I use carbon to produce a variety of skin colors from chocolate to blonde, including amber. It’s not uncommon to get requests to color match existing heads or produce matched sets of PreMounted heads. The process is absolutely non-toxic and sustainable.

It’s time to rough more bongo shells. Nice form! Is there a yoga for woodworkers?

At Manito Percussion, we focus on creating the purest tones possible. Whether it’s our skins, PreMounted heads, or in designing and crafting our own solid shell drums, we spare no expense or effort to bring the finest tonal experience to your drumming life.

The insides of our congas and bombas are shaped with features to perfect the tones as well as to add a great deal of strength to the shell. From the bearing edge with its built in alma, to the textures and ridges which remove any bad overtones, to the Venturi shaped volume and bass boosting sound hole, every aspect of the resonating chamber is painstakingly sculpted for the sweetest tones possible!

I recently put new skins on these LP Matador bongos- .8mm horse on the macho, 1.4mm steer on the hembra. I’m digging the contrast between the blonde skins and dark blue shells. Michael DeLeón shared the following feedback. “Manito Percussion has done it again! I’ve been purchasing heads for various Conga and Bongo drums with them since 2019. Always a pleasant experience, and always stellar quality. The recommendations for my most recent purchase (given by Swen) were spot on from the color and feel, to the sonic tone and texture. The Macho has a very crisp/popping presence, while the Hembra has that classic low, full body punch! Looks fantastic with the deep blue shell I have! This set is actually a gift to my father and mentor Miguel DeLeón. I couldn’t ask for better skins. I absolutely love the work that comes from Manito’s shop. Thank you guys!”

This solid shell maple burl quinto and conga are made from the same sustainably harvested log, and also part of Ryan’s personal collection.

These solid shell maple burl bongos are a part of Ryan’s personal collection. He made the set from the same sustainably harvested log. He won’t actively go into the forest to cut down trees for making drums. Instead he has cultivated relationships with local tree services. When a service comes across wood types and sizes Ryan is looking for, he gets the call to pick it up. Instead of getting chipped or left to rot, these valuable pieces of wood get turned into instruments.

I recently mounted new Middle Eastern steer skins on this Okonkolo for my friend Lance. We think the shell and some of the hardware may have been removed from the Sonoc factory, and assembled at home. The ear welds on the crown don’t resemble Sonoc quality- more like they were done in a backyard. Despite this, the drum sounds great!

I caught Ryan ‘Manito’ Wendel working on a 304 stainless steel Moderna Crown. This is the face of focus. I wonder what he was listening to.

We just finished this set of solid shell Bata. The Iya and Itotele are ambrosia maple. The Okonkolo is sycamore. All the skins are Middle Eastern Steer.

I love the careful processing, unique grain and color variation of this matched set of Amber PreMounted Middle Eastern Steer.