Almost done with Junior

[Bongobilly]

Check this out. My tumbadora hardware is different then my conga. The plates are shorter and the rim is different. Ive been in contact with my old teacher Gene Golden and asked him about Junior shop and how he made those great conga's. This is what he said.Yes I have, many times, back in the day a lot of the conga drummers would be playing at his shop when he was working
on the drums, he would like that very much, so Frankie, Jerry, Milton, and myself would do that for him some times and when we wanted him to work on our drums that he was making for us he would get done faster,but he liked to play himself. He was a great artist in his work, and fun to be around.

[RitmoBoricua]

Are you referring to Frankie Rodriguez, Jerry Gonzalez and Milton Cardona?

[Omelenko1]

Yes, Frankie Rodriguez, Milton Cardona, Jerry Gonzalez, Gene Golden and Frankie Malabe all used Junior Tirado congas, those were the congas of their choice.

Dario

[Omelenko1]

Junior was a one man operation down in his basement on Brooklyn. That was the beauty of his work. I currently have 2 sets of Juniors, have had more in the past. I have a late 60's set (11 & 12) and a 1999 set (11 3/4 & 13). The hardware of the late 60's set, eventhough similar, is different from the 1999 set. The "v" on the crowns of the late 60's set are wider than the "v" in the 1999 set. The side plates are smaller on the 60's set when compared to the 1999 set.
Enclosed: Late 60's set reconditioned by Matt Smith, 1999 set, also 1/2" taller than the other.

Dario

[RitmoBoricua]

Those are the kind of jicamos that by just looking at a picture you can tell they are awesome instruments. Years ago when I was in the Navy making deployments in the 1980's a friend of mine from Broolklyn used to bring his Junior conga onboard the ship and it look exactly like the ones on the bottom picture.

[Omelenko1]

I had the pleasure of having dinner at Junior's apartment a couple of times. His girlfriend made a "mean" Puerto Rican "asopao". I used to give him "Havana Club", Cuban rum at Xmas. He was a dear friend (RIP) and the pioneer percussion maker in NY. Attached find the man with his "offsprings", his business card and his early (60's) crowns. Natalio Tirado Ruiz, que en paz descanse.

Dario

[RitmoBoricua]

Back in the 90's Jerry Gonzalez came out with (2) instructional videos where you can see them Juniors in action.

[Bongobilly]

Hey Omelenko1: Both of these tumbadores are from the 80's. Mid 80's. nothing close to the 90's. Did you see him bending the wood and putting it on a lath? What ever you can tell me about this great man would be appreciated as far as him building congas. Thank's.

[Bongobilly]

Wow your right Omelenko1 : My tumba was brought use for $100.00 but i never asked how old it was. It;s a 1/2 inch taller with the smaller plates not a good plating job like the conga which i brought new. Funny i never notice it was taller until last night when i was working on it and now the information you gave me makes sense. Thank;s Frankie.

[Omelenko1]

This is what Junior told me. His brother in law played conga in Puerto Rico. He made his first tumbadora in 1960, he stole the wood from a lumber yard in his native town and tried to copy his brother in law conga. He arrived in NYC in 1962 and started playing maracas and sang coro for Arsenio Rodriguez. Made his first bongo' in 1962 with the help of Raul Travieso, Arsenio's brother, who was an artisan and made bongos and tumbadoras in Cuba. Perfected his craft with the help of Raul and continued making congas and bongos till he suffered his heart attack, which kept him in a coma for 2 years until he died. He still had his first bongo from 1962, which I tried to buy from him but was not suscessful. He made an 11 3/4" conga for the Colombian cartel, which had one stave removable to smuggle whatever, but the Colombian who ordered it and had him make it, never picked it up. I tried to buy this conga from him also, but he didn't want to let it go. Junior made everything, he made the shells, the hardware and mounted all the heads.

Dario

[Bongobilly]

Omelenko1: Wow that was something i never knew. Colombian cartel is a story itself, Could you see a junior conga with one stave made out of cocaine! Okay so what can you tell me about the shop, did he have shells already made did you ever see him make the shell It hard to get info on how congas like his or Matts were made. I know somewhat how its done or how do they put the bands on for the finish product ( I want to build one)Thanks Dario. Frankie.

[Bongobilly]

I'm finished with junior.

[Omelenko1]

Super nice job!

Dario

[jorge]

Nice job. I like the dull finish. Is that satin polyurethane or just oiled wood? Also, is the finish slippery? I mean do your pants slide on the wood if you are playing seated wearing good pants and lift the drum up with your knees to hit a bass? I find congas with very glossy finishes sometimes are difficult to play for that reason, so I prefer satin finishes.

[ABAKUA]

Beautiful.