These already look pretty nice. I lost a set of gon bop bongos several years ago and have been enamored with the cool vintage wrapped bongos I've seen on VDF. I think I'm gonna need to start looking for some Amati, or similar, pair.

Congrats on the successful trade! I love trading gear! What's the sound difference between these trowa & the amatis?

Brian

Hi George! Nice find!

Every time I see a set of vintage bongo's I think of the high school kid that lived down the street from me. I must have been about six, so that would make it 1959. This guy sat on his front porch and practiced the bongo's constantly... and, even at six, I could tell that was a chick magnet 'thing' to do.

I wonder if that's what got me into drumming two or three years later? :D

Thanks Brian,

Difference is great -- Amati have a 6 & 9-ply shells and quality glue is not high, no rings --- shells are deforming in time and become non-circled, got some cracks often. And also here is a troubles with heads - different lines of non-standard sizes.

TROWA have a warm juicy bright sound, as typical 3-ply shells, round shape is constant, no problems with heads.

Ha-ha, Craig..., maybe indeed... :D

Cheers,

George.

Hey George, they look great! Just FIY, Amati also did make 3ply "bongos", but I've seen them like once in my life... very old stuff.

As for the chick magnet thing, I recently found this brilliant excerpt from TBBT...

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0TAuLJyFJo&feature=share[/ame]

Hi Gil,

Yes, I know that, but even in old models which I've played myself all the bongo shells were 6-ply minimum --- as these on pic, and all the lower edges were always deformed and not circled... :(

George.

LMAO! Well, except when going down stairs...

George. Those are made from that brown or red stained wood, with the prominent grain, they started using , at some point around 1960,are they not? All of my older drums with 6 sided cast aluminum nickel plated lugs are 3 ply Beech with solid rerings but the drums with the chromed, rounded teardrop style lugs started with a brown stained wood ,which changed to reddish stained. This continued into Tacton. Do you know what that wood was? It doesn't resemble any wood , I am familiar with in N.A.-----has a grain that resembles a fast growing species from here(softwood) but it seems harder than that.

Well, Phil --- this is domestic German beech - nice original textured, hard structured and high density wood with thin layer of laquer -- protect-impregnating type. Some sorts of redwood also were used (Cuban, Laos & etc.) --- I've wrote some time ago about that.

In the end of 50's TROmmelWAren engeneers developed an unique technology for shells producing as hot pressing and calendering. You can viewing an imprints from rolling-tools on inside surfaces of your shells from Henk (it's a III-generation kit).

I have a strong suspicion that that technology with some equipment was moved to modern Adoro company... :)

George.

the beech shells ended around 1960 and the roller imprints existed much earlier than the late 50's because my early 50's drums have them too.

the red wood, you reference was stained ( if you scratch the surface, the wood is blond) and was preceded by the same wood in a brown stain. i just wondered if you knew what it was.