Conga identification

[Dangler]

Can anyone help me ID the manufacture of this drum

[Omelenko1]

Looks like from Jay Bereck's stable. Oak Skin on Skin. Among the best
congas ever made.

Dario.]

[pcastag]

Definitely looks like a SOS, especially if it has five lugs.
Pc

[KING CONGA]

My guess would also be SOS.

[Dangler]

woo-hoo, I got myself a nice drum. The lady I bought it from off of Craigslist said she bought it in the late 70's while she was in Brooklyn,her friend insisted she buy a drum.She said it was in a very seedy area, and was worried for her safety.Its been stored in her basement for most of its life, has no cracks,and just the right amount of tarnishing on the hardware, scuffs on the shell and aging of the oaks colour to give it a very nice appearance IMO.

I can't believe I found one of these on the West coast of Canada.Thank you guys so much for ID'ing this for me.

[KING CONGA]

Congratulations on a great find. So how does it sound? What size is it? Would you mind telling us what it cost you? Is there any identification inside the drum?

[Dangler]

Sounds incredible, much richer tone than my fiberglass Afro's I've been playing.It's a conga 11.75", no writing or ID marks other than assembly marks on the staves.I paid $350.
Now i need to find a quinto and/or tumba

[Omelenko1]

That's a vintage SOS. I can tell by the crown, the crown was completly made by hand back in those days. In the early days Jay didn't sing the inside of the drums. I had a similar pair like that from around 1978 with no signature. Awesome find. That conga came from the Atlantic Ave workshop (upstairs), in a very rough commercial section of Brooklyn. You should send a photo to Jay and tell him to make you a nice tumba mate for it. Congatulations!

Dario

[jorge]

It does look like an SOS, but looks like spruce or possibly ash, definitely not oak. Spruce is lighter weight and softer than ash, better to carry, sounds a little mellower, less likely to crack from humidity changes, but more likely to dent. Ash is harder (baseball bats) and may not be as thick. Ash is lighter color with less natural grain definition so it would have to have been stained to be that color and grain pattern. The fact that it is not cracked is in favor of spruce. If you can dig your fingernail in (inside the drum please!) and make a mark, it is spruce. Jay used 5 bands on the oak drums, and 4 bands on the spruce, ash, and cherry drums, but that is definitely not cherry. Not sure why he stopped making spruce drums, they were great for carrying to rumbas in the park, and cost less than the other woods he used. Send that picture to Jay, he will tell you immediately what the wood is, I have my money on spruce, let us know!

[docarroyo]

I will have to side with Jorge but think its Ash I remember asking Jay at his first shop on Smith street about the wood he was using and he should me some ash drums which resembled this one. Great find no matter what type of wood. When this drum was made the only two guys making drums like this were both in Brooklyn my home town. First one was the Master Junior N. Tirado, QEPD. and Jay , there was also a guy in Staten Island but he was hard to get ahold of and did not make many drums They were very similair to Vergara congas. In any case GREAT Drum.

[bongosnotbombs]

I never heard of Jay using spruce for his drums, SOS is mainly known for using cherry, quarter sawn oak and ash.

[Omelenko1]

That conga looks like Ash wood. I know Jay made a less expensive conga from Spruce, my friend Archie had a pair and they sounded great. I had a great pair of Ash back in the day (photo attached). Here is Jay at the Atlantic Ave shop in Brooklyn.

Dario

[Dangler]

Do you guys think its ash because it has no cracks or do you think the grain looks like ash?

The first picture looks like Oak to me and the colour is definately oak-like (could be stain),but on the other hand the weight is not as substantial as I thought it would be,and it does have 4 bands.
Anyways,I think I am going to take omelenkos advice and send Mr Bereck a picture and order a companion tumba for it.
I spoke wth him on the phone and he said he did stain his drums in the late 70's but looking at the color difference from inside to out it could just be a clear coat with natural age discoloration too.

[KING CONGA]

That is one sweet looking drum. I would say that it's Oak. You can get a better view of the wood grain when you click on the picture to enlarge it, it defenetly looks oak to me and not ash. See attached picture of SOS Ash Conga:

[bongosnotbombs]

King Conga may be right, it does resemble flat sawn oak, like that in my Gon Bops. The Valje is quarter sawn like most of Jay's oak drums.