Matador vs. Original - Whats the difference?

[glj]

I'm trying to decide between the matador (fiberglass) or the LP Originals. In reading LP's website, the only difference I can see is that the Original's have a steel reinforcing at the bearing edge. Is this the only difference? If so, why is there such a big price difference?

I already have a matador quinto, and since the drums look the same (except for the side plates) and are the same height I'm wondering if its worth the extra money in getting the conga & tumba Original's (supposed higher quality)...

[Thebreeze]

glj.....I can only offer my opinion on Matador vs Classics in the wood category. I have had both wood Matadors and wood Classics and to me, the main difference is just the names. yea, they had to make the side brackets different in order to make the two distinguishable, but I think it is mostly for marketing. LP knows that there are people that can pay top dollar for the more expensive drums and they also know there are people on a tighter budget .This way, LP gets all the business by offering Classics and Matadors at different price levels, but they are really the same drum. Take a look at this video clip of Orquesta de la Luz on youtube and the conga player is doing a very nice solo on a set of Matadors. They sound as good as any classics Ive heard.
p.s....the timbalero is awesome! Hope this helps.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=hltBN-U1MY0