Buying new bongos - any suggestions?

[Simon B]

I've had Meinl Headliner for two years - never did like the sound, far too tinny, whatever the tuning. The heads need replacing but this costs nearly as much as a new set. So I want to upgrade to a really nice set - a 'professional' model. What do people recommend?

Nb. Someone I used to know had a wooden set of bongos given to him by a Chilean: slightly smaller than usual, three lugs not four, and really thick smooth skins - awesome sound. Macho had fantastic attack, hembra was really warm and throaty despite the smaller size. They were unmarked. Does this sound like a manutfacturer anyone knows?

Simon B

[Mike]

I have no clue as to the Cilean bongos, but I believe you didn´t get the kick from the Headliners anymore.
I own a pair of Afro Elite, very heavy in weight, but the sound is also also heavy, i.e. deep. They are of slightly larger size than usual, at least the hembra (appr. 9"). All in all, they were worth the price (120,-€), although they lack the crisp popping I always hear on recordings. On the other hand, they also fit "non-Cuban" contexts such as pop or Arabic drumming (if I crank up the macho to a maximum..)
Enough confused?

[JohnnyConga]

Hi Mike ..I too have a pair of Pearl Elite bongos and the hembra is 9 inches,with a mule skin(very thick) and on the macho I have a "Nuskyn" bongo head on it. Very close to the X-ray look and sound. So i do get that crisp crackling sound on the macho and the low dry tone for the hembra. I was given the set before i left Miami by Dario Rosendo my buddy. I do recommend the "Nuskyn" for the bongos. I also was given recently a set of Meinls bongos...uh huh don't work for me,too thin of a sound. At your Service...JC JOHNNY CONGA..

[120decibels]

I picked up a pair of older Meinl "Live Sound" series bongos. I don't see them on thier web site, so I assume that they don't make them anymore. I have replaced the heads with LP bongo heads (the ones that are designed for the Generation II bongos) and they sound great. I've played them next to someone playing a set of Generation II's and couldn't hear a significant difference in sound quality.

I have been searching for a bit of x-ray film to make a macho head out of. Perhaps I'll try the REMO NuSkyn. I don't like the feel of it for conga heads, but it might be good for a macho.

In my opinion, the LP Generation II's (in wood) are the best out there currently. They are pricey at over $170.

Good Luck.

Zach

[Simon B]

Is it relatively straight-forward buying skins from a different manufacturer and putting them on, e.g. with the Remo NuSkyn - I mean are the dimensions generally the same?

Simon B

[120decibels]

Simon,

It really depends on the drum. I got lucky, in that my Meinl bongos are the same size as the Generation II's. However, the first time I got a premounted replacement head, it didn't fit well and I could not play comfortably. What I've done is drug the drums into the store to try on the head. The staff might not let you torque the head to playing tension, but you can at least get an idea of the fit.

I've read in this forum about folks wetting heads to get them to fit. I've never tried this.

I hope this helps,

Zach

[Simon B]

Went to a salsa/merengue gig last night - bongosero was using Raul bongos (Raul are a Brazilian make I'm told) - sounded incredible. Macho had that beautiful high attack, hembra rocketed through speakers. But a guy in a percussion store once told me that Rauls fall apart pretty quickly! Anyone any experience of them?

Simon B