New Cuban Conga Project

**Gretschhead** · 05-13-2009, 10:19 AM

I picked up an interesting set of congas yesterday for a price I couldn't pass. They are most likely cuban made, I still havn't been able to pinpoint a maker yet though, hopefully one of the pros over at congaplace can help me id them. They are aprox. 10" and 11" by 30" tall. Heavy steel bands, traditional style hoops, nice thick cow hides, and some really strange heavy duty cast iron side plates. They are painted, so until I strip them down and check out the grain I'm not 100% sure what type of wood they are, but due to the inside color and the density my guess is oak.

They have a great warm vintage tone to them with crisp slaps, very dry like an old gon bops. The heads are some of the thickest I've ever come across, they have the same look and feel to an original gon bops skin, definitely high quality. As the pics show, they are scratched all to hell, so it's time to get the sander out again. Im not sure how I feel about the side plates, I may replace them, but they are very unique and kinda cool. I'll probably stain these a redish brown rosewood color, but I thought it might be cool to find a local artist to paint a little tropical scene on them or something. Most of the cuban congas I've seen are done up like that and personalized.

Here are some pics:

**bongobro** · 05-13-2009, 01:15 PM

Even as they look right now, man, they look like the real merchandise...

Bet they sounded pretty good when you tested them! Keep us posted!

**luv4congas** · 05-13-2009, 06:03 PM

Whooohooo! Man those are very cool! My kinda drum, thick heads, old shcool!
At 30" you could call the 10" a requinto by todays standards, I thought I read some where way back in the days the 10 was considered a conga and the 11" was the tumba but maybe not. If you don't mind Gretschhead how much did those diamonds in the rough set you back?
L4C

**Gretschhead** · 05-14-2009, 09:17 AM

Originally Posted by luv4congas

Whooohooo! Man those are very cool! My kinda drum, thick heads, old shcool!
At 30" you could call the 10" a requinto by todays standards, I thought I read some where way back in the days the 10 was considered a conga and the 11" was the tumba but maybe not. If you don't mind Gretschhead how much did those diamonds in the rough set you back?
L4C

I had mentioned above that the side plates were cast iron because this was how they were described to me by the seller. After really getting a chance to take a look at everything last night, I realized that they are actually made of solid brass and obviously hand tooled. So I will be holding onto these side plates for sure. Besides, the quote I got from Timba for new plates was outrageous, would be over $350 to redo the plates. I have never come across a conga with brass hardware, they couldn't have been cheap. These drums seem to be of very high quality.

I found a local artist who quoted me a very reasonable price to paint a tropical themed mural on the drums. I think I'm going to go that route rather than staining. I checked out some of his work on his website and he had a couple murals that were basically what I had pictured in my head. These will be more of a collectors piece than a gigging set, so I want them to look pretty sitting in the corner of the room.

**rmandelbaum** · 05-14-2009, 10:41 AM

Well of course you have to post progress pics. I cant wait to see his work.

Very cool!

**Gretschhead** · 05-14-2009, 10:49 AM

I will definitely be posting pics throughout the process. Sanding begins this afternoon. rmandelbaum, I just noticed that you are in Austin also? Check out the Artist section on Austin CL and look for a post for "murals for home or bussines". His work looks very professional.

**kona** · 05-14-2009, 02:48 PM

Looks like a good project there Gretschhead.

A Rosewood colour finish would look pretty nice - good luck!

Kona

**luv4congas** · 05-14-2009, 05:47 PM

$100, Man..... what a deal! congrats Gretschhead on the sweet drums. Have fun but take your time, will look forward to end product

L4C

**Gretschhead** · 05-26-2009, 07:44 AM

I went with a Minwax oil based Sedona Red stain for these with a semi gloss poly coat. They turned out very nice. These babies are headed to ebay today if anyone is interested.

**midgard** · 05-26-2009, 08:10 AM

That is an amazing transformation!

**BongoCajon** · 05-26-2009, 09:35 AM

Originally Posted by Gretschhead

I went with a Minwax oil based Sedona Red stain for these with a semi gloss poly coat. They turned out very nice. These babies are headed to ebay today if anyone is interested.

No question you are patient and gifted in this. Wow!

**Gretschhead** · 05-26-2009, 09:56 AM

I appreciate the compliments guys, I put a lot of work into these. I'm very happy with the way they came out. I hate to sell them, but 6 congas is too many, I just don't have the room.

**luv4congas** · 05-26-2009, 10:55 AM

WOW!

I can't believe how great they turned out.... There should be a conga museum for drums like those!
L4C

**Gretschhead** · 05-26-2009, 11:19 AM

Originally Posted by luv4congas

WOW!

I can't believe how great they turned out.... There should be a conga museum for drums like those!
L4C

Haha thanks L4C! These babies really do belong in a museum. I've not found a single other like it anywhere on the web, I even searched google images thoroughly and came up empty handed. They may be one of a kind.

**BongoCajon** · 06-15-2009, 08:01 AM

Originally Posted by Gretschhead

I went with a Minwax oil based Sedona Red stain for these with a semi gloss poly coat. They turned out very nice. These babies are headed to ebay today if anyone is interested.

I still am amazed at how you transform old drums so well into beautiful like new creations!

**Gretschhead** · 07-27-2009, 01:39 PM

So I did sell these a while back, but they have returned to me. The deal did not go over very well to say the least. One of the packages was dropped by UPS and put a nasty little dent in the side of the 11" drum. We filed an insurance claim with ups, I had spent extra out of my pocket to insure them an extra $500 each. Well, after waiting nearly a month, ups called and said they denied the claim. Apparently if you don't use both bubble wrap AND peanuts you are automatically denied, even though my packages were well wrapped with bubble wrap. On top of that, they for some reason had to ship them back to the store I mailed them from in order to process the claim, and since they denied it, they refused to ship them back to my customer for free. We yelled and complained and called corporate office, but nothing did any good. So rather than one of us floating the $100+ bill to re-ship 2 damaged congas, we agreed that a refund was better for both of us.

It was a stress nightmare dealing with it, but overall I'm glad these drums returned to me. They are great sounding congas, and very unusual. I just need to repair the dent and put some new skins on them, and they will be ready to go.

**bongobro** · 07-27-2009, 02:47 PM

Sorry to hear about the UPS you had with the shipper (bad pun!), but I have the feeling you'll find a place for those Cubans somewhere...and I'm still willing to bet you're gonna play them a few times...at least!!!

Killer congs, man...

**luv4congas** · 07-27-2009, 09:51 PM

That's horrible Gretschhead, I seen a spacial on tv about UPS and the people all had similar story's. Sorry to here that bro, Their very nice drums. If your going to sell them maybe do it local so you won't have to go through that nightmare again.

**fumbled time** · 07-27-2009, 10:46 PM

Regardless of the hassel man did you do a great job on those drums, I hope mine turn out half as good.F/T

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