Moperc Salsa Club Bongo !! - woo hoo

[bongosnotbombs]

Those look fantastic, and he attention to detail is so evident in your pics.
I notice how much narrower they are than your other to bongos, the two drums seem to be closer together and the loops on the crown hug the shells very closely, as compared to you "comfort rims" which stick out so far,

no doubt thats part of the comfiness, man I got to get a set for myself soon!

Your stoked Tonio! I'm glad you finally got them.



Edited By bongosnotbombs on 1189389100

[caballoballo]

Vaya Tonio,congratulation. Was I Wrong about the quality,sound,skins,hardware ect,ect of the Moperc ? Certatinly not, I told you. I also have one Valje like the 1 you got,may be older,recently I installed a set of Steer and Cow skin on him. As those head mature on your Moperc they will sound beter & beter. a Moperc against the LP gen II there is just no contest ,enjoy.

[Tonio]

BNB, totally stoked!! The playing comfort is unbelievable, and the tone is outrageous.

Caballoballo, You most definatelty were right about the Mopercs!! They sound fantastic. I hardly have to crank them up and already sound good, I can't imagine what they will be when the skins are worked in .

BTW, I just got back from the OB Jazz Fest, with Poncho Sanchez as the headliner. Joey De Leon was on bongos. Not once did he play a martillo, I was suprised. He played well at any rate , and played Iya on Afro Blue.

T

[caballoballo]

Yes ,I have seen other Bongoceros that do not Martillo. To me the Martillo is the key to a tight percussion sesion(amarra la percusion ). Also I remember reading in a percussion book by Ted Reed where he said that TOO MUCH fillings are bad taste. The same happens with some young Bongoceros on some local Salsa Bands, as soon as the leaders count, they start slaping & slaping, no afinque.

Back to the Bongo conversation,yesterday I was playing on the new El Piernas,the hembra has a thick cow hide but the sound is not pleasing my ears yet so I put a piece of adhesive about 3" X 5" on the non playing side of the skin and bingo the fucking ring is gone & the sound got deeper. Is going to be there until breaking is over. A 1 cent solution instead of having to look for another skin trying to get the old school sound. As we all know,different types of wood has their own tonalities,what may work on 1 (skin thicknes or type)does not necesarily work on the other. Sometimes a bad skin does not matter how old,thick or type will never sound the way you want. By the look of the skins on the picture of your Moperc I know is just a matter of time before they cure. On my side maybe I am getting to maniatic about sound.



Edited By caballoballo on 1189425721

[Tonio]

caballoballo, wow even with thick cowhide your Piernas hembra was ringing?
I am aware of tricks to stop the ringing, and find that suprising, especially with thick skin. You must have them really cranked up.
I'm crazy about the sound of drums too. Sometimes anally?

BTW, is it easy to remove the lug bottom bracket assembly? I would prefer to to move the lugs to fit between my knees to avoid the lug from diggin into my muscle. I tried loosening , but the bottom assembly is on there real tight. I hope its not pressed on.

T

[bongosnotbombs]

stick a couple of sticks or pieces of wood that fit in the loops where the lugs go into the bottom ring....so you can get better grip / leverage.

I would be surprised if it was pressed in, but the change in location from Canada to Calfiornia might have affected the wood and made for a tighter fit?



Edited By bongosnotbombs on 1189482809

[caballoballo]

Tonio, It is the same on my Moperc to get the bottom hoop off you have to bang on him , is avery tight fit. Once I spoke to Michel about it, that time I wanted him to make me a new set on stainless steel and he ask me for the measurement of the hoop because every Bongó he makes is unique and the hardware will not fit identical looking Bongos. So don't be surprise it is tight but you can remove it for a better comfortable fit.

Yesterday I took some pictures of my Bongos but could not figure how to post them. I have the pictures save in the my picture section in the computer waiting for the how to do it.

On the skin subject , it is a new one without breaking time and I think I made the mistake to rub too much palm tree oil thus affecting the sound but time will take care of the extra oil . Yesterday as I was taking the pictures I took the oportunity to compare the sound of every hembra and even though they all have a very thick skin ,I get a different tonality from each hembra. Should has to do with the different wood type,1 made of beech wood,1 made of mahogany,1 made of ash wood & 1 made of guayacan.



Edited By caballoballo on 1189510368

[Tonio]

BNB, true but thats drastic for new set The temperature might be a factor, the skins were rather tunned up when I got it. Not sure about the wood , however.

Caballo, maybe I can use a rubber mallet. I'll be cautious getting the hoop bracket off. I put too much manteca de corojo before too-on my quinto. It took a while to dry out
To upload pictures try to export it as a jpg (jpeg), it has to be from your hard drive , or you can use photobucket (free)or something.
http://photobucket.com/

T

[korman]

Caballoballo, to be able to post pictures, you have to use "Add reply" button, instead of quick reply box at the bottom of page. Then you will have option of adding files from your harddrive.

Waiting for the pictures of your bongos! And why not post a picture of you playing, while you're at it?

[caballoballo]

Korman ,I'll try this aftenoon when I get home,I do not have the pictures at my work pc.

BnB, which one was the Bongó that you ordered ?

Tonio, a rubber mallet will do, don't worry is not the temperature expanding or contracting the wood it is just the way Michel does his work. Some other Bongos as soon as you loose the hardware the bottom hoop gets out of place. May be that is the reason of the tight fit so you don't have to adjust every time you take them apart. I have a mark on the wood so if I take them apart the hoop goes on at the same spot.

[bongosnotbombs]

Have'nt ordered Moperc quite yet, going to be ordering the Maple Cubano one soon...

I have a Resolution bongo on order though, as well as a full conga set...those are oak.

[caballoballo]

BnB, Valjes are great drums you won't be dissapointed. If you are interested ,there is a Bongo made by Colombian Percussion 1 piece solid no staves on e-bay.It is made of guayacan,one of the hardes wood on earth. The guy is asking $250 plus shipping,the item is located in Georgia. It is a bargain.

Yesterday I took the New El Piernas to our rehearsal, the Conga and Timbal player were both very impress by the sound & craftsmanship,the only complain is that is a heavy weight but once you get use, it does not bother.

[Tonio]

Got the bottom hoop bracket off. It wasn't too hard to remove, guess I was being too cautious. Can you blame me? Its new

Odd thing is , I think it is more resonate now!! Sounds even better !!

Breaking the seal-skin/bearing edge does different things to various drums I have noticed through the years. Some get dull some more resonate. A while back I had a Meinl Floatune quinto. I was going to use another skin, and I noticed a rubber band was stuck underneath the skin right at the bearing edge. So I just put it back on(without the rubber band) and it sounded so much better. It must have been a aid to getting the skin tucked-much like string method?
I suppose you can bang the skin (when loose) to break the seal too, which I tend to do with congas but never with bongos.
Caballo, I usually make a mark on the slin/shell for reference too, Good to hear your Piernas are sounding good.
BNB's Valje(Resolution) bongos should be good too.

T

[korman]

Damn, caballoballo, that CP bongo is a super deal! Too bad he only ships to US. 250 bucks, it's even cheaper than top-of-the-line mass produced bongos from LP or Meinl.

[caballoballo]

Hey Korman, yes indeed, Did you also notice the Valje Bongó on e-bay ? IMHO that 1 is to me the top of the line by Lp. I 'll be posting the web address for an online retailer in Colombia which TwinsBongo show me. They have handmade Congas & Bongos, may be you can make them to ship to your location. In Europe you have PJ Percussion they have some very nice lookin Bongos. 1 of has a hybrid contour crown desing combination of traditional and comfort rim. Check it out. Hasta la vista Compadre.