Moperc Tropical series bongo review

[b0ng0]

saludos bongoceros,

just wanted to share the first review of my recent purchase, the bongo arrived last friday and all iv'e done is play it, everything from Salsa, bachata, bolero, etc..

First off, wow i opened the box and noticed this bad boy is well built, beautiful finish, solid hardware, its not really that heavy (similar to a LP matador). The skin quality is fantastic, and they came with a manteca look to them.

Here's my honest opinion about the sound, i had heard & read that Moperc Bongos project and are loud, this is true, however i sound tested them and they are as loud as my LP matadors with remo heads, The Difference is the sound of the MOpercs, they have the authentic old school sound, crisp macho & a boomy mellow hembra (and they still need to break in). The remo heads sound like what they are, Plastic (but they do the job). I have only used the Moperc's in band rehearsal and they were projecting really well despite the fact that i wasn't using a Microphone.

Overall the Mopercs are a great instrument and they are worth it if u want to invest in a Top of the line bongo, like caballoballo says "invest wise, so you don't invest twice". These Mopercs will be around for a long time and i'm sure with time theyre going to sound even better, I hope this review helps anyone looking to invest in Moperc.

[caballoballo]

Alright B0ngo, you have purchase a top of the line Bongó which will last an eternity. May you be able to pass it to your grand sons whenever they come by. Give those skins some time to cure and you should notice a very distinct own sound out of that Bongó. A little manteca de corojo on those skins if necessary and you should be good to go. Post some pictures next you update your review.

[Anonimo]

POST REMOVED BY THE AUTHOR

[b0ng0]

caballo:cierto k si suenan cheveres ahorita, y me da gusto en saber que va a sonar mejor con el tiempo...

Cuco: en espanol para k me entienda bien, la comparasion de los Mopercs a los LPs no era comparasion de madera ni herraje ni nada por el estilo, la comparasion fue EL VOLUMEN de los cueros. Todos sabemos que Remo heads en cualquier bongo le da proyeccion, entonces lo que digo es que los Mopercs siendo cueros naturales tienen igual de proyeccion que un bongo LP con Remo heads.

[b0ng0]

alright let me dumb it down for you a bit, la comparasion del Moperc y LP fue para demostrar la calidad de cueros y calidad de bongo que es Moperc. Ademas Los cueros de Moperc no son chivo, son vaca de Canada, yo tuve montado cuero de chivo en un bongo LP y no sonaba tan bien como el Moperc. Ademas tuve Cuero de "JCR" y sonaba fatal y no proyectaba nada, entonces no se como le hace Michel de Moperc para que sus Cueros suenen bien, pero los Moperc estan cabrones y no son chivo.

[pcastag]

Cuco. a comparar un Moperc a un LP es como comparar un Moet y Chandon con Korbel. La verdad es que no hay comparacion. Moperc es un tipo de calidad bien alto como un SOS o un Ritmo, differente de verdad, pero la calidad es lo mismo. La unica diferencia de mi punto de vista (aparte que Moperc no tiene Alma) es que Moperc tiene un sonido mas moderno y brilla que los de jay o Matt. Pero a comparar Moperc con LP es para mi un falta de respecto a Michel, Moperc es un tambor hecho a mano , no de producion como LP.

[pcastag]

[quote="leedy2
pcastag
Do you read and understand before you respond ? bongo is comparing Moperc to sound of a Matador and my response to him is that if he is going to compare compare to the LP not to the Matador. I own all 4 sets mentioned as every one know I have tons of crap. LP,Moperc .SOS and Matthew all start by hand That Lp has mula to spend and after they are assembled by hand the go to machine to sand, painting and cutting. Also all the hardware is all mounted by hand this dose not make it worse than others. It' is just as good and maybe better. The Key is knowing how to play them, here in conga place it has become a who has what and who has the best. To me Moperc , SOS , Matthews and LP are top quality bongos. That moperc does not have the finances that LP has does not make him king of mountain and I do not have to respect Michel, that he make a good bongo yes, But I have seen bongos made by machines that are better than Moperc, not because they are made by hand make them good. This why color were made, you have the right to choose what you like when you have the money. Look at Valje drums one of the best out there has any one give recognition to that company for making bongo LP tried to steal Raphy's thunder and now LP Valje discontinued no longer made but made a copy of it Johnny Rodiguez model.
[/quote]

Yes I read and I understand. The OP said he was comparing the projection of his mopercs with natural skin to those of his matadors with plastic skin. We all know that plastic is much louder and brighter, so I think the jist of his post was that the volume and sound he could get out of his mopercs with natural skin was equal to a pair of bongos with plastic. you said they aren't equal to Matadors, but that they are equal to LP's. I said that they are not equal, that mopercs are handcrafted and better made AND sound better. I stand by theat statement. I agree that LP makes nice bongos, but I really don't think the quality is equal, I've got some nice old siam LP's, old mahogany LP's, pplayed on lots of nice giovanni's classics etc. I like the old made in USA stuff, unique sounding, but the thailand stuff to me althpugh good solid quality is nothing special. Moperc is definitely something special, I've been playing in his stuff for a long time, they are top notch, not to mention a solid stave drum is going tosound different than a ply drum, just like an old solid shell radio king is going to sound different than a ply snare. And you're right , you don't have to respect ANYBODY, but you sure do go areound telling everyone how much they should respect you.

