“My 1950's Candido Requena project”

[KING CONGA]

Stay away from thick heads and mule, just put a medium cow hide on it, Dario

Thanks for the suggestion Dario. I talked to Matt in regards to the thickness and so he suplied me with what he thought was the right skin. The cuero is at the most .050 thick, I think that it will go well with this drum. I trully consider my self blessed for owning such historical relic, there are so few of these drums out there that they could almost all be counted, Im courious as to how many members of this forum currently own a Requeña or even a Vergara. Man if only this drum could talk
The next pictures I post will be from after it's all put together.
Thank all of you for sharing my joy and excitement, thank you for all of your support, comments and suggestions.

[Congadelica]

Matt has done a superb job on that beat up baby . she now will sing and shine with pride .
Like Niall said you dont know how lucky you guys are



Marco

[niallgregory]

Matt has done a superb job on that beat up baby . she now will sing and shine with pride .
Like Nail said you dont know how lucky you guys are



Marco

Thats the first time ive been called nail

[GuruPimpi]

King Conga!

You got yourself a Queen Conga!
Your restoration voyage inspired me a lot, i'm thinking of restoring my Sonoc conga...

Take care of her, play her a lot and enjoy!

PimpS

[KING CONGA]

Pero coño este tambo ta tremendo!!! Finally finished What an awesome experience this has been for me, to think that at one time I was considering not buying this historical relic for $60.00, thank God I came to my senses. Just mounted the skin, first one ever, could have done a better job but ho well, I can always replace it again. Matt did a fabulous job with the restoration, I could not have asked for anything more
I believe, as Omelenko said, that this drum is better now than when it was made, better glue used, fitted with an Alma, Stainless steel bands, new backing plates, better bolts, thicker, for the side mounts and last but not least, restored by literally one of the best hand drum artesian in the world, the man himself Matthew Smith.
The best part is that I expect this drum to be around for many more years to come.
I would like to thank each one of you who advised me and gave me direction with this project especially James (in Berkeley), who by the way is also a proud owner of a Requena, for taking the time to explain to me about the challenge that I was about to face as I considered taking on this project myself, man what a mistake that would have been I know I don’t have the experience but you can clearly see by the pictures that this was far from being a project for a novice like me.
Here are some pictures for all of you conga junkies to enjoy.
Juan.

[KING CONGA]

Otros!

[msb501clave]

Wow thats a great looking drum. Just perfect. well done!

[ABAKUA]

Amazing job.

Im in love, and I have added you to my list of people I hate, free of charge!

CONGA-TULATIONS brother, that is one killer drum, a true collectors item.

[Anonimo]

POST REMOVED BY THE AUTHOR

[yambu321]

A Dream Come True. It's just beyond words!

God Bless!

Charlie.

[Omelenko1]

Ese tambor esta criminal! Is the sweetest quinto on the land. In every way superior to the day Candido Requena finished it. Much better glue used by Matt in a conga that's 55 years of age. That wood is super cured. That baby is going to sing with a thin to medium cow hide. I owned a Requena quinto like that ,but at the time there was no Mattew Smith. I loaned it to Daniel Ponce for a rumba when I was with WDNA and he loved the sound. Ended up selling it because it would split every so often. I also had Marcelino Valdes Vergaras and sold them and also 5 SONOCS, the reason why because there was no Matthew Smith at the time. I wish I could reverse the time. Now King Conga has a treasure in his hands which no money can buy. That quinto probably saw many rumbas in places like Jesus Maria (Mongo's neighborhood), Los Sitios (Patato's neighborhood), Pueblo Nuevo (Chano Pozo's neighborhood). It's full of Cuban rumba heritage!!!!

ENJOY IT.

Dario

[RitmoBoricua]

Beautiful from top to bottom. Enjoy.

[KING CONGA]

Amazing job.

Im in love, and I have added you to my list of people I hate, free of charge!

CONGA-TULATIONS brother, that is one killer drum, a true collectors item.

LOL. Thanks Abakua, I knew that you were goint to put me on your "Lista" as soon as you seen it.
Thank all of you for your encouraging comments. Ive been in awe since I received it from Matt. I can't get enough of it.
By the way, how long would you say I should wait for the skin to dry? 2, 3 days? Would I condition it right away with manteca de corojo or should I wait?

[Omelenko1]

Let that skin dry properly, at least 3 days and then just let it be. Always keep the lugs oiled, tune and detune every time. After about a year put a bit of Corojo all over and remove with a moist cloth the next day. The sound of that drum will amaze you.

[willie55]

BEAUTIFUL