Lp Classics vs Kaman Classics II

[OLSONGO]

There seems to be some kind of confusion going around
as to which are the true Lp classics.
Latin Percussion under Martin Cohen was sold to Kaman Music and since then Kaman has come out with a couple of low quality budget drums, just give it an extravagant paint job and it will sell. One of this drums is what they call the classics II , (what a joke.) :p And this is what is fooling some people. You would think that if you where to come out with a drum using the same name, but of a newer generation; it would have offered some updated improvements.

[deadhead]

Played them at guitar center, infact the 2 GCs in my city only carry the Classic II now and no classics. The IIs sounded terrible, and the pait job was anything but desireable. :p I remember when I first saw them last year I thought they were real classics, I thought whoa $599 for 3 classics what a deal! Then I played em, and realized they were nothing like the originals.

[PRDRconguero]

I have the classic II's. When I bought them, I completely understood that they weren't "real" LP's. I am a beginner, and for the price, they work for me. My instructor, who has been playing for over 30 yrs, agrees that they are doing the job.

I plan to upgrade down the road, but these drums serve their purpose. They definitely sound and look better than some other low-end models. Here they are:

[Sakuntu]

I think the Classic II's are great drums. I would even say that they are better if not equal to, the Matador line. They are solid, standard sized and the heads on Classics II's are LP's "hand picked" variety which i believe are better than the matador heads. The price is very good as well. They are extremely affordable. My Buddy got a set and I've played them several times...They sound fine to me...just like pro LP drum should. Unfortunatly he got the fist line that came out only in Red lava finish (barf :p ). I like the new natural finish like in the post above better personally! but over all IMO...they are fine drums.

[caballoballo]

Hand pick Lp Heads Ja Ja ,Same junk ,aka water buffalo . No matter what name they apply to them it is the same dog with a different collar,same bison. For example I bought one lp head for the macho in a hurry for a gig ,what a waste of money ,crank up all the way until the hoop was touching the center block,never got to level I could use it to play. Real Lp Congas are the ones Omelenko posted the other day,made in New Jersey . With so much info about top of the line congas(not mass produce) I do not understand why some people still want to buy them. Do not tell me is a matter of money because you can save,some boutique manufactures like Ritmo Drums only wants half of the money firts and the you can just pay monthly until the product is ready to ship so again don't tell me is a matter of money.



Edited By caballoballo on 1186853858

[OLSONGO]

Yes as a beginner drum , they may do.
But I never understood that , I would want my student to listen to what the true sound of a pro conga is, from the beginning as I want him to strive for that sound.


Paz Olsongo.

[Mike]

Hi Olsongo,

since when has the Kaman-caiman taken over?
I just would like to know, because I have an LP CLassic quinto built in 1997. Was this still the real New Jersey/Martin Cohen stuff? The drum always sounded good to me. - after I had replaced the "hand-picked" by a real handpicked cowhide at least :;):

To add one thing: I´ve read on this forum some time (Well, a couple of years!) ago that the same decrease in quality happened to the former AFRO congas which were then taken over by PEARLand sold as Pearl elite. No offence intended, Raymond I´ve never played the Pearls though, I can only say my "old" Afro conga ROCKS!



Edited By Mike on 1186895636

[OLSONGO]

Mike since the fall of 2002 Kaman took over Lp
Paz Olsongo



Edited By OLSONGO on 1186896573

[congamyk]

I think the Classic II's are great drums. I would even say that they are better if not equal to, the Matador line.

They are OK drums but.....................................

(1) they are not as fat as Matadors and
(2) the newly designed rim they have on them is JUNK.

Why did they use this stupid rim design on the "classic" II's?

Matadors are better drums IMO. Better sound and will probably last longer.
The Matadors COST more... what does THAT tell us?



Edited By congamyk on 1186904135

[Sakuntu]

Congamyk, Aren't the rims on Classic II's the original comfort curve design? Fill me in if I'm missing something.

I can understand why people would be upset by Kaman/LP trying to pass these drums off as "Classics" by incorperating the old name that was synonomous (sp? ??? ) with quality. Maybe thats the problem....having a mid line drum with a pro drum name. Poor marketing. I agree, and the drums aren't as good as original Classics...but for mid line drums I still feel that they are great drums. -even a little better than matadors (Congamyk-we'll have to agree to disagree at this point. :;): )

[Mike]

Mike since the fall of 2002 Kaman took over L

UFF, I got the real McCoy then with my Classic quinto (=way back in 1997) ! Narrow escape :laugh: .... Thanks for the info, Olsongo.

The Matadors COST more...

Perhaps now, but some years ago, the Matadors were cheaper (and I don´t mean less good, congamyk :;):

At least I know now that I paid a very high price in 1997 for an LP "Classic" (840 German marks then), but on the other hand I won´t dump it just because I´ve just been disillusioned here :p On the contrary, I love it!



Edited By Mike on 1186930102

[Mike]

By the way, take a look at those congas. Now you can be sure that they belong to the not-so-well-spoken-of second generation...

[url=http://cgi.ebay.de/latin-percussion_W0QQitemZ260147545110QQihZ016QQcategoryZ96606QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmd

ZViewItem]http://cgi.ebay.de/latin-p....iewItem[/url]

Guess for a beginner they might be just fine!

But I´d rather recommend ONE fine Meinl instead of two others, e.g.
[url=http://cgi.ebay.de/Meinl-Conga_W0QQitemZ130142681556QQihZ003QQcategoryZ96606QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZView
Item]http://cgi.ebay.de/Meinl-C....iewItem[/url]

Just my two....



Edited By Mike on 1186938301

[109-1176549166]

Mike,

Hear, hear on the Meinls! A company with integrity!

[hueroconguero]

this was something i wrote a few weeks ago, but it is relevant to this topic....

I play 3 LP classics (blond wood, gold hardware, natural skin) + 1 LP Matador (same finish) and they have a beautifully warm tone. I had a conga + tumba at first, but when I heard Toca (Kaman) was buying LP, I thought if I wanted "real" LP stuff, I should pull the trigger...I'm glad I did! I don't see that many classics now (except online), the only ones I see in the music stores are "classic II" whatever the hell that means. I bought mine from guitar center , (i think around 2001) in the upper $300- range. I think the LP brand has lost quality over the last few years, even some of the new matadors have plastic/fiberglass hardware instead of the gold/chrome the used to have...cheap!

I don't even buy the LP accessories anymore just because they say "LP". I search for quality gear.

huero

[Omelenko]

Forget about LP Classics or Kaman II, when it comes to LP, the original old school Palisades Park fiberglass are the real Mc Coys. These were what the NY latin congueros played Ray Barretto, Frankie Malabe, Patato,Papo Pepin, Ray Mantilla..... They were made in NJ and the fiberglass was really thick. You guys had a chance to buy these 4 mint condition vintage classic congas for $1,000, but is too late, they are already gone. When it comes to sound no other LP will come close, not Patatos,no Galaxys, no Palladium, no Classic.

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