Vintage Meinl - Fibercraft ID

[Mike]

Here is an old Meinl fiberglass 11.5" conga,
standing 29" tall, which I have recently purchased
for a student who wanted a durable, but affordable instrument.
So I made this deal for him.
Well, equipped with an L&H cow skin I still had flying around
it sounds pretty decent - the original skin was totally worn out.
Unfortunately there is no foot ring and the hardware is
pitted with rust, but on the whole it is ready to rumba...

There is nothing spectacular with this red´n´white conga, it is somewhat similar to LP´s earlier
fiberglass models. The badge says "Meinl Fibercraft - Germany"
I just wonder if it was really made in Germany and how old this drum might be - any ideas?
It weighs quite a lot, but I am surprised how thin the shell
is towards the bottom - only about 5mm.

[ABAKUA]

Mike, Meinl was originally made in Germany, the original drums they fabricated are far superior to todays ones.
You have a very nice, rare beauty there.

[Mike]

Oh, thanks, Abakua.
I guess is from the early 1980s then,
when Meinl just started manufacturing
fiberglass instruments.
So my student is a lucky one - he got
a unique conga at a fair, if not modest price.

[roberthelpus]

I want a pic of the

L&H cow skin I still had flying around

[Mike]

I want a pic of the

L&H cow skin I still had flying around

Cheers, here it is, still alive:

And Abakua might have seen this one also:

flying_cow + dolphin.jpg (10.35 KiB) Viewed 2488 times

Couldn´t resist...
Well, seriously, as could be expected, the L&H cow skin is really awesome
on that fiberglass conga, the original skin was way too thin, hence ringing like hell.

[roberthelpus]

Perfect. Made my morning glad I didn't have a mouthful of coffee.