moperc sound

[Tonio]

No almas in Mopercs..

[Congadelica]

Does anybody have any experience shipping mopercs to europe ? Its looking riskier then more I find out..

Reiche drums are in germany and also Munz & Simonsen so maybe they're a better bet for me.

Michael shipped a set of 3 to my friend here in the UK England. the delivery went smooth and pretty fast as far as I am aware.

I would have no problem dealing with Michael from all I have heard of him.

Enjoy your Drums

Marco

[bongocero]

Just received this set of 3 tumbadoras MOPERC SALSA CLUB made of Ash : QUINTO 11", CONGA 11.75" and TUMBA 12.5".

These instruments are beautiful, made with ultra solid hardware, and mosts of all the sound is exceptional.

I'm a beginner on conga drumming but i do play Bongo for quite a long time, i was looking for a lifetime instruments and i'm now sure i found it. I also bought bongo from Michel Ouellet (pics on Congaplace right here viewtopic.php?f=2&t=6445).

I want to point the professionalism of Mr Ouellet, he answered all my emails (and i wrote a lot of emails) on the same day, even during week-ends...
Michel proposed me to ship the congas by boat (I do live so far from Canada) and the congas arrived by boat after quite a world tour on top condition perfectly protected.

I'm so happy playing these unique handcraft tambores. I attach some pics showing the shipping conditions, the tumbadoras and the set of 3 with my MOPERC bongos :

[Ernesto Pediangco]

I know the end user has a lot to do with it, as well as the heads, bu tdamn those mopercs sound good! Especially the quintos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJ-5HUyn19k
PC

MoPerc and many other drums share decent woods, solid constructions and the rest is all in the drum head quality. The species, the thickness & uniformity of the head as well as the tuning make all the most difference. The head is the voice of a drum. The shell is just a resonator that must be strong enough to take the tuning stresses, stay in original shape and add some cosmetic beauty. Mo Percs and Gon Bops and other shells of similar weight n/ density of wood and similar drum sizes will sound very much like Mo Percs or visa / versa. The uniformed drum edge / sound edge makes a difference in the projection and duration of drum tone. Old Gon Bops and other Cuban like congas with crude or flattened or out of round edges, will mute the heads and this is usually what folkloristas like as opposed to more brighter and enduring tones that Salseros like for live band performances. A Salsa Congas can be muted many ways, but a folkloric drum can not give beyond what it has. I feel it is best to find the happy medium in a drum and let the drummer control his drum's sound by selecting the perfect head that does both. Let Mics & P.A system do the rest. Mo Percs are a great drum but be selective about the heads. Experience is the best teacher on this subject. Cow hide that is not over stretched ( stretched white ) is the best in my opinion. Mule is too rigid and not very elastic unless pre stretched. Mules are rare since we no longer breed them as beast of burden. Steer is thicker than cow and goes through more treatments to be of good quality for drums but usually are just fluffy soft heads with warm tone but no volume and gets buried out side of accoustic environments. The drummer must know his applications for his drums, what music environment he will use them in and what will serve best in the long term. Mo Percs are a great alternative to Asian made drums and I prefer them over American made custom brands like Ritmo studios because they have stronger more dependable tuning system & parts ( all else being equal in cosmetic concerns ). The reason you are seeing them in Cuban videos is that Canadian made products & Canadian companies can do biz in Cuba....that's all. Decades ago...Gon Bops, Lp and Valje drums were the best thing in Cuba, being of superior construction than Cuban made factory drums. Personaly I do not rate Cuban made drums very highly, nor those who copy the nostalgia of Cuban drums since they are copies of crudeness. Would you want to drive a basic model car made in the Soviet Union in the fifties or a new modern engineered car ?

[ABAKUA]

being of superior construction than Cuban made factory drums. Personaly I do not rate Cuban made drums very highly

When was the last time you were in Cuba? Please, do tell us of todays congas made in Cuba.

[Jerry Bembe]

Bongocero how do your Salsa Club Mopercs sound? Do you think you hear any difference with the tone with the Salsa Club hardware? I have read that Moperc claims this has an impact on the stresses on the shell. Those are a sweet lookin' set of Mopercs you got there bro.

Enjoy those drums.

[Anonimo]

POST REMOVED BY THE AUTHOR

[Tonio]

Bongocero how do your Salsa Club Mopercs sound? Do you think you hear any difference with the tone with the Salsa Club hardware? I have read that Moperc claims this has an impact on the stresses on the shell. Those are a sweet lookin' set of Mopercs you got there bro.

Enjoy those drums.

Jerry,

I had a chance to play my Moperc Salsa (ash) model bongos along/aside w/ the Cubano (maple)model. Basically Michel says there is not much of a difference-which I agree. The hardware is just cosmetically different-as the lug ears are just cut differently and the wood- its all ash now. The Cubano may have been somewhat warmer due to the wood, but bongos are small anyway so not much of a difference in tone. Perhaps after years and years of use they may sound better/warmer, but I would think the skin is what would make a bigger tonal difference.

The conga hardware has more impact since they are a smaller part of the "whole drum". Think of Meinl floatune as a comparison to Moperc Salsa models. I had a Floatune conga, which was really nice sounding-but heavy as a tank. I would imagine the Moperc Salsa's would be heavy too. At least heavier than the Cubano models, but then again I gather that ash is lighter in weight then the maplewood Michel used to use. Glad I got a set of maples for a warmer tone, but still cuts through.

T

[Jerry Bembe]

Thanks for the review of Moperc sound.

There are no distributors of Moperc in the US? How big is their operation in Canada? Are there several employees that do the handbuilding?

I have heard a 100% positive feedback on Moperc and that is impressive especially with how divided opinions can be. The price is pretty high but I noticed a 20% discount offer on the Moperc site.

Happy Drumming

[Tonio]

No distro in US. I believe Michel has a few distro's in Canada with music stores. I kind of would want it that way... without going all big box like LP. We all know what happens then. Keep it small and keep the flame like Ritmo, SOS.

Michel does have a helper, but does most everything himself.

[bongocero]

Bongocero how do your Salsa Club Mopercs sound? Do you think you hear any difference with the tone with the Salsa Club hardware? I have read that Moperc claims this has an impact on the stresses on the shell. Those are a sweet lookin' set of Mopercs you got there bro.

Enjoy those drums.

Jerry Bembe, thank's for the message (you'r right, i'm in love with my MOPERC set),

My MOPERC SALSA CLUB CONGAS sound perfectly bright when i slap and deep when playing bass tones, more than this, what impress me is how powerfull the projection is, i will really have to take care of my neighbours

To be honnest, i don't really know if the special design of the long plates has an effect on this particular power of sound, but i do think this design gives a better stress distribution, this should allow higher tunings for your tambores.

About the power and volume of the sound : after a while playing these congas, i wrote a mail to Michel Ouellet explaining my satisfaction, he answered that in Canada where MOPERC drums are well represented on concert stages, all the sound technicians do know they will never have any problem to make it sound...I'm sure it's true, if i play in a closed room i have to retain my beats not to destroy my ears...And i'm really happy with that.