Vintage Cuban Drums

[lovesupreme]

Hello folks. Check out these vintage cuban congas that a friend will be posting on ebay later this evening. Here is what he says about them:

>>I am listing a somewhat historic pair of Cuban congas today. The came from a conguero who played and recorded with many top bands. They are reputed to be made from 1920's pickle barrels and have very interesting iron work - heavy duty. The congas are truly folk art. The staves were contoured to shape the conga and each stave is slightly different in size. Both congas are 31" tall with the quinto 9.5 across and the conga 11".<<

Anyone have any thoughts or impressions on the origins of these drums considering the fact that some of the hardware does not seem to be original?

[Congadelica]

I been checking these out .and it struck me how much the shape of these are like my Isla`s Quinto and conga . Im sure they must sound great . pity they are in the USA Id be interested .

Marco

[pcastag]

Those drums are on e-bay right now.
Pc

[PRDRconguero]

Grand ending price of $1,525 + $100 shipping.

I will admit that like the seller says....if these drums could talk..

[Bongobilly]

Wow lots of money, I almost done refurbishing a old Cuban conga for a friend. I think the stave shell is from a pickle barrel or maybe rum barrel. It smell awful! I strip the paint off and it was still wet from the stripping gel i used. As you can see the top of the shell is cracked ( no alma) it was covered with house paint. The hardware is cool looking.

[willie55]

i was watching this sell and thats some crazy money.

[Omelenko1]

Pardon me Bongobilly,

That conga in the photo is not Cuban made. It might have come from Cuba, but certainly it was not made in Cuba. I have been collectong congas for 45 years, have had Cuban Vergaras, Requenas and SONOCS. That conga and its hardware does not resemble any conga made in my country of birth. I'll provide photos of Vergaras, Requenas and SONOCS later on to substantiate my post. Here is a photo of a Cuban made SONOC and of a 50's Requena quinto. Last, Patato playing Joe Cuba's Vergara.

Dario

post-14-81142-PATATO_CON_CONGAS_DE_JOE_CUBA.jpg (33.41 KiB) Viewed 3556 times

[Bongobilly]

Thanks Omelenko1 MY friend told me his father got it from Cuba. Now ill have to tell him it's not a Cuban drum.

[pcastag]

Pardon me Bongobilly,

That conga in the photo is not Cuban made. It might have come from Cuba, but certainly it was not made in Cuba. I have been collectong congas for 45 years, have had Cuban Vergaras, Requenas and SONOCS. That conga and its hardware does not resemble any conga made in my country of birth. I'll provide photos of Vergaras, Requenas and SONOCS later on to substantiate my post. Here is a photo of a Cuban made SONOC and of a 50's Requena quinto. Last, Patato playing Joe Cuba's Vergara.

Just because it's not one of those three major cuban manufacturers deosn't mean it's not cuban. I've seen pictures of old funky cuban drums that don't look like any of the typical vergaras requenas or sonocs that were definitely cuban made. Could've easily been a one off set or a tack head that somebody later added hardware to, particularly if the drum was made back in the 20's or of products from the 20's as suggested.
PC

[Omelenko1]

The hardware, without a doubt, was not made in Cuba. It looks Mexican to me (Orale). Maybe like you said, it could have been a tacked head that someone retrofitted that hardware, but then again, the hardware looks like it came with it from day one. When it comes to Cuban congas, I don't want to sound like a "know it all", but even Mongo said that I had an eye for them. Many times they have tried to pass Gon Bops, back in the day a few Casa Cubana (made in Long Island), some high end Mexicans for Cubans, but they have all been clones. Aside for Vergara, Requena and SONOCS, there were not that many artisans on the island that made tumbadoras. Maybe a few isolated cases where a "guajiro" in Oriente province will make a rustic conga. That particular hardware was not made in the land of Marti, looks like Pancho Villa's territory.
My 2 cents.

Dario

[Dangler]

While in Cuba a couple of years ago I was walking around Trinidad and seen a woodshop where they were producing congas.
Unfortunatly I didnt investigate further.
Does anyone know if this is a reputable conga maker or is it just cheap tourist crap?