Volcano/Matthew Smith Congas Ohia Wood

[Jerry Bembe]

I have recently acquired a very rare set of congas graced by 2 hand builders of some of the finest congas today (Tom Alexander of Volcano and Matthew Smith of Ritmo). This set of Ohia wood Volcano congas are among only 6 that have ever been made by Tom at Volcano. Much to his credit, Tom quickly discontinued this line of congas due to issues with the wood's density and the amount of wasted material. Tom long had the dream of using Ohia wood (the true volcano wood) to build congas but this feat never had been performed prior to these few.

The following picture is of this fine set of 3 Ohia Congas: (they sound as good as they look)

Set of 3 Volcano Ohia wood Congas

The following pictures are a comparision of these Ohia Congas (left) with Monkeypod congas (right) of the same type:

Quintos Ohia and Monkeypod

Congas Ohia and Monkeypod

Tumbas Ohia and Monkeypod

The following is a prior topic regarding Ohia Congas:

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=5267

Ohia wood is the true volcano wood tree. Ohia is the one of the first trees to take root in volcanic ash and is an exceptionally dense wood. Ohia compared to White Oak for Janka hardness is Ohia's 2090 to Oak's 1360. This makes Ohia probably the hardest wood ever used for building congas to this day.

Ohia is common to Hawaii and appeared to be a wood to build indestructible congas. The story takes a unfortunate turn. Because of the density of this Ohia wood, these congas initially had cracking issues at the glue lines because the wood was not fully cured. These congas were taken to Matthew Smith and it takes 3 additional weeks in Matt's conga kiln for these congas to fully cure. Afterwards, Matt changes the crown, head and installs his trademark bands. (Tom at Volcano makes things right for this customer by replacing this set of 3 Ohia congas with 4 "Premium Book matched Monkeypod" congas. Tom is always the professional craftsman and gentleman.)

Attached are some photos of the results. I hope to own these for a long time into the future. (God willing)

The following is a quoted from the web:

The Ohia is unique to Hawaii. It is one of the trees initially used by native Hawaiians for critical construction applications such as tools, and wear-strips along the gunwales of canoes. Its modern applications are typically in flooring, furniture and cabinetry. It is one of the very first trees able to take root on new lava fields. The wood ranges in color from pale brown to a dark reddish brown. It is fine grained, very hard, strong, and dense (specific gravity .70) In furniture and cabinetry applications, Ohia is nearly indestructible. However, great care and experience must be brought to bear in the seasoning of this notoriously unstable wood.

The wood has a greyish red hue with purple highlights and can develop a long and beautiful curl. It is very hard, but with only fair stability, it is not popular in complex joinery. When dry it tends to be very difficult to work.

Ohia comes from Hawaii, and is somewhat similar to Koa in appearance. However, Ohia is substantially harder than Koa, in fact, at 2090 on the Janka scale, it is 50% harder than Rosewood. Ohia finishes to a fine luster with rich warm colors. When used as a top plate on electric guitars, Ohia produces a brilliantly crisp tone with great sustain.

Keep it fun,

Jerry

[Jerry Bembe]

I would like to add that these are the heavest congas I have ever owned. These weigh at least double of their Monkey Pod Cousins. The tone is louder without the Fiberglass ring.

It is a shame that no more of these will be made. Tom did not have any past lessons learned to base this manufacture design on. In Hawaii, I believe Ohia was used for weapons due to the weight and strength.

[Jaisen Torres]

whats up jerry, hey your volcanos are very impresive, they look sweet with the bands... enjoy...

[Jerry Bembe]

Thanks Jaisen,

It looks like a unique new line of congas. They sound excellent and I hope they holdup under the stress of the northern climate. I have heard mixed stories about these exotic woods in Northern climate zones and I am keeping an eye on these shells.

I am planning to start up a Rumba party with the original owner of these congas (he lives in the South West Chicago area too). Purchasing this set has been a blessing in many ways (beyond mere ownership). I have a church that will donate the space for a rumba party and I have a core group of 3 congueros to lead this party so come February this set will bear fruit!

Of course I will not travel especially in winter with this set but I will use some of my other "stuff" to play and share at the Rumba party.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to All!

Jerry