[caballoballo]

Why does it always have to end in a big argument ? Cuco kool down before you get a heart attack ,tomate tres de café y dos de azucar ,when E F Hutton talk some people may listen, others will not care: I own a Moperc Bongó since 2006 and have the same skins since the old ones were change to a thick Cow on the Hembra ( installed by timbas del Valle, no trick ) and another thinner cow on the macho which I mounted. The sound is loud,precise and clean old school specially the Martillo. Everywhere I play them been rehearsal or a gig I get good compliment about his sound and specially the yellow color with the black flat hardware. It is a Bongó that stand out of the rest. Just by looking at the shells you know it is a beautiful made superior sounding instrument. They are in the same league as others high end made by other artisans or may be in the league of his own. Also it is made cilindrical which project better than the conical type.

I agreed with Pcastag who said that Moperc is a higher end instrument than LP, I have played the gen II and the Giovanys,both have a terrible sharp angle cut bearing edge comparable with an iron pot and do not really have a true authentic sound nor they sound or project better. The Dandy which is the best Lp out there have a flat bearing edge and that big 9" hembra tends to ring even with a thick skin( I got rid of mine ).I owned an LP Valje once and no way you can compare that sound to Mopercs.

One more thing, skins are a rollercoaster, I mean regardless of from what animal they come from.Some times you get a good one with solid projection,tone, ect and sometime one with about the same charasteristics will sound dull no matter what you do. Down here all we get is cow and that is what I use.

B0ng0, enjoy, play and be happy with your Moperc.

[b0ng0]

Update: the bongó continues to sound better as time passes however I'm not satisfied with the overall look, so I have decided to strip it & give it a new finish... I'm going to have the hardware chromed, because even tho its very good hardware, I'm just not feeling the stainless steel look. I'm going for a dark red mahogany finish, and to add sort of a "tribute" to the cuban legends Mongo Santamaria & Gonzalo Vergara, I'm going to the 2 black stripes going thru the shells.. inspired by mongo/vergara 's bongó now owned by dario rosendo (omelenko1)...

I will post pictures when it is complete...

[salcero1]

bOngO,
Saludos y buen dia. I opted for that color scheme you have mentioned with the exception of the black band in the middle. As you can see by these photos I came close to that idea but had the 2 cut grooves in the middle darkened with a black shadow-like tint. Michel had some Dejembes painted this way on his website and I immediately fell in love with that color scheme and had them custom painted for an additional charge. Although chrome would really make them pop I'm OK with the hardware as is. They're an impressive set and if I ever needed to chrome them I would ask Matthew Smith to handle that order for me since he's so close to my locality here in the East Coast. I'll, as well as most members, will be looking out to see your finished drums once completed. Adios & Peace.

Jorge.

[b0ng0]

Saludos jorge, yes your moperc is a beautiful one of a kind piece with that custom color job. I will be buying the materials to for staining this week, I will email you pix of the shells once they're done.. the hardware chroming will probably take the longest, muchas gracias a KING CONGA for giving me the chromer information....saludos a todos

[b0ng0]

UPDATE: the shells have been stained, and I've matched the dark red Caoba color to the best of my abilities, I will be staining the 2 black stripes later this weekend. Don't want to post photos yet, until the product is finished, the next update will be when I receive the hardware back from the chromer. Photos will come soon.

[b0ng0]

Recent UPDATE: the shells look beautiful, atleast in my opnion they do,the color came out very similar to the red caoba that Vergara made mongo's bongó with, the black stripes give it the classy touch...now as for the hardware, this is where things get a little disheartening for me, due to Mopercs hardware being stainless steel, once company told me they can't chrome plate & it has something to do with magnetics..? Anyways I have one more local plater I can get a quote from, the owner said he HAS TO SEE IT IN PERSON to give an honest opinion about it. If the hardware doesn't get chromed my "makeover" project will really lose a lot of style, but in the end what can you do huh...stay tuned...

[caballoballo]

Bong0, stainless steel can be polish to a mirror shine,will look just like chrome. That is what Timbas Del Valle does with his hardware. Just look on the web for the how to. Youtube have various videos on that process. I painted my Moperc Hardaware on flat black a long time ago to making look more callejero.

[Omelenko1]

Lucen tremendos esos Timbas Del Valle. Encojonaos. Parecen Timbas Ismael.