhythm offers mahogany tubs, in addition Pearl has a new line that is a two ply mahogany hybrid. Last time I spoke with Matthew Smith he had some shells sitting aroung that were Honduran Mahogany, but the price was very high. He also said that the African mahogany that everyone is using now is comparable in sound.
PC

[Whopbamboom]

According to the Drum! magazine's conga buying guide in the most recent issue, here are the manufacturer's that are listed in the article as having "mahogany" conga's:

--African Congas
--Mountain Rhythm
--Pearl (Elite Mahogany series... listed as "Parawood and Mahogany, so is probably only mahogany veneer)
--Platz Percussion
--Probali
--Ritmo/Matthew Congas

Please note: I do NOT know if some of these are poor quality or not, I do NOT know if some of these are unconventional drums or not, and I do NOT know if the manufacturers are using genuine mahogany or not. I'm just sharing some of the info (or possible mis-info) that is presented in the article.