congaplace.com

Howdy Folks!!

I thought I'd post this here, if administrators want me to move the post just let me know.

I have the opportunity to purchase this set of bata drums and would like any information the board can give me i.e. wood type, assessment of build quality, thoughts on hardware restoration etc.

some more pictures... I'm looking forward to the feedback from the experts on this forum! I really don't know much about bata - these were made in Cuba as a custom order about 20 years ago. Sadly, they've spent the last 5+ years sitting in a damp basement... The shells are all round, no cracks, but the hardware will need some love and I'll need to replace all the heads as their either mouldy or just done.

...these were made in Cuba as a custom order about 20 years ago. Sadly, they've spent the last 5+ years sitting in a damp basement...

Man, that's a CRIME. They are solid shell, and very well crafted and finished as far as I can see. You say they are round with no cracks? Buy them, if only to save them. The rims need to be sanded down, so they can be re-galvanized. I would turn to a metal worker for that. Everything else is easy. No idea about the wood.

Given all the due restoration, I would not pay more than 700 - 800 $ for them; rather less.

Thomas

P.S.: As your friend has no actual use for these drums (obviously), perhaps a gesture of fairness and friendship should come from his side rather than yours, money-wise.

Great find!. This would be a nice opportunity for you to own a well worth set of batas. The hardware, though some corrosion, does not look too bad. When I restored my classic Requena conga the hardware, in some cases, looked worst and it came out beautiful. I guess one of the greatest contributing factors would be cracks, which they do not have. Given the opportunity I would definitely purchase the.
Unfortunately I cannot distinguish the type of wood , maybe cedar, but it looks beautiful.
Please keep us up to date.
Cheers.
K.C.

Caoba or Carabien magohany...nice set over all..

Thanks Guys!

That was my instinct with the drums, I was struck by the solid shell and workworking quality. I noticed that inside the shell, at the very narrowist point, there are a number of very rough cuts that cause wood to protrude with a bunch of shards (best words I can come up with to describe this - you can sort of see it from the pictures. I'm thinking that this is likely intentional and that they act as baffles for the sound or something - any thoughts on this?

I'm going to seal the deal today. I'll be getting a good price on them and am looking forward to the resto and then to learning some bata rhythme. whew - lots to learn there....!

RR

Hi rhythmrhyme,

I have a solid shell set that has the same feature. Drum carvers insist that the interior of a drum should be as clean as the outside; however, I find that batá which are too clean inside can sound ringy and sterile. My stave-built set looks all unkempt inside, but it sure sounds "funky" - just the way I find such a drum should sound. In short: keep it like that!

Congrats,

Thomas

So, the bata have landed.

The Okonkolo and Itotole are actually in reasonable shape - I'll need to replace a couple heads (gak - mouldy!) but other than that they're good to go. On closer inspection, they are all indeed round and have no cracks. A few minor surface wear points but totally solid other than that.

I ended up paying $300 for the set, and they came with a new replacement round that looks appropriate so really I'm into them for about $250 right now. My friend was happy with the price and I think relieved to know they were going somewhere to be cared for and that they wouldn't be rotting in the basement anymore.

I'm wondering if I should rework the bearing edge a bit on them. The Iya's playing edge is almost flat, I'm wondering if hitting the inside edge with a small quarter round router bit, or something like that (nothing too aggressive) may open the head up a bit more. It's also possible that the maker set them up they way they are for a reason that I'm unaware of. All I know is congas and if they were congas I would definitely do a bit of work on the bearing edges - any thoughts from members on this???? Perhaps I'll drop a straight edge of some sort across the top of the drum and take a pic so you all can better see what I'm referring to.

One other question - I think I read somewhere that goat is sometimes used on bata, this this true? any thoughts on the "best" heads (I understand there are likely differing opinions on this).

Here's the pic - when i look at it this closely I'm thinking perhaps the bearing edge is actually just about right... dam though, the mouldy smell makes me want to vomit. think I need to light a fire and completely dry them out.

