Manito writes, “Got some exciting new tropical hardwood pieces in the house!! These pieces came from a tree in south Florida that was knocked down in a storm many years ago. I got them from a fellow professional wood turner who has since retired and never used them. Now it’s time to turn them into a beautiful set of bongos!
Can you guess what type of wood it is? The first person to correctly identify the type of wood will win one of our Conga T-Shirts!!”
This PreMounted™ Brazilian Cow Skin For LP 11″ Quinto With Comfort Curve 2 (X) Crown is 1.5mm thick. The sound is bright and resonant with very crisp slaps, round open tones and rich bass. The playing surface is very smooth. These skins came from the same family/supplier that Bauer/Raul used years ago.
We are offering a DEEP discount on a Scratch and Dent Peruvian Steer- 5 Pack! Includes 20″ diameter skins ranging from 1.6mm to 2.3mm in thickness. They have minor blemishes like scratches, brands or slightly rough surface, but are perfectly functional. They sound warm and classic with crisp slaps, round open tones, rich bass and highly controlled overtones.
These cherry SKIN ON SKIN bongos were hand made by Maestro Jay Bereck. We recently had the privilege of upgrading the flesh hoops and skins to 1mm horse on the macho and 1.4mm Middle Eastern steer on the hembra for a customer.
We recently completed and shipped these solid shell walnut bongos. They were made with wood sourced sustainably from Athens, GA. They feature our handmade stainless steel hardware and horse and steer skins.
Wood: walnut
Shell Height: 6-3/8″
Shell Width: 5.75″ macho, 7.25″ hembra
Bridge: spalted maple with magnesite
Skins: .9mm natural horse on macho, 1.4mm natural steer on hembra
Hardware: 304 stainless steel, half round moderna crown
Weight: 9 lbs
Raw Artistic Productions writes, “After many years of excessive searching for the dream congas of my life, I can now say I have finally found them:
Say hello to my Manito Percussion solid shell „Spalted Poplar“ tumbadoras, matched set, made from the same tree.
Each drum begins as a solid log and is painstakingly hollowed and turned on Manito´s custom built conga lathe. Spalting is the process of naturally coloring the wood using certain fungi and is accomplished here in our shop. The inlays are made of natural turquoise, lapis lazuli and magnesite stone.
This set is built to be tonally matched to sing together and the internal geometry of each drum is individually designed to bring out the best possible tones from the drums. The amber Middle Eastern steer skins have been meticulously chosen to match the harmonics of the shells and to create a symbiosis of sound across the entire set.
Much love goes out to Ryan “Manito” Wendel who built these exceptional unique instruments, a true soul brother who inspired me with his endless passion for handmade drums.
I highly recommend these wonderful instruments to all Congueros, true masterpieces of craftsmanship. Sure they are high priced, but: “Quality exists when the price is long forgotten”.
Dreams do come true as long as you keep dreaming.”
These solid shell walnut bongos were made with wood sourced sustainably from Athens, GA. They feature our handmade stainless steel hardware and horse and steer skins.
Wood: walnut
Shell Height: 6-3/8″
Shell Width: 6″ macho, 7.5″ hembra
Bridge: spalted maple with turquoise
Skins: .9mm natural horse on macho, 1.4mm natural steer on hembra
Hardware: 304 stainless steel, half round moderna crown
Weight: 9.75 lbs
Black Gold™ buffalo is Brazilian. It produces warm tones and rich bass. It also has medium action and a slightly dimpled supple playing surface. As with all our flat skins and PreMounted™ heads, it is available in natural, amber, and chocolate colors.
For answers to many common questions visit our FAQ. White glove customer service available. info@manitopercussion.com
Looking for studio conga skins? Peruvian steer is warm and classic with crisp slaps, round open tones, rich bass and highly controlled overtones. It has medium action, and is ideal for the studio. Available in natural, amber and chocolate colors as a flat skin or PreMounted™.
These solid shell curly birch bongos were made with wood from Athens, GA. They feature our handmade stainless steel hardware and horse and steer skins.
Wood: sustainably sourced curly birch
Height: 6-3/8″
Width: 7″ macho, 9″ hembra
Bridge: leopard wood with carbon inlay
Skins: 1mm horse on macho, 1.6mm steer on hembra
Hardware: 304 stainless steel, half round moderna crown
Weight: 11 lbs