Onile !! - Matthew Smith tubs

[Tonio]

Onile, did you get the Matthew Smith tubs yet?

Any one else have a set?

T

[Omelenko]

Here is a tumba I had made (mahogany), Matthew did the Junior Tirado sideplate, which is very similar but sturdier that the original Cuban Gonzalo Vergara. Matthew,upon request, can make these sideplates,which look very Cubanin design.
Jicamo sabroso! Dario

Attachment: http://mycongaplace.com/forum/eng/uploa ... atthew.jpg

[onile]

Alafia Abures!
I hope that you are all well and in an abundance of blessings!

Chacho! I'm like a teenage girl on prom night waiting for my set of "Ritmo" drums.
I spoke with Matthew this past Saturday and he said things are going well except with the chrome element. He said that there is a lag in getting the process completed, but he has the drums ready and I should give him a call around the begining of July or so!

I have on order a 13 3/4", a 13 1/2", a 12 3/4", and an 11 3/4" hell, it's been awhile since I ordered them, I might be off on some of them by a quarter inch at best!

I can hardly wait to get them though. I've been using my "Islas" for almost everything that I do. Suenan cabrones mi pana! They sound incredible and from what Mario tells me, they're just now breaking in!

I'll post some pics once the "Ritmo's" arrive however, plenty of pics....!

Many blessings Abures!

Onile!

[Tonio]

Hola Onile ! July?? how long will this take 3 months?
Definately Cuban in design, reminds me of the SOS.
Matthew is just tel order only?

Thank you for the pic Omelenko.

EDIT:: how much are these tubs costing??

T



Edited By Tonio on 1181696307

[109-1176549166]

Here is a tumba I had made (mahogany), Matthew did the Junior Tirado sideplate, which is very similar but sturdier that the original Cuban Gonzalo Vergara. Matthew,upon request, can make these sideplates,which look very Cubanin design.
Jicamo sabroso! Dario

Dario,

That's a really gorgeous-looking tub! Very Cuban-looking.

I can't help but notice, though, how close the top edge of the rim is to the playing surface. Of all the boutique conga/bongo makers Matthew Smith's rims seem to be closest to the playing surface.

I guess hurting one's hands is far from possible with his congas/bongos if one's fundamentals are correct.

Pardon my ignorance but does anyone know if Matthew Smith is/was a conguero/bongocero himself?

[KKonga]

Hi all----I can't seem to find a site for Matthew Smith -- Ritmo -- How do you contact this extraordinary drum maker?
Any info would be great.
Thanks----KK

[109-1176549166]

I've been using my "Islas" for almost everything that I do. Suenan cabrones mi pana! They sound incredible and from what Mario tells me, they're just now breaking in!

I'll post some pics once the "Ritmo's" arrive however, plenty of pics....!

Many blessings Abures!

Onile!

Onile,

Mario Punchard of Isla Percussions called me early this evening and told me that my Islas quinto, conga and tumba are finally finished. They're Matanzas model like yours.

He plans to ship them tomorrow. I requested him to take pictures of my "babies" before he does so and to email them to me.

I told Mario that I'm like an anxious first-time daddy-to-be who can't wait to see his "babies" for the first time. It's been over 2 months of waiting already!

I realize that this is not as bad as what people had to wait for with other boutique conga makers. And I'm not complaining.

The color I specified is "wine" stain, like Merlot. He describes the actual color as being like "pearl red". He said that I would absolutely love the color.

Mario knows that one of my car's (a 1999 Porshe Boxster) color is "orient red", a metallic color.

I teased Mario by telling him that I suspected that my Islas were finished weeks ago already and that the real reason for my extended waiting period is because he wanted to keep my tubs for himself. Mario just laughed!

Reading again your praises for the Islas only makes me even more anxious. I hope I can sleep tonight. ???

Do post pictures of your Ritmos once you get them. You are very blessed, my brother!

[109-1176549166]

It's been over 2 months of waiting already!

Oops, my bad! In fairness to Mario, I meant to say, "over 1 month of waiting already!"

