L&H Percussion

Changui Bongos

2012-01-21T14:57:00.001-05:00

These drums where brought to me to identify and repair however the owner decided to move them right to the open market. these are some really cool Changui style drums. We are up in the air on the builder some say Flores some say Cuban born... either way the wood shells are made from highly figured wood and show minimal wear/no cracks. the macho head is nice the hembra needs to be replaced ( I will provide free of charge). reasonable offers considered. thanks for looking

Changui Bongos

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4 Gon Bops for sale. 70’s-80’s era

2011-06-09T11:59:00.001-04:00

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Solid Shell Bongos FOR SALE

2011-06-02T23:10:00.001-04:00

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Elusive art of hide selection

2011-03-14T21:27:00.001-04:00

There is no doubt in my mind that the elusive art of hide selection is a dying craft. Id like to keep it alive!

I find it interesting though that custom drum builders cant seem to figure out that not all rawhide is created equal.

But I know one man that stands alone in the crowd and when the new (reissue) line hits the market ( hint hint) everyone will be very pleased with the skins ( fingers crossed).

If I had the time I would set up a poll but I'm just going to put it out here and ask for feedback via email.

What skins have you had luck with on congas bongos batas ECT ECT… I'm looking for all the variations Mule Steer/Cow bison buffalo you know the drill. Share it with us. @ msb@landhpercussion.com

What do you look for in a skin for each drum @ each thickness… Share it with us. @ msb@landhpercussion.com

Interesting EBAY Listing

2011-02-08T12:16:00.001-05:00

Check out this ebay Auction for a nice Sekere

Here is a Sekere, Inspired by the late Morty Sanders, Hand selected gourd and hand etched Brass and inlaid neck.
Beautiful tone and playing Action, Wood beads Med size..
Very traditional Cuban shape. Etched with the Likeness of Chango..

We are in no way comparing this Sekere's to the Work of Morty Sanders, Morty was a true Artisan.

Some more thoughts

2010-12-09T15:44:00.004-05:00

Are you a player that likes Artisan drums? Do you like having something that is of superior quality and may be a bit more exclusive in nature…. There is not doubt in my mind that many of the US based drum builders make killer drums. In-fact 2 of them are making probably the best drums on the market… We know who they are I don't need to name names…. I find it interesting however that they both buy hides from the same guy. i find it strange that we would accept this from a builder of this caliber. Since the skin makes for a major percentage of the tone of the drum why not go for something proprietary.

Proprietary rawhide. interesting concept. L&H Percussion has an agreement with a tannery to follow a process that is minimally destructive , for lack of a better term.

I have recently seen 2 drum builders one new here in the US and one in Belize talk about having proprietary rawhide. I have not see the hides from Belize but he claims to “ tan” them in house. Now this a pretty crazy thought as I know the type of drums this guy produces. Glue lines poor measurements, roller marks on the stainless… just sloppy ( but he only wants to sell to rumberos, santeros, Omo Ana per an email shared on Conga place ). I can just see his hack crew taking rawskins and poorly dry them and allow for people to play on crap that will continue to decompose and smell or worse kill you due to anthrax…. But not to worry if you do buy a set from him you may never actually get it as he likes to take your money and run…..

The second drum builder with his proprietary rawhide has some crap on a poorly carved Del Cielo wanabe drum.. this crap was pretty much what you can get from Stern or Hide house. Not to mention that it was 3mm over to about 1.7mm with the worst tuck I've ever seen …Slight variation my ass…. it was bleached and looked like every other generic Steer hide.

