Meinl fibercraft - any experience?

[bongosnotbombs]

Here are some pics of the new additions to the growing family... I think I have a Conga sickness.. These hadnt arrived yet and Ive been negotiating with a seller interstate about a set of his vintage original line Meinl Woodcrafts with the steel bands around the shells circa late 70's/early 80's.

You mean like these? If so, very nice!

[Bongobilly]

Sick! I'm worry that I'm gonna catch that illness too

[ABAKUA]

Sick! I'm worry that I'm gonna catch that illness too

Its a pandemic yo!

You mean like these? If so, very nice!

Yep, that series brother, but these are stained darker, almost red. Been searching for years for those.

Nice drums, nice color, nice family. You're a lucky man.

Thank you!

Congrats! Can you please take a shot of them next to y
our Matadors?

Sure, no probs. Im about to head out the door now, waiting to be picked up, have this gig like 4 hours away, some major festival.. When I get back will snap shot them together.

Thanks for the comments guys.

[Bongobilly]

There's a pair over here for sale like new. Thinking about it

[ABAKUA]

shot from the festival gig:

[torpedo tom]

Man-o-man, those really look nice!!! How did they sound? I set two of my Meinl Pros up right before I had to leave and played a bit. More when I get back home. Meinl sure makes some fine drums.

[busyflyin]

Yes, how about a report on how they play and sound? Especially compared to the Matadors.

[ABAKUA]

I had briefly touched on their sound in an earlier post, but will expand a bit on it here, they have some big volume to them, lots of projection. Factory skins on the drum are fine for now, later down the track I may mount my nice thicker Cuban skins I brought back, but the factory skins on there sound great out of the box. So they will do fine for some time.
They took a little while to set in, as they hadnt really been tuned and put through their paces too much aside from a bit at the store and when I got them home, but half way through the set they were cranking. Gotta remember, I picked them up the evening before leaving for this gig.
Mic'd up they sounded great, had a few percussionist friends in the crowd, they were diggin the sound. No trouble cutting through full 10 piece Salsa/Timba band.
Away from mic's I found some minor overtones, which is an easy fix, will just put the foam inside like I did to those Matadors I picked up not long ago.
Its the shell with the overtones, when you strike the shell with your knuckles you hear the over tone, easy fix though. Nothing noticeable when playing along with the band or other drums.
Compared to the Matadors, i prefer the traditional hardware on my Matadors and on my solid shell Cuban drums, not a fan of comfort curves. However the Meinl one aint too bad, would be better with trad hardware though. Might see if the rims are interchangeable and if they are the meinls will be retro fitted with them. Doubtful they will line up but will run a test fit later.
Sound wise, the Meinls def sound nicer than the Matadors (in my opinion) and are definitely louder. Still wouldn't choose Fiberglass over a good wood drum, Im fairly traditional but again these were top of the line Fiberglass at an absolute steal of a price and will serve me well as nice workhorse drums so I dont use my solid shell Cubans for every gig.
They are fantastic drums nonetheless and Im sure any player would be more than happy with them, from beginner to pro.
Big full bodied drums, solid hardware, good quality skins. Some overtones, but you get that with fiberglass drums, like I said though, easy fix.

[Kaban]

Greetings to all,

I recently, this week, bid on a Meinl Fibercraft Quinto from Ebay, the price was good ($259). My first impression was that this was a BIG quinto, and loud! I been looking for a third drum, because JC told me it's time that I add the third, so for the price why not. When i set it up with my Patatos, I noticed that it was a big quinto, so I measured it. The MF quinto, from outside the bearing edges is almost an eighth bigger then my Patato Conga! The MF quinto is really a conga!

Other observations I gather: The MF hooks are as big as the LP Galaxy Congas, the rims are almost identical to the Matador rims, MF weighs less then the Patato, the sound of the MF is loud, like a drum kit's bass drum, where IMO the Patato has a more classic conga tone (the resonance is more melodic). The bass tone of the MF is wicked, much better then the Patatos. Unfortunately, I already have a Patato conga/tumba, and this drum, as good as it is, doesn't fit in with what I like about my current drums, so I will be sending back, so they'll be back on EBAY if someone is interested. Based on the price of the MF, it's a great deal, better then the Patato, if you are short a few hundred for a pair of Patato, MF are the way to go; there a great deal/drum.

[ABAKUA]

Thats a beautiful looking skin on your Patato, what is it? Bull or mule? nice and dark too.

[Kaban]

Thanks Abakua, the skin is cow from Texas, via Greg, of Artdrum.com. I am extremely happy with the look, feel, and sound.

[p.a.dogs1]

Just a supplement to this older thread:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npku3RmOjMQ

Summer in a Cologne beer garden.

p.a.dogs1