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First . What is your take? I mean you owned vintage sets and I am pretty sure you have played all kind of timbales. What is your perspective?

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leedy2 wrote:How many of you own a vintage set ? what brand ?
Do you have calf heads or plastic head ? And why you like that sound and use type of head?

Starting your survey, I own a 1980s Brass timbales set by Afro, the company that was then
located in the Netherlands. The instrument has a rather dry, very distinctive cascara sound
and I have played it with Remo skins only, and the sticks sound there is simply what I like,
very controllable, not overly loud, but still very powerful.

Faustino,

I do not own any vintage timbale like yours. I own LP, Tycoon and Afro timbales. I have a newer LP 14"/15" stainless steel and that thing is real loud. I also have a Tycoon 13"/14" and a Afro Elite 14"/15" both in brass, to me brass sound is mellower than stainless steel. Also own a set of LP stainless steel timbalitos which in my opinion sound better when play with thicker sticks. I have replaced the factory heads and I need to double check but I think I have Remo ambassadors (batter) on some of them. I prefer the brass Tycoon 13"/14" get me the sound I like and is the set I have set-up to practice on right now.

In addition, I once had LP´s brass Timbalitos which were very nice instruments.
But unfortunately I did not play them enough in the end, and so they went.
El Rey used Timbalitos in a four-drum setup often, but I reckon those mambo days
are over. Surely Tito Puente´s legacy is still there though.

Tarolas? Dont know anything from first-hand experience, so I cannot tell much there.

All in all I must say I do not care about shiny new timbales sets,
and my vintage Afro model is really giving me everything I ever felt I needed.

Now I hope I fulfilled my duties as a poster here

Besides Tito Puente and Manny Oquendo I did not see too many people playing multiple timbales at the same time in regular bases specially the largest one (timbalon) and the smallest one (timbalitos). Talking about Manny Oquendo if I am not mistaken he did not use cymbals at all in those classic La Perfecta recordings in the 1960's and still he swung like nobody business specially on them NYC mozambique style tunes. Bomboncito De Pozo!

I dont mind the sound of current 'mass produced' timbales. Tuned nicely, there should be no issue with top of the range LP.

Here are 3 clips of my timbalero playing on Thundertimbs, and 2 diff. standard LP models.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OXyCekHoQo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruh2xJuKhJA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLds7kK9Lco

With another band I freelance with, the timbalero has a set of 1980's fabricated JCRs, those sound fantastic. Best sounding timbales Ive heard in person.
I cant say I like the sound of Tarola's in context to todays modern Salsa/Timba/Latin Jazz etc just does not cut through.

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In my opinion the "King of the Timbalitos" was none other than Matro Muñoz, "Papaito". Papaito played timbalitos with "Sonora Matancera" for many years, he executed bongo' techniques (martillo y contra tiempos) on the timbalitos. Papaito was not only a true master on the timbalitos or pailitas, he was an incredible bongocero and quinto player as well. Mongo told me that Papaito used to sub for him on bongo' back in La Habana around the mid to late 40's. Another master of the timbalitos is Orestes Vilato, there is a recording with Orquesta Batachanga, a John Santos group from the West Coast, where Orestes plays timbalitos and takes the best timbalito solo ever recorded. Aside from timbalitos, I think Orestes is the best timbalero and an exceptional world class bongocero.
Photo of Mario Muñoz "Papaito" (El Rey De La Paila).

Dario

Speaking of Papaito, this is a true story. In the early 80's my aunt came to visit my family from Cuba. I went to Miami airport to pick her up with my wife at the time. After about an hour I find out the flight had been cancelled until the next day. As I'm leaving the airport ramp with my wife in the car, I spot this black portly gentleman with like a bongo' case standing outside in the taxi area, as I look closely I see is Papaito. I pulled up, tell my wife to go to the back seat, and yelled out "maestro montese". Papito in confusion approched the car, I opened the door and told him that I would drive him to his destination. He was going to the Dupont Plaza Hotel, where he was staying with Sonora Matancera, he had just arrived from New York to join La Sonora who was playing the next day at Calle 8 Carnival. Papaito insisted to ride in the back seat, but I told him no, let the wife be "usted y yo maestro, vamos a guarachar aqui alante". I took him to the hotel, on the way there I started singing a guaguanco he had sang in one of Mongo's records "La Tortilla Se A Vuelto Pan De Maiz", Papaito couldn't believe it, he had tears in his eyes. He said "how in the hell do you know that obscure rumba"!

Mario Muñoz, Papaito, an unsung hero in Latin music. Incredible percussionist, king of the timbalitos, and on of the best Cuban soneros I have ever heard.

Dario

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Papaito joined La Sonora around 1961. I know about Jimagua and Manteca, but in NYC Papaito was the timbalitos ambassador, he would play martillo and bongo' patterns on the timbalitos. Later on, La Dimension Latina out of Venezuela, folllow along the line of Papaito and La Sonora and had a fairly good timbalitos player. At the time Oscar D' Leon was the bassist and lead singer for La Dimension.

Dario

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