ISLA PERCUSSION - Discussion, Quality, Experience, etc

[Jose Marquez]

Anybody hear from Mario recently or know how to get in touch with him? I'm not having any luck.

I just heard from him today. Said he just got back, not sure from where. He just finished my Quinto and will mounting the skin soon and ready to ship. Email is the way I contact him: mariopunchard@yahoo.com

[vasikgreif]

Here's the requinto I received yesterday. Everything seems fine, the sound is great, at least from what I can say...

[KING CONGA]

Here's the requinto I received yesterday. Everything seems fine, the sound is great, at least from what I can say...

Congratulations vasikgreif, that requinto looks sweet. That is some beautiful wood no doubt. Enj y

[ABAKUA]

Is it just me or does there appear to be rusty residue on the bolts/plates/bands/hardware, and the machine roll scratches on the rim and bands? Also the sideplates not being cut straight with over sharp edging...
Im sure it sounds great, but the overall finish is pretty rough in my opinion, I cant comment on the build quality however. The finish has alot to be desired for though. How are these drums priced in comparison to other fabricators the likes of say SOS, Ritmo, Moperc, etc ?

[OLSONGO]

That hardware looks like it was made by an auto mechanic, not a designer/crftsman.
enough said.
Peace
olsongo

[Mr. Conga]

Vasik nice drums over all. The side pltes look improved and better then the old ones, not a fun of the crowns.
Beautifull wood grain, and the shape on color remind me of 80's Junior Tirados honduras mahogany congas.

But Vasik, brooo are those crown crooked or is it my eyes?.....on the picture, on the right side of the crown, as u look at it, the right side angle looks higher, looks like the crown is not straight as it should, or not perfectly cirlce...

can you tell me as you hae them in person?...is it my eyes, or that's how they look in person too :

[RitmoBoricua]

Shoddy craftmanship.

[Dangler]

i like the rustic finish on the metal,but those tabs are terrible.they look like brackets used for anchoring scaffold to buildings. No ritmo thats for sure,but I don't think Isla is trying for that.

Nice to see the downsized badge as well.

[blosh]

Here's the requinto I received yesterday. Everything seems fine, the sound is great, at least from what I can say...

Hey, looks great, I got my requinto Sept. 20 and love it, but I think Mario was right I should have gotten the conga first to even out my set. To me there is something so attractive about that little requinto though. Guess I will have to get a conga so I will have all four.

[blosh]

Is it just me or does there appear to be rusty residue on the bolts/plates/bands/hardware, and the machine roll scratches on the rim and bands? Also the sideplates not being cut straight with over sharp edging...
Im sure it sounds great, but the overall finish is pretty rough in my opinion, I cant comment on the build quality however. The finish has alot to be desired for though. How are these drums priced in comparison to other fabricators the likes of say SOS, Ritmo, Moperc, etc ?

As a commercial pro-photographer, I can say you are makeing some assumptions from a pretty bad snap-shot, probabily wide angle from a point and shoot. You are correct there are machine roll scratchs on the rim but not on the bands, if they are like mine, the flash angle of the camera made them more noticable. I think the rusty residue is a light stain he may be using to even out the varying colors of the mahogany, mine had some on it, it wipes off. I don't know this for a fact, but my requinto is much more even colored than my previous two drums, someone probabily complained about the uneven colors. My sideplates look the same, just ran my finger down them, not sharp at all, and they seem straight.
In my youth I worked In a machine shop and a little later in life I built, from rough cut ebony, mahogany, rosewood, and spruce and repaired a few guitars. Yes, I could polish the scratches out of the rim, and I could certainly put on a super slick guitar type finish on the wood, but not for what he is charging.
I have never seen a Moperc, I have heard nothing but good things about them, would love to hear and play one.
Moperc requinto $880.
Isla requinto $450.

[vasikgreif]

But Vasik, brooo are those crown crooked or is it my eyes?.....on the picture, on the right side of the crown, as u look at it, the right side angle looks higher, looks like the crown is not straight as it should, or not perfectly cirlce...

I think you're right, the crown seems to be lower on one side, not sure if it is made that way or if it's because I have the brought the head up wrong.

That hardware looks like it was made by an auto mechanic, not a designer/crftsman.
enough said.
Peace
olsongo

How are these drums priced in comparison to other fabricators the likes of say SOS, Ritmo, Moperc, etc ?

Well, I don't care about the look that much. As long as it doesn't do any harm to the sound, it's fine for me. I have Isla bata too, and the finish of the requinto is actually WAY better than the bata. But, as I said, doesn't matter for me. I paid 500USD, shipping from Belize to Czech republic included. From what I read here, I think I would pay twice that much for any other custom made drum shipped to here.

[blosh]

i like the rustic finish on the metal,but those tabs are terrible.they look like brackets used for anchoring scaffold to buildings. No ritmo thats for sure,but I don't think Isla is trying for that.

Nice to see the downsized badge as well.

Just goes to show you, different strokes for different folks. When Mario sent me the pictures of my finished drum, it had the downsized badge, I hated it! He was cool and found me an old badge to put on it.
I'll be honest here, I don't like any traditional rims, the look, the feel, nothing. I like comfort curves (guess I'm a sissy to some ) . But if I have to have those miserable traditional rims I like em to look as Macho as possible and I don't think it gets any more macho than those scaffold anchoring plates .

[blosh]

That hardware looks like it was made by an auto mechanic, not a designer/crftsman.
enough said.
Peace
olsongo

Could you introduce me to your auto mechanic?
Tampa is pretty close to my area. There is going to be a Latin Fest at the Lake Mirror Promenaude in Lakeland tomorrow 10/21/11. Latin food vendors, music, outdoors, free admission and usually an open rumba or two on the sidelines if you are interested. 12 till 8pm

[blosh]

Blosh - the rusty looking residue is the polishing compound that wasn't fully buffed off the stainless steel. Just wipe it off with some soap and water! Sometimes Mario's workers slip on little details like that. They are learning fast though.The color of the mahogany drum is natural. The bright color of the mahogany is due to the oxidation process that is already taking place. As time goes by the color will change to a darker, rich color. Blush just play that Isla buddy. Don't worry about those little details. Enjoy your drum and let that baby sound - it'll make you proud !!!!!

Thanks for the info. The residue didn't bother me, it wipes right off, no soap needed, I was just trying to give my best guess as to what it was, and I said I didn't know it for a fact.
I don't worry about those "little details" and I do enjoy my Islas and would recommend them to anyone who asks. Like I said before my Isla Quinto is the best sounding drum I have ever played, although my new requinto may be the prettiest , my tumba is great but in all honesty, my friends old Gon Bops tumba sounds almost as good (almost ).
Just don't get all of the negativity toward Mario, the man has always had great communication with me, and I'm certainly not anyone special. The longest I have ever waited for a responce from him was 4 days, and that was because he was traveling and he knew what I needed was not crucial time wise.
He makes a beautiful drum for a reasonable price, and as far as I know, no one makes one that sounds better.

[congamyk]

Good news... Go Maria & Isla!