Matador bongos?

[Starter]

Ciao!
Any opinions about Matador bongos? They're about half of the price that I should pay for Generation II LP bongos. I've heard that the matador heads aren't good enough...

[RitmoBoricua]

Ciao!
Any opinions about Matador bongos? They're about half of the price that I should pay for Generation II LP bongos. I've heard that the matador heads aren't good enough...

I have a pair of Matador bongos and of course first thing I did when I bought them like 16 years ago was upgrade the heads to LP. I had take them with me around the world in my many deployments, I had used them extensively and they have held-up together pretty well I mean they are in mint condition still. I know there are better sounding and more expensive bongos but this one had given me literally the most bang for the buck.

[Raymond]

Matador bongos are apparently the best buy in bongos. Matador's are actually LP's first generation, 60s/70s, and they do not produce anymore as LP. The problem....the heads are the cheap ones and if you are serious you shouldn't play with them. If you get new heads add $50 to $60 to the price. Therefore, they seem, but eventually might not be, a good buy after all. Nevertheles, they are of oustanding quality and very durable. Now, in my opinion, the best buy are Pearl Elites with good buffalo heads and could be found for around $160. (Matadors are $100 and if you add the heads puts them in the same range as Pearl. Pearl's have the 9 inch hembra big drum that gives you a deeper sound than LPs standard sizes of 8 3/4). All these bongos are made of the same material, oak.

Difference between LP Generation II and Matador's...better hardware and the construction of the Generation II provides you more volume than the Matador's. (Generation II's come with comfort rim in most models and Matadors are traditional rims. There is a decision to be made there...Note, Pearl's come with comfort rims and do not have a traditional rim).

Good luck in your purchase! Saludos!

[RitmoBoricua]

Matador bongos are apparently the best buy in bongos. Matador's are actually LP's first generation, 60s/70s, and they do not produce anymore as LP. The problem....the heads are the cheap ones and if you are serious you shouldn't play with them. If you get new heads add $50 to $60 to the price. Therefore, they seem, but eventually might not be, a good buy after all. Nevertheles, they are of oustanding quality and very durable. Now, in my opinion, the best buy are Pearl Elites with good buffalo heads and could be found for around $160. (Matadors are $100 and if you add the heads puts them in the same range as Pearl. Pearl's have the 9 inch hembra big drum that gives you a deeper sound than LPs standard sizes of 8 3/4). All these bongos are made of the same material, oak.

Difference between LP Generation II and Matador's...better hardware and the construction of the Generation II provides you more volume than the Matador's. (Generation II's come with comfort rim in most models and Matadors are traditional rims. There is a decision to be made there...Note, Pearl's come with comfort rims and do not have a traditional rim).

Good luck in your purchase! Saludos!

I recently bought a pair of Pearl Elite Bongos with the 9" hembra and they are sweet, the projection is way superior that the Matadors I own. I bought them at a close out deal for $118.00, natural color.

[franc]

any friend out there. can you update me in how good are the ''meinl collection series ,wood hand crafted bongos'' keep on slapping!!!! franc

[Raymond]

The Meinl's bongos? They are good. However, their "Free Ride" system could be a problem and it takes a little to get used to. (This is the experience some of their endorsees have told me).

The "Free Ride" is a metal with a rubber RM that holds the two drums, instead of woood, it tends to break or give up. Also, you feel the bongos shaking between your legs and not as steady as with wood.

The sound is great specially with some of the bongos on their "classic" or "special wood" (Check the ash and the cherry wood). Also, their 7 and 9 combo sounds great! Their prices depend but are cheaper than the LP. (They come with buffalo heads that sound a lot better than LP Heads)

Still....Pearl wins and LP Gen II is close behind in regards to great sounding bongos!

Saludos

[RitmoBoricua]

The Meinl's bongos? They are good. However, their "Free Ride" system could be a problem and it takes a little to get used to. (This is the experience some of their endorsees have told me).

