congaplace.com

Did not know where to put these so I put posted these on this site........I think they are awesome
Any comments?

Those are legendary Gon Bops.
As far as I can remember Guem from Algeria played those in the 1980s,
but I am notto sure about that.
Are the ones in the picture yours?

They look like compact congas once made by Gon Bop.
A teacher I studied with around 15 years ago had a a pair of these, they were great to play and had really nice skins. He sold them and later he really regretted selling them. They're pretty hard to find.
As a side note I was in Indonesia recently and met a guy playing in a Latin band that made a pair of compact congas (see photo) in the same style. An innovative solution! and great for easy transport and set up. I sat in with them on a few numbers and they sounded fine.
cheers
pavlo

They're called gongas:

"Mariano is also known for inventing several features and improvements that have forever changed traditional Latin instruments. ... Some of his other inventions were the Gonga drum, a compact set of congas with a stand, which was one third the size of a regular congas and utilized a collapsible resonator to enable a full sound. Gongas were easier to transport and more compact, so they quickly became a favorite of many local working musicians. In addition, they could be combined with a drumset or used for field marching bands."

http://www.gonbops.com/about.asps

Gon Bops is making them again - you can buy new ones. Probably not the same sound as the old ones but -------

right!

i've got one set of the old models.
the new ones has diameter 10 and 11 inches.it doesn't sound so good.

these drums(old or new models) are not sounding exactly like a real conga.they are good to go to rehearsals or if you've got a gig playing the set (timbales and congas together).

what i did to get a better sound:i'have changed the rims for two lp confort curve.
i've put 2 skins remo fiberskin 3.
i'm tuning the conga in C and the tumba in F.
now it's almost a real sound.

if you tune highter,they sounds badly.










the two drums(old models) got the same diameter of 11 inches.

buy,fred el pulpo

on the picture,it seems that the guy has make copies by cutting 2 lp aspire congas.

why not?that's easier than finding original models for a very expensive price....

saludos,fred el pulpo

el pulpo has observant eyes ..they do look to de aspires . Pavlo can you confirm. Im sure the GB`s sound good . but WTF . why not just use the real deal ?