LP/PP 1970 "Foam" Bongo

[Psych1]

Not too many of these were made. And, of those made, most did not survive. Made in a mold out of an experimental high-tech foam. They look and feel like a solid-shell wooden drum. They sound very much like a wood bongo too, not at all like fiberglass that came later. But, if hit hard, or dropped on a hard surface, they can break apart or crack, and are hard to repair. This one is much stronger than most of the others.

[Mike]

Very interesting, I have never heard of these.
Are they from Palisades Park times?

[PowerSemantic]

I remember being outbid for this bongo a year or three back on ebay. The seller was nice enough to send lots of pictures.

Its nice to see this again, psych1! How's the sound compare to the rest of your arsenal? Are the bottoms LP, or custom made?

Thanks for posting.

Adam

[Psych1]

Yes. Same ones, Ebay a few years back. But, the former owner is an active member here & there are some other pics in the archives. P-Park, all original except for the heads.

I had never seen another so I wrote to Martin Cohen and asked him about it. He wrote back and told me it was an experiment. They tried a lot of things in those days including making a few solid-shells. I'd love to come across one of those.

To my ears, most LP wood bongos that size and shape sound pretty much the same. This is the only bongo I have with a horse-hide macho and that does sound a bit different. To my ears, my Ismaels and El Piernas have a "bigger" sound and an SOS cherrywood, that I play a lot lately, has a "warmer" sound, and my small Requena has a "tighter" sound. But ????

[Omelenko1]

Had one of those about 25 years ago.