Isla Bongos

[rhythmrhyme]

Ya, slightly smaller holes for the hooks and rounding the bottom part of the tabs. I have a vision of those corners diggin into your thighs at a gig when you can't stop playing.... ouch!

Let us know how the hooks hold up - the sharp bends make me wonder if they may want to pull straight over time. I also like the isla drums without the bands (like this bongo), especially when the joints are tight. I like wood, the rest of the shiny stuff I can do without, especially on cut stave conga where other than the bottom one the bands are just for show.

[OLSONGO]

Sorry to say, folks at Isla have no knowledge of aesthetics , Industrial design ...nor ergonomics. Why do I say that ? because that was my mayor in College.

[bongosnotbombs]

Sorry to say, folks at Isla have no knowledge of aesthetics , Industrial design ...nor ergonomics. Why do I say that ? because that was my mayor in College.

You were a mayor in college?

[Bongobilly]

Like the bongo's. How did you do the kevlar head's?

[b0ng0]

Sorry to say, folks at Isla have no knowledge of aesthetics , Industrial design ...nor ergonomics. Why do I say that ? because that was my mayor in College.

You were a mayor in college?

I'm sure he meant major, we all make mistakes...give him a break

[bongosnotbombs]

Sorry to say, folks at Isla have no knowledge of aesthetics , Industrial design ...nor ergonomics. Why do I say that ? because that was my mayor in College.

You were a mayor in college?

I'm sure he meant major, we all make mistakes...give him a break

No way!..........and learn to take a joke.

[KING CONGA]

Those look very nice, design, hardware, and that wood, Wow. Certainly a set I would consider.
I have one question though...how is his customer service? As far as actual communication with customers? When I ordered my SOS whenever I had a question I could call Jay and I would always get in contact with him, he would then answer whatever question I had. I just think that this is vitally important in a business and I can tell you that I would not do business with someone that I could not communicate with.
Thanks K.C.

[Bongobilly]

I sean the rosewood bongos on E-Bay with his U.S. address on it. Knowing that he's not in the U.S and his rep on this forum stop's me from bidding. They do look nice! Are there tight seam's on the wood or can you see the glue line?

[Mr. Conga]

Most of the time when Mario has stuff on ebay, is because the drum it's in California, somewhere close in LA, close to where he use to live, and whats ood is that sometimes you can pick it up in person, he had a friend, in california that he would ship the drums to then post them on ebay and they were finish and ready to ship or picked up by the winner.
However since your hesitant i do very stongly sudjest you ask for extra detail pictures sent to your email,if you decide you wanna bid.
I have found out that is the best way to buy from isla when they have stuff posted on ebay, because of the seller commitment to ship by ebay polacies. They have had some very great drums on ebay. Altough some that weren't high grade ones. But also some rare sets that i recomended some old friends to bid on, when he started his new hardware....some really nice stuff he has put up on ebay for the most part...

Finished and ready to be shiped, and you see the finish product, although mst of the times the pictures arent detail enough.But i have found he posted great drums, for great prices, And you are garanteed the product to be shiped, when you pay, no husle, delays or drama.

Might be the best way for Isla admireders to purchase trough his ebay account, to avoois possible money issues, with the pay and wait a year issue, or the i pay and get nothing sent dilema, no product, no response drama, can be a thing of the past. If he only sells trough ebay which give more of a warranty to buyer's , gives them more security, confidence in getting a good product.
Trough ebay which is overseen by a third ruling party in case of any issues.

I recomend those who want he Isla drums fast and shiped waranty to go the ebay route if you have been holding away from Isla because of the bad press you read here, or bad recomendations you may have heard.

Ebay is a real positive route Mario can get his company back on good track, gain the confidence of the people once again, and build a good feedback there.

[pcastag]

The address on the auctions is Vallejo Ca. which is north of San Fan. With the price of shipping and the estimated arrival I'd bet these are stil in Belize, unless they are just really slow at shipping. Agreed about he protection though, pay with paypal and if you don't get them or things aren't right no problem getting a refund.
PC

[rhythmrhyme]

The address on the auctions is Vallejo Ca. which is north of San Fan. With the price of shipping and the estimated arrival I'd bet these are stil in Belize, unless they are just really slow at shipping. Agreed about he protection though, pay with paypal and if you don't get them or things aren't right no problem getting a refund.
PC

I second this comment, Isla needs some form of guarantee for both delivery and product quality. Perhaps E-Bay and PayPal is the way to do this...

[b0ng0]

Don't wanna offend anyone with my comment, because everyone has their own taste in percussion, but I think the rosewood bongó looks like a volcano bongo just wit stainless steel odd shaped hardware, however the ziricote wood is nicer, similar to the Guayacan wood Hector Rocha uses on the El Piernas bongos..

[tysondrumz]

I purchased a pair of the zircote bongos from Mario last year. They are amazing sounding drums! He is the best at pairing skins..You need to be patient when ordering hand made drums from Mario.He can only be contacted by computer,so if he isn't at his computer at the time you call you won't reach him.He will eventually get back to you.It is a slow process. All hand made drums take time. Expect to wait around 4 to 6 months. Matt Smith drums,if you can even get a hold of him,can take up to 3 years to get.From what I've heard.

[tysondrumz]

Isla bongos are wayyyyyyy!!!!! better than Valcano. Valcano finishes the inside of their drums so they are super ringy. the Islas are amazing sounding drums.

[conganalu]

I don't know if any of you guys remember. If my memory serves me right, it was around January of this year that Mario put up two of his Isla bongos on ebay,the rosewood and the ziricote. Well, I won the ziricote and I received it in four days. When I opened the box, I noticed that something was not right . The macho and the hembra was split to where they were connected to the center block Needless to say, the post office must have dropped the box But even with the split, my curiosity took over me and I tuned it just to hear how it would sound. It sounds good even with the split stave. So what more if the bongo was not damaged? It must have really sounded good (this is just my personal opinion). I called Mario and he told me to ship the drum back he refunded my money right away. I wouldn't hesitate to add one to my collection if he had one available.