My Isla Set

[SpEd]

Took delivery of a couple boxes from Belize this morning.... had no time to dig into them, as I had to get to work, but damn sure I will the minute I get in the door tonight!

More to follow....

[GuruPimpi]

SpeD!

You are a lucky man!!! Enjoy your happiness and thank you for sharing!

Water is an old trick for barrels and wood making. Too much water, too much dryness - bad for wood!

Keep on groovin'!

PimpS

[pcastag]

Awesome! Gotta drop some pics and sound reviews of those mahoganie beauts on us!
PC

[KING CONGA]

SpeD please don’t keep us in suspense any longer
we are all excitedly waiting for some news on your new drums

[SpEd]

Ok... drums arrived just fine. After a few days getting to know them a bit with minimal tuning. The rims are still a little high, but about where they would be I guess, if I just put new skins on. I'm trying to play more on the skin, which I believe would be better technique anyway. I don't want to tune em up too fast, but I did tune em up a lil and played them for a usual weekly gig. Less projection for sure than my Conte's with mule, but I expected that. But the sound is so much more round, and I play mic'd so... I feel the full sound from these drums allows me to hear more of my technique while playing. As a recent beginner to proper technique and study, I think these drums will be great tools for my study.

They are truly utilitarian in looks, as there are tools marks about, but are also beautiful in mahogany. I chose 4 bands, which just shows more wood...LOL. They look mechanical to me, and I like that. They are also solid but I don't think overly heavy! Oh, and they fit in my meinl bags... snug but fine.

I also rec'd claves and a pallitos box included with my order. I'll get more pics up soon, but here they are in my home...

[congamyk]

alright now!

[KING CONGA]

Thanks for the pictures. Congratulations on your new drums they look very nice. I have no doubt that you will enjoy them every time you play them. Over all how long was your wait? Were you happy with the transaction?

[Bongobilly]

Very nice conga's may you enjoy!

[Dicemanb]

SpEd,

Beauties, you must be one v happy geezer.
Those rims do look high.....watch your thumbs!!

Dice

[GuruPimpi]

Waw!

BEAUTIFUL!!!!

Lucky man!

PimpS

[roberthelpus]

Are you not supposed to tune new skins up to pitch and just play? Oops. Too late for all of my drums.

[SpEd]

Thanks for the pictures. Congratulations on your new drums they look very nice. I have no doubt that you will enjoy them every time you play them. Over all how long was your wait? Were you happy with the transaction?

Hey King C,

I ordered them early March with a deposit. I was told 3 months to build. I received notice of them in a finished state with pictures early July, and sent a balance payment. At this point 4 months did not seem unreasonable to me. I was told 2-3 weeks for shipping, as they had to go out in a batch (I assumed he needed enough drums ready to ship???). Anyway, did receive them August 30th, so from order to my door... just about 6 mos (about 2 months to ship). Overall, communication was not bad at all, and I somewhat expected an over-run in time frames, so I'd say I am very happy with the transaction... Oh, and did I mention I LOVE the drums!!! LOL

Hey SpEd - congrats on the acquisition.

Have you taken a close look at the stave joints? I'm wondering if Mario has overcome the technical issues in the assembly process necessary to eliminate the gaps and glue lines that plagued the drums he sent me. The joints should be tight, without any visible fill or glue from the outside of the drum. On my drums this issue is most problematic on the apex of the bilge (the widest part of the belly).

If there are glue lines could you take a close up pic to share? It's possible that he is progressing from the mistakes that were made on my drums but not quite there as well. I’m very curios to see where he is at with this.

BTW - the drums you have are likely the same drums that Mario sent a video of to me and then decided to sell rather than send to me as replacement. Of course this has nothing to do with you.

If you want I can try to get a clear picture of the glue lines and gaps in my tubs as an example of what to look for.

Cheers,

C

Hey Cadenza,

Man, I sure hope I didn't end up with drums meant for you...It appears Mario is currently using pics of my drums on his site right now. Can you see likenesses in the grain patterns from my drums to the ones in the videos he sent you? I was under the impression through the entire process that these drums were being built for me at the time.

Anyway, the stave joints seem pretty good. I'll add some photos soon, but I do see one small gap near the top, and a couple thin glue lines showing near the bottom of the drum. I've seen some pix of prior drums with the joint issues you speak of, and I do believe there has been improvement in this area.