Help ID these congas

[deadhead]

Does anyone know what these are? They look cuban, possibly Sonoc?

[bongosnotbombs]

Look Cuban to me. I don't think they are Mexican at all. Look very Cuban.

[deadhead]

Well, I just got home with these. They are interesting drums, I don't believe they are sonocs though. They are 10" and 11" and 30" tall. 3 metal bands that appear to be made of heavy steel, unlike the flimsy aluminum gon bops bands. The rims are pretty nice, very similar to the rim on my GB supertumba. The side plates are very odd, they appear to be cast iron and very thick. They also have leg holders also cast iron that were removed. Its hard to tell what type of wood its because they are painted red rather than stained, until I can sand some of the finish off. The heads are very thick cow/steer.

The sound is warm and vintage and very dry. I will get some close up shots of the hardware tonight, hopefully someone knows what these might be.

[bongosnotbombs]

Those drums kind of reminded me of these Cuban drums.
I'm pretty sure not all Cuban drums are Sonocs.

[Chupacabra]

There was a guy trying to teach some Rumba here for a little while and one of the drums he had (for students to play) was identical to the aqua blue model in your photo. I asked him where he got it from and he said he brought it back with him from Cuba. It was pretty much in the same condition too.
Are you going to do an overhaul on 'er?

Oops! Misread the previous comment, I thought it was one of yours! The one I saw was identical to the one in BnBs photo.

[deadhead]

Here are a few more pics:

[deadhead]

Some close ups of the hardware:

[vinnieL]

Wow that is beefy hardware alright!

[deadhead]

Wow that is beefy hardware alright!

So I mentioned above that the side plates were cast iron because that's how the guy who sold them to me described them. After taking some time to really inspect these today I realized they are actually solid brass. They are not polished smooth though like a door knob, they are very rough and obvious tooling marks on the back side. At first I was not too impressed with the plates, but now I see what quality material was used and an obvious show of hand craftmanship. I'm hoping Dario pops in here and shines some light on what these might be. Know of any builders who used brass side plates?

[guarachon63]

I love the way those drums look. I may be totally off base here, but for some reason I always sort of assume that drums with those built-in leg holders are Mexican, or at least not Cuban. Is that just crazy?

[bongosnotbombs]

I always sort of assume that drums with those built-in leg holders are Mexican, or at least not Cuban. Is that just crazy?

I usually assume that too, but these don't have other mexican traits, and somehow the shape and the hardware make me think Cuban and not Mexican.
I think I have seen old Cuban album covers with drums that have built in legs.

[deadhead]

Here are a few shots of the bare shell. Anyone have an idea what type of wood it is?

[Chupacabra]

Looks like Cherry wood to me. But then if the shells are Cuban then it blows that out the door!

[deadhead]

Here's a good shot of the wood from the inside:

[bongosnotbombs]

Excellent work on the sanding! Whatever they are or were, they are going to be some
great drums. I love the shape on them. Can't wait to see the finished project. Keep it up man!