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I was thinking that we should have a thread of just Junior Tirado Congas registering them here on Congaplace. Take photo of the current drums you own and a discription with approx. age, color and location of drum. Please guys no Hijacking in other words no other drums, no other subject should be entered here except fo JUNIOR TIRADO DRUMs. Once again no info or photos of your prized whatever drum, JUST JUNIOR TIRADO DRUMS PLEASE. ok lets see how this goes first hijacker should get pm's from everyone explaining that this Thread is Just For JUNIOR TIRADO DRUMS.

Docarroyo,
You beat me to the punch! For weeks i've been thinking of creating the same exact post! I hope everyone contributes some pics of their treasures by Junior. Attached is a pic of my two Juniors:

-The one on the left is a 10.75" tres golpe (although it makes a great quinto too!). As you can see in the pic this drum has a crown by Matt Smith, with hooks by Jay Bereck, and the plates have had the been reinforced by Cali Rivera! I guess you could say all of the masters have had a hand on this one. This drum is also absolutely special in that it has been played by some of the absolute greatest NYC rumberos including, Gene Golden, Jerry Gonzales, Daniel Ponce, and the master of masters, Puntilla! I'm truly blessed to own it.

-The one on the right I just aquired recently, from one of our board members, who got it from another esteemed board members- our man Dario. According to Dario this drum was made by Junior for another master, the great Cachete Maldonado! This one is 11.25" and absolutely sings when tuned to a Bb. Slides perfectly in between a C and a G. Eventually I intend on having Matt make me a crown for this one too.

Now if I could only get my hands on a Junior tumba 12" or bigger, I'd be set.
THX for the awesome thread!

O.

I've got a bongo. Ash, one of the last ones he made. Looks like new. Has a dark stain that I thought about removing because the wood grain is really nice. But decided to leave it as Junior made it.

Sounds great but I have other great sounding bongos. Where the Junior really stands out is in the quality of the build. The shell, block, finish, hardware, and the way everything fits together is outstanding. It is a true pleasure to hold and to play. It is more than a great instrument - it is a true work of art. Bravo Junior!!

Couple of "Junior" Tirado barriles de Bomba.

Saludos,

JG

Had the privilage of being a personal friend of Natalio Tirado Ruiz "Junior". Ate a few P Rican Asopaos at his apartment on Havemeyer St. in Brooklyn, I provided the cold Beck's. The man was a genious, had the gift of God in his hands.
First my current set, macho 11 3/4, hembra 13" made in Dec. 1999 before the Y2K. Second, beat up Juniors I bought in a pawn shop in the Bronx, Junior had already passed, had Matt Smith refurbish them. SOLD them, but I could kill my self for doing it, circa 1968/69. Third Iya I bought a Junior's apartment, it was Julito Collazo's at one point in time. Fourth I nice pair I sold on Ebay plus the bongos that I still have.
Junior, fabricando timbas en el cielo pa' Mongo, Barretto y Tata Guines!

Dario]

Junior with his children, taken at his aprtment in Brooklyn and a photo of his business card. Timbero Mayor , que en paz descanse!

Dario

This is my oldest Junior Tirado its made from a Oak barrel and is number FIVE (5) as numbered inside drum in Chaulk. I had heard of these fabled drums and was lucky enough to come across one I grabed it without hesitation. It had been sitting in a basement in Brooklyn covered in grime her belly full of cobwebs and spiders wrong hooks and someone butchered the crown. The chrome came back with polish, the old crown has been replaced by a SOS steel crown, the wood cleaned up well. I mounted a black mule skin I had from Cali at JCR and she sang for me, her 12 inch head gives me tones that are rich and flavor filled. Her big Belly resonates with a great bass and yet I can tune her up para Tumbar. She is a very rare jem and every time I go to Brooklyn to my old Nieghborhood I ask all my friends if any one knows who has old drums for sale could you imagine another basement with more like this. The bands are also recycled from the barrel and are original to the drum. Double click on photo for a closer look

My Junior's enjoying the California sun. I stripped them down and paste wax them.

Heres a photo of my three other Junior Tirado drums. The Blond one is 11.5 and was purchased here o the forum from a member. The dark one is my oldest and from the early to to mid 70's hard to remember I was having such a good time back then. She is also 11.5 but has a slightly different shape belly breaks wider and bottom is narrower than the Rubia's. This is my favorite Junior she can do it all high to lows. The Canela is my bass drum she measurs 13 inches singed and dated 1999, talk about responce and resonance, she still has the original skin as mounted by Junior. I have missed a couple of requintos on ebay but I keep my fingers crossed and hopefully I will have the cash next time one appears. In any case the Blond likes to scream like a requinto. I took them outside to get a breath of fresh air since its so nice out today and its El Dia de Chango.

These are my prize posession, JUNIORS w/no handles-QUINTO [burro] y TRES GOLPES [vaca]-all mahogany wood and these babies can sing. Now they reside in south florida.---ALAFIA---

All I have to say is "Wow!" Those are terrific.
L

Makes me want one!

Here is my 10 inch Junior Requinto that is over 40 years old and has had the same skin on it for 30 years as well..it sounds great!...this is the quinto that took me thru the 'rumba wars' of Central Park back in the late 60's early 70's ...Omelenko has been wanting this drum for a very long time.....maybe one day huh?.....hahahaha...

I wish I could say this one is mine but its not - buleador built by junior - beautiful piece of work...

2004 triple a grade ashwood custum juniors... take that ...