congaplace.com

Just when I said " I'm 60 yrs. old, I will no buy anymore drums", these guys show up. Timbas Ismael custom made in 1974 by Ismael Ramos from Bayamon Puerto Rico. Historia Boricua (PRican history)! Then I see in this forum Junior Tirado congas for sale at $3,750 a pair.

Super score!!! Never say never. 60 ain't so far - best is yet to come.

Cono!! where the hell did you find those?? Beautiful! Make's you wonder who 'Roberto' is. Do they have Almas?

I got them from the original owner, Roberto. He bought them from Ismael in 1974 and an artist did the engraving of the palm trees. It took Ismael 6 months to deliver them to the owner. They both have almas. I will put new Venezuelan heads on them and perhaps re-chrome the crowns. Side plates and outer bands are stainless steel.

Dario

Beautiful, I love the shape of those drums, like a nice big mulatta.

Nice mulatta "con caderas" (with shapely hips.)

moviendo la cadera, moviendo la cadera

Just wondering what size heads are on those beauties?

Macho is 11 1/4", hembra is 12 1/4" in diameter. Ismael did everything by hand, so when it came to measurements he wasn't 100% precise, maybe he was trying for 11 & 12". They look very impressive and very Criollas, (Caribbean). They still have the same heads from Ismael from 1974. I will try to find new Pan Con Queso heads for them. These are the same congas that Martin Quiñones, the original tumbador from El Gran Combo, used to play. Ismael died in the late 80's, this is a very rare find for 2012. I couldn't passed them up, even when I said that was it for drums.
Enclosed find a photo of Isamel's widow, Ismael's son and myself from a few years back, when I visited PRico.

Dario

How thick are the staves?. I once had a cuban drum with that same shape, wood was super thin though ( about 1/4 inch) so I really had to be careful with it, Jay put it back together but it was beginning to show some signs of not beaing able to hold the tensions I desired, sold it to a collector somewhere.
Pc

That's not the case with these, the staves are thick, about an inch. I've been lucky, this is the fourth set of Ismael congas that have come my way, these are probably the best of all. I have also had about 5 bongos from the man. Ismael are extremely rare pieces to come along, they are part of PRican history. Ismael Jr. was putting together a museum on the island to honor his dad, I don't know how far along that has gone. In the current world of gold plated hardware, confort curved crowns, rubber wood(complete turn offs for me) when something like this comes along I can't help myself. I for one, like the traditional Cuban Vergara look like these have. Anything along this line, Junior, SOS,Matthew, Ismael and PanCon Queso I consider a quality instrument and Caribbean craftsmanhip at its best.

Dario

Beatiful Drums, Dario. They seem to be oak, perhaps from rum barrels.
Martin Quiñones straight up old school tumbador with Cortijo y Su Combo and later EGC.

"Encontraron a Don Goyo". Juega Martin!

Wow they are work's of hand made art's! Enjoy them and send more pic's when your finished working on them.

Another lovely find, what do the skins sound like? Isn't it tempting to keep them all as is? I love the rustic look.

Barrie