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Hi Bongoceros,
For those of you that own or have owned,LP Palisades and LP Garfield,are there differences in sound quality,and overall built quality ( walnut or mahogany)? Also I believe Garfield came after Palisades park,am I right on that?
As usual thank you for sharing the knowledge,and good sunday.J6.

I believe that some time around 1980 LP closed the Palisades Park operation and moved all production to Thailand. Garfield was warehouses and administration offices only. Some bells and toys may have continued to be made in NJ for a while - no drums.

Wood bongos made in PP were mainly good quality staves of mahogany, some in walnut, about 100 in zebrawood, and a few very limited experiments with different woods and other materials.

Most of the wood bongos made in Thailand, with the Garfield label, LP Gen II & III, were made of plywood from rubber trees. The Valje series were made of beechwood and cherrywood, the Gio series were first oak and then ash.

Quality on all the LP bongos was and is good. The size and shape of the heads was the same. Sound difference is more a function of different skins than woods.

Thanks for the clarification P1.I bought a P.P.bongo not too long ago,with nice skins,and I thought it was mahogany,but I now think it is actually walnut,and I like the confort and sound a lot.So I decided to find another P.P.but mahogany,and I found 1 in very good shape with original skins but the metal tag says "Garfield" on it looks exactly like the P.P.one,and is definitely solid mahogany staves....
Do u think it was a P.P.one on which they just affixed a Garfield tag ? Thanks,I got to stop buying bongos,and start selling some,I think I have bongomania! Is that curable? J6.

Well, whenever Martin/LP made a major move it wasn't stop-start. There was always a transition phase. I once had an early PP walnut bongo with Maywood LP kip skins. So, I quess your mahogany stave Garfield is possible.

Regarding "Bongomania" or more properly BAS "Bongo Acquisition Syndrone" , sorry, there is no cure.

I have a very early 1967 PP Zebra wood LP bongo' with original LP Cuban issued bottoms. Very, very rare. It looks as good today as the day it was made 48 years ago. Here sunbathing in my backyard.

I also have a 1964 Maywood, NJ. label bongo' According to M. Cohen among the first ones made at his basement in Maywood. I really love this bongo', as is very light and packs a powerful sound. I currently have JCR skins on it.