Hi RR,

The edge looks just perfect to me. I estimate that any attempt to re-shape it would be no improvement.

They used to mount the skins of sacrificial goats on the consecrated drums. I haven't seen anything other than what I would say were bull hides, going by texture and thickness. You can try goat or deer on the chachá, if you want.

The smell might be a problem. I once had a wooden case that laid in damp basement for a year, and it didn't lose that smell after 10 years in a dry environment. I don't know whether you are serious about applying fire; now that is something that may finally cause the drums to crack for real.

Good price, by the way.

Thomas

Nice set , great price, hardware is definitely sonoc, I've got a set witht eh exact same lugs. Some new skins and those babies will be screamin!
PC

@ pcastag - thanks for the insight on the hardware. Do you think they could have been made by Sonoc (I really don't know anything about this manufacturer).

@ Thomas - good point about getting them too dry/hot and causing a crack. I'll give deodorization a bit more thought. Also, I think I'll ask around my african drumming buddies to see if anyone has a medium thick goat skin they want to part with for the Iya. I'm thinking I'll put it on with the hair to start and then shave it if I need to brighten the sound up. I've seen a couple posts where players put a clay or something on they iya head, I'm wondering if a goat skin with hair would accomplish a similar thing in terms of slowing down the resonance of the head and bring out more low end tonal qualitites.

update March 12: both crowns for the Iya went to the plater today. They wanted $110 for both - any comments on this? It seemed a bit steep, but I know nothing about chrome plating. The deal is done, and I'll pick them up in a week, just wondering if anyone else has experiences with chroming.

Mr. Conga wrote:Caoba or Carabien magohany...nice set over all..

Are either of these woods the same as Cedrela (Spanish Cedar)? I took the heads off the Itotole and there was quite a bit of moist sap still inside the drum. it was SUPER fragrant, like an essential oil and just smelled awesome. Seemed strange that after all these years the wood was still so fresh. What a treat that was, I was expecting them to be all moldy and dank inside, but just the opposite. Now that I have both heads off the Iya it's starting to smell the same way, if I touch the inside of the drum my hand smells like this oil for hours.

Update
I got the Iya crowns back from the chromer yesterday then proceeded to try and mount the round that I got with the drums. Turned out the flesh hoop is a bit too small, and the head I got was fairly uneven. Between the two issues, trying to mount the head was a total failure. After several attempts I finally gave up, resigning myself to needing to measure and order another flesh hoop from somewhere and thinking the the Iya would be sitting on the shelf for a couple months.

Then I had an idea, I wondered if by chance the crown would fit a retro mount head that I had laying around and previously had mounted on my LP conga. I knew it was very unlikely, but walked over and grabbed the head. Strange - it fit PERFECTLY. Honestly, it felt a little too auspicious. I filled it with water to get a bit of flex back into it so it would mate with the different bearing edge and put it on. It even pulled down to very close to the ideal playing height... so strange. It's a bit lower than I mount my congas but the crown is a bit wide for the drum, turns out it's just about perfect for playing.

Then I sat for over an hour playing it last night - late into the night. The drum has such a beautiful sound... the head I put on had already been played quite a bit so it is nicely broken in already. The Iya sings with resonant bass tones and quickly launched me into a relaxed meditative state. I went to sleep feeling relaxed and possibly a bit blessed by the experience (coming from an atheist, that’s something!)

Here’s a couple pics of the head. The goat skin I ordered for the cha cha’s on this set arrived today, and I’ll pick them up tomorrow. Should make for a good weekend project.

For those who expressed an interesting in buying this set, thanks! There is no way in h#ll I'll ever sell them. After getting them set up I have quickly realized how much they have to offer. As someone who's played drums since my early childhood, my heart tells me these drums are special. I think the shells may be quite a bit older than the hardware. There were a few tack marks around the bearing edge that I filled.

Congratulations, it looks great!

Big thumbs up! May they provide a lifetime of great vibes