The "Free Ride" is a metal with a rubber RM that holds the two drums, instead of woood, it tends to break or give up. Also, you feel the bongos shaking between your legs and not as steady as with wood.

The sound is great specially with some of the bongos on their "classic" or "special wood" (Check the ash and the cherry wood). Also, their 7 and 9 combo sounds great! Their prices depend but are cheaper than the LP. (They come with buffalo heads that sound a lot better than LP Heads)

Still....Pearl wins and LP Gen II is close behind in regards to great sounding bongos!

Saludos

.....and talking about great sounding bongos have you seen some of them bongos on the bongolandia website and the prices like $400. I wonder how much better they sound?

[Raymond]

Some of those bongos in Bongolandia are the "boutique shop" custom made bongos. These are the specialties of people like JCR, Osiris, Timbas Ismael and El Piernas from Colombia. These are made normally from exotic woods.

They tend to be expensive because they are not mass produced. Nevertheless, in most cases, they are great sounding bongos. They are for collectors.....

[CongaCaja]

So, I was shopping for bongos this weekend and I confirmed that the Matador heads are pretty bad when compared to the LP Gen II or Meinl models. Thus, I have several questions to post here. Please answer any or all them...according to your experiences.

Has anyone replaced the Matador bongo heads?

If you have replaced Matador heads, did you do it with pre-mounted or unmounted skins?

Can the hoops of the Matador skins be reused for unmounted skins?

Rims? Any preferences between traditional and Comfort Curve II?
I know from that with congas it doesn't matter much if one is using proper technique. Is it the same with bongos?... or, are there other aspects to consider (besides technique) because of holding them between the knees?

Lastly, has one else had any experience with Meinl bongos? I saw Raymond's post in which he heard there were some problems with the free ride system. In the store, they appeared fairly sturdy to me, but, of course, they haven't been played for years. I appreciate any first hand experiences...either good or bad.

Thanks in advance...

cjk

[Raymond]

Congacaja,

Here are my responses to your questions:

Has anyone replaced the Matador bongo heads?

RFC: Yes. Any head that fits LP, which means Gen II, etc, etc, fits them.

If you have replaced Matador heads, did you do it with pre-mounted or unmounted skins?

RFC: I have never mounted my own heads. I always buy already mounted heads. Here in Puerto Rico, and in some other places, we have more choices regarding mounted heads besides the "pre-treated" kinds from most mass production manufacturers like LP, Meinl, etc.

Can the hoops of the Matador skins be reused for unmounted skins?

RFC: I guess you could. The hoops are OK. The problem is the "bad but bad" heads...

Rims? Any preferences between traditional and Comfort Curve II?

RFC: Personally, I prefer traditional because they are lighter for playing while seated. (Try to do a salsa gig seated with comfort rims and you will get a work out in your legs....You will feel like you did a workout with Susan Summers "Thigh Master")

In bongos, if you play seated, I do not see a problem dealing with the difference in rims since the way the bongo is hit, you have to have a bad but bad technique to be hitting that rim. (You might hit your thigh, if you are that bad and you will see the black and blue in your thighs).

The benefit of the comfort rim is when playing standing up in a stand. There I see the same problem as with congas. Comfort rims will help you in those hits that are close to the edge of the head or any "oops". Hitting a piece of metal with your finger hurts but hurts more if you hit the edge of a traditional rim.

Regarding Meinl's Free Ride, my friend use to drop a lot his bongos while transitioning from the bongos to the cowbell. In a concert, the metal part his Free Ride gave up. Lucky enough, he found a welding equipment in the theater he was playing and they worked on them. (How lucky can you ge)! I recommend "test drive them" in a store. You will see the "wobbly" that system feels between your legs in comparison with the ones with wood...

Hope this helps!

Saludos!

[CongaCaja]

Mucha gracias, Raymond!

My thanks for your helpful reponses.

saludos... cjk