congaplace.com

bobzline wrote:Jerry, I will be on vacation 'til the weekend of the 20th. I will probably pull the trigger then, if they are still available. Do you have cases for them and where are they? I'm in Miami. bobzline

Bob, you aren't getting it, read the whole thread from the first post and you will see the congas are NOT available, Jerry doesn't own them and that there is some scandal surrounding them.

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Thanks for the heads up.

Well...I just have to throw my opinion in as well. Looks like he had seller's remorse, and backed out of selling them. There is no Honor there at all. It would be like shaking someones hand on a deal and the person does not Honor it. But Honor these days is looked at by different people in different ways, some don't see a problem with doing something like this at all, while others including me see it as a bad thing to do, which lingers in the conscience for a long time. Lose people's trust in you and you lose a priceless thing.

Why should companies that have ripped forum members off or produced instruments of unacceptable quality be publicized by name, while individuals who have dishonest or unscrupulous business practices on this site or elsewhere be allowed to remain completely anonymous by using unidentifiable screen names?

This forum is an ideal place to exert the pressure of the internet on all would be merchants to be honest and straigtforward in their dealings. I think that all merchandising of instruments like posting of links to other online for-sale ads, or discussions of monetary value of instruments should be done in a separate section of the forum, like this INSTRUMENTS FOR SALE section. Everyone who participates in those discussions should have to state and use their complete full and correct name, and provide contact information that is verifiable and discussible if not functioning or correct.

Considering the two are both forum member, it would be great if they could work it out.

I got caught up in the sofrito. The eye candy got me. Sometimes the banter in the forum has to be overlooked, because everyone has an opinion. But the forum does expose the unscrupulous and I'm grateful. I'm obviously looking for some nice congas and I will keep looking.

As I told the buyers, here's what happened. I got the drums and put them on ebay. I decided not to sell the drums mid way in the auction. Yes, I changed my mind. I tried to cancel the auction but for some reason it would not cancel. I have only had 3 transactions on ebay before and maybe this has something to do with it. Now before you go saying, " a likely story", there is a file and report about this with ebay. I filed one and there is a case number. So, yes..I am blaming ebay for this problem. I am sure I am not the only one out there that has had a problem with ebay.
Anyway, I was not too worried because there were no bid's on the drums. ebay told me "they would take care of it" when I called them on the phone. But they did not.
In the last minute or so, someone bid on the drums. As soon as the auction finished, I wrote them a letter through all the possible channels I had explaining the situation. The money was refunded immediately. I apologised .The person said it was not acceptable and started writing me (somewhat) threatening letters trying to pressure me to sell them the drums. As I mentioned, all of this is documented and on record.
Currently, the drums are not for sale and I do not live in the country. So that is my side of the story. If they would check with ebay,(as I suggested), ebay should tell them what happened.

This is a good example to support my contention that everyone doing business here should be forced to use their real complete name and verifiable contact information. Whether this is the first time or the nineteenth time "Mr. Rumba" has had a problem like this with an online deal would make a big difference in how forum members perceive his reliability and veracity. I am in no way singling Mr. Rumba out or saying he is unscrupulous based on this incident; judging from his past posts he seems to be a well respected player and teacher who has contributed much of substance to this forum, and his explanation of this incident is believable. Nevertheless, with the current system if an unscrupulous person wanted to run scams using this forum for promotion, he or she would be free to stop using one name and sign up using another name if a potential buyer reported a problem, and no one would know. I frankly don't see the downside to requiring people to use their real names, other forums do and I have not seen problems from that policy (other than mods having to remind new members to put their real names into the login form).

Obviously I'm reading and getting to know a little more of the players in this particular Fat situation. I appreciate the warning flags, I was vulnerable to a scam even though there was no scam. So I see Jorges' point. I just sold my Timbas Ismael, that I held for forty years, and I'm just looking to replace them. I sure the ebayer who thought he had purchased the Fats was disappointed. But anyway, I'll be looking and careful. Thanks again

As far as sound projection, I'll take Timbas Ismael over Fats anytime.
My opinion. Here are my 40 yrs. old Ismaels.

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I do not have the beautiful birds-eye maple drums, but I do have one maple Fat Conga. Personally, I love the sound and would not sell it for anything. The sound is nice and warm and somewhat soft, but the open tone projects quite well from that fat round belly. I would say the sound is "fat and round". A full sound. Everyone who has heard it has fell in love with it. I have had the drum for 15 years and have had no problem with checking or cracking. However, the LP Galaxy I purchased is cracking again, so I guess I will put more wood glue in the cracks.

could've sworn I saw those fats up for sale again.
PC

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fat-Congas-Mapl ... 7675.l2557

I was right! Here they are, looks like they made their way to Miami somwhow. Interesting.

Fat Congas are no longer in business. Rick sold the company to a couple of gentlemen, but they sold it back to Rick. The only product I know to come out during their time was the conga cajon, which I purchased one, a quinto. As I stated earlier, I love the Fat Conga sound. I never had a problem wrapping my legs around the drum and I'm not a very tall person. I see the otheers' point about the sound not projecting very well, but somehow I always managed to get heard. I have played it in a jazz ensemble, Afro-Cuban ensemble, and Afro-Cuban Jazz ensemble , and some reggae. Peace