[onile]

Hi all----I can't seem to find a site for Matthew Smith -- Ritmo -- How do you contact this extraordinary drum maker?
Any info would be great.
Thanks----KK

Alafia Abures!
Here is the contact info for Matthew Smith which Abure Dario posted some time back:

MATTHEW SMITH-RITMO DRUMS
1515 BIRCH LANE
PERKASIE,PENN. 18944
USA. (215) 795-2267

Aside from making congas,bongos,batas,tamboras,snare drums and now timbales.Matthew makes excellent repairs to existing congas and other drums.He refurbished an old Junior tumba I have from the late 60's.He duplicated Junior side plates and actually made them much stronger.
Matthew is a young guy,in his 30's and loves his work.He also makes very highend custom furniture and uses a variety of woods,even the most exotic hard to find woods.
The ones below are made of walnut,in person they have a dark chocolate color with lighter streaks in some areas,incredebly beautiful and built to last a lifetime.
Folks,I don't get commissions from the man,but now that Junior is gone and Jay is semi retired,he is the alternative and his hardware is superior. Moforibale al tambo'. Dario



Edited By onile on 1181752183

Attachment: http://mycongaplace.com/forum/eng/uploa ... h_Info.jpg

[onile]

Ooops! I wound up posting the same thing twice, okay I fixed it. Abure Tonio, as for the prices of the Ritmo congas, well they may vary, but mine ran about $750 ea.

I always go for the fatter drums (13" or larger) and therefore that may have an additional cost for more material. Either way I'm sure that I'll be more than happy with 'em once they arrive! I will be calling him next month (July) to see when they'll be shipped!


Suave!



Edited By onile on 1181752503

[Tonio]

LOL Onile, it takes a double post to relay the great info Gracias.

They are beautiful tubs!!

I remember when Jay had a 6 month or longer waiting time when he was still actively creating his great tubs.

I don't know if I can wait for you to get them in and compare w/ the Isla's

T

[Tonio]

Here is a tumba I had made (mahogany), Matthew did the Junior Tirado sideplate, which is very similar but sturdier that the original Cuban Gonzalo Vergara. Matthew,upon request, can make these sideplates,which look very Cubanin design.
Jicamo sabroso! Dario

Dario,

That's a really gorgeous-looking tub! Very Cuban-looking.

I can't help but notice, though, how close the top edge of the rim is to the playing surface. Of all the boutique conga/bongo makers Matthew Smith's rims seem to be closest to the playing surface.

I guess hurting one's hands is far from possible with his congas/bongos if one's fundamentals are correct.

Pardon my ignorance but does anyone know if Matthew Smith is/was a conguero/bongocero himself?

Hola Omelenko
Yes they are close to the playing surface. Also notice that the lug is already half way used. One thing about traditional tub is that the skin is very close to the shell vs mass produced tubs. I beleive that is a character for a good tone and less ringy. Thus my quest !!
With these traditional tub you don't need to crank it too much and worry about running out of lug threads like old Gon Bops. They just mount them too low to start.

BTW, how are the esoteric makers shipping? UPS? how good are the boxes? I get paranoid about shipping tubs
and the couriers throwing the drum around :angry:

T



Edited By Tonio on 1181754162

[onile]

Just a comment on the crowns being close to the playing surface;

Every drum that I buy usually has the crown anywhere between an inch to two inches below the playing surface: I assume that this is for the players percieved comfort level, however I always remount my heads. I either change them up to "Michel's (Moperc) cowhide, always great skins, or in the case of my initial two "Isla" congas I just recut the skins to bring the crown up about 1/4" from the playing surface. I did change up with tuning rods however, and added the LP Bumper guards which I took from my Palladiums. Even my Gon Bops came with the crown 1 to 2"s from the playing surface and I adjusted them to my liking!

I would imagine that for some it would require a slight adjustment to their playing technique, I'm not sure, but I don't have a problem with them being that close to the surface!

Suave!

Onile!



Edited By onile on 1181757806

[Omelenko]

I agree with Onile, I like the skin about 1/4 to 1/2 " from the crown. The way the Matthews, Juniors, Skin on Skin sound, you don't have to crank them up that much. Matthew uses quality hides, also if you got your "tumbao" down packed your hands should not be hurting that much, granted after 3 sets they are going to hurt no matter what. The Cuban sideplate option that Matthew provides (Junior Tirado style) is welded and reinforced at the bottom, so they are not going anywhere no matter how much you tune them. That Cuban Vergara looking sideplate makes the conga look very traditional, I hate the LP arrowheads, the gold platted hardware and comfort curves. Give me that Cuban look !
Saludos, Dario

[onile]

Alafia Familia!
Como estan las cosas contigo Omelenko?

I have to add this to my reference of my Islas; when I told this preference to Mario, he explained that he originally had mounted the skins that low to minimize any ringing that might happen, however that upon request, one could have the sideplates and all of the hardware for the skin mounted slightly higher to allow for the crown to be closer to the playing surface. In fact, when I got my third tumbadora surprisingly he had done just that. The crown was like the pic of Matthew Smith's conga posted here!

I must say once again that Mario is EXCELLENT at what he does and is extremely accomodating to his customers every whim! Vaya!

Suave