The short of it is L&H Percussion has an exclusive agreement with a tannery that makes High End Leather for Italian furniture to make solely for L&H the best rawhide available in the US. They are a family business operation internationally and domestic for 30 yrs… They are the pros we just learned what works for drumming and gave them the formula while maintaining quality control here in the NY area. If you want to take your sound to new heights try L&H we can give you the best playing experience possible…

Descendientes del Ritmo A soon to be released project another preview (unfinished studio mixes)

2010-09-29T15:51:00.001-04:00

"Vete Tu"
Changüi Nueva Yorkquino

Musicians:
Giovanni Hidalgo: Changüi Bongó
Eddie Bobé: Tres, coro & percussion
Juan Papo Garay: Lead vocals & composer of Vete Tu
Chris Theberge: Tumbadoras (Congas)
Reut Regev: Trombone
Abraham Rodriguez: Coro

"Mama No Quiere"
Batá-Rumba

Musicians:
Giovanni Hidalgo: Congas
Eddie Bobé: Tres Vocal percussion
Orlando Puntilla Rios: Bata Iyá
Eddie Bobé: Itotelé
Chris Theberge: Okonkolo
Reut Regev: Trombone
Abraham Rodriguez: Vocals

Handmade Sekere, Shekere, Chekere

2010-09-20T11:41:00.001-04:00

We are now offering Handmade Sekere. These Sekere are made in a more traditional manner using wood plastic and glass beads along with hand selected Gourds. We are not taking specific design request at this time but we can build an instrument that can meet your needs for many musical applications. These are priced very fairly the one in the photo would run around $50.

Flickr Tags: sekere,shekere,chekere

Descendientes del Ritmo : Back to the Root ...coming soon. www.descendientesdelritmo.com

2010-09-07T08:46:00.001-04:00

"En El Balcon Aquel" By Descendientes del Ritmo

Here's a sneak preview of a new project coming out on Descendent Music (Chris Theberge's new label)

This is a remake of a track originally by Los Papines “En El Balcon Aquel”

Descendientes del Ritmo - Produced by Eddie Bobe (guitar, percussion and vocals), Abbe Rodriguez vocals, Felix Sanabria on quinto, Luis Arona on Bass, Chris Theberge on congas, Jay Rodriguez on Sax, Reut Regev on Trombone, Luis Arona on Bass

Contact

2010-08-23T10:54:00.001-04:00

Michael
L&H Percussion
(908) 419-7364
www.landhpercussion.com

Logo Test

2010-08-04T08:41:00.002-04:00

Selecting Skins

2010-05-11T21:12:00.001-04:00

There is much debate about skins for Tumbadoras and Bongos and other drums. The questions I get all the time are around thickness, type of animal and a few others. One other issue I have seen raised is a question of buying from a “hide house” or a custom drum maker as opposed to buying from a company like L&H.

I would first like to address why one should buy from a shop like L&H. We spend a lot more time dealing directly with the tannery on making sure we get the top grade. We make sure that the hides are proper for use on drums. Sure anyone can call a hide house ask for a section of rawhide and make a drum head. I caution you however they do not sell you what they sell to L&H nor do they understand the application. I am not even going to address the Mule/Cow other skin type issues. at the end of the day the reason you call L&H is that we have the contacts and we do the leg work. Its just like any other Biz….

People have been questioning if its ok to buy from the likes of Ritmo, Isla, SoS, ECT ECT… I saw leave them to what they do well build drums. They don't need to spend 30 min on the phone with you for a $40-$50 Skin when they have 8-10 month waiting periods. This is just my opinion BUT I'm sure some of the craftsman would agree…

Now on to selection of a skin. The answer can be as simple as people play on what ever is readily available and they make it sound great. But lets be honest we all want the best. L&H Percussion strives to provide the best. Its a very long and complex discussion around why some skins are very even and why some are not. Some hide houses use “ splits” and plane and buff to a very precise measurement. That's all well and good but we at L&H believe that this creates other issues that take the “ life” out of the skin. We start with raw skins that are only stretched and dried to our standards with a slight bit of finishing to make them feel ok to the hand. We then hand cut each round doing our best to ensure that there is little to no variation in thickness. Normal variations that do not affect tuning or the life of the drum or head are typically around .5mm.

There are a number of wrong opinions online being shared and I would caution anyone reading this take your questions to the experts. Call L&H or call another person who deals with the hides and the animal. We are the “Pros” when it comes to this.

If you ever have questions or what to get some help feel free to call us. We can offer you what we have seen work and help you formulate what should be best for you. We also stand behind our product and will work hard to satisfy our customers big or small.

Conga Drum Heads

2010-02-13T22:27:00.001-05:00

L & H Percussion specializes in top quality Conga Drum