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I was wondering why LP changed the shape of its quintos over the years - not considerably, but you can notice the different in the shape.
From left to right: 1980s LP Garfield , early 1990s LP Classic, LP Giovanni

From eyelevel, you can see that the LP Classic is the one with the biggest belly, and it has the roundest sound of all. The Gio quinto is superstrong, but super-heavy, and the slimmest, the oldest has got the most authentic quinto sound in my opinion.


The skin diameter is more or less exactly the same, although the Gio´s extended rim suggest a bigger diameter. Of course skins play a role too:
l to r: L&H, German cow, JCR mule, all with different tonal qualities.

Just wanted to share these pics.

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leedy2 wrote:The Giovanni is a Matthew Smith design he made those drum for LP. The mold is copied from mold Matthew created it taller ,has all Matthew inovations steel inside and all the goodys that why it weights more

Really, I dod not know that Matt Smith was involved.
What do you mean by steel inside? The steel pins as reinforcement between the staves cannot weigh that much I would guess

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leedy2 wrote:The Giovanni is a Matthew Smith design he made those drum for LP.

Not to mention the Palladium models well. Matthews design.

Are you guys serious?? obviously ..........

wow, what a suprise

T

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leedy2 wrote:

Mike wrote:

leedy2 wrote:The Giovanni is a Matthew Smith design he made those drum for LP. The mold is copied from mold Matthew created it taller ,has all Matthew inovations steel inside and all the goodys that why it weights more

Really, I dod not know that Matt Smith was involved.
What do you mean by steel inside? The steel pins as reinforcement between the staves cannot weigh that much I would guess

Look inside all steel plates,extra screws they have I think has a steel rim on inside top all that metal weight all together it makes drum heavy. Yes Matthew Smith design and made the GIovanni Models congas for LP. When you take one pin in hand it does not weight that much but take 20 or 30 pins in hand and you will see differance. In all the wood congas Martin ither copied from some one or brought the pattern look at timbales I posted and read liner notes I put on some.Many are originals of were he copied soom of it aspects from to make lp product's.Providers of the instruments get from 10 cent's to $2.00 from every drum sold depending on contract with LP.

Of course, the Gio hardware is really beefy and therefore heavy. But it does not have a steel rim on the inside top, which would be an alma.

Well, generally dont think Martin Cohen actually "just" copied from other drummakers, it is a deal rather than a steal as long as there are reasonable contracts. The designing/copyright issue is still something to argue about for sure though.

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The shape of the LP Gios is basically the same shape of Ritmo drums. It seems to me LP have sold a quite a few of those Gios they are like everywhere, a very popular model to say the least.

RitmoBoricua wrote:The shape of the LP Gios is basically the same shape of Ritmo drums. It seems to me LP have sold a quite a few of those Gios they are like everywhere, a very popular model to say the least.

It's too bad that those Gios are not the same quality nor the same workmanship as Ritmos, plus they are as heavy as a tank.

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[quote="leedy2Yea they are masproduced in Thialand very cheap and all the metal they put in them makes them heavy.Ritmos here is one man show and Matthew does a better finish used other woods.[/quote]

Yes sir cheap and massproduced go hand in hand IMHO. No doubt Matthew's drums are above and beyond them Gios. In particular I really never liked too much the hue or tone of the wood that the LP factory gives to them Ash Gios and on top of that I think they use plywood versus solid wood. Personally I prefer LP Classics or Salsa congas. I think the fact that the Gios are 32" tall contributes to the heavier weight of the drum too.

RitmoBoricua wrote:Yes sir cheap and massproduced go hand in hand IMHO.

Well, cheap? The Gio congas are quite expensive here in Europe, and the material used is not bad.

RitmoBoricua wrote:No doubt Matthew's drums are above and beyond them Gios.

Certainly, of course handmade congas by Matthew Smith make all the difference here, period.

RitmoBoricua wrote:In particular I really never liked too much the hue or tone of the wood that the LP factory gives to them Ash Gios

I can remember that Steven did wonders to LP´s admittedly rather ugly finish.

RitmoBoricua wrote:and on top of that I think they use plywood versus solid wood. Personally I prefer LP Classics or Salsa congas. I think the fact that the Gios are 32" tall contributes to the heavier weight of the drum too.

Palladiums are 32" but my Gio quinto is 30" tall and is still a good quinto, even if it is mass-produced. LP Classics are still good, I agree.

The Giovanni quinto is a good drum,massproduction,but well made,solid,and whith a clear and crispy voice.For me is one of the best drums in the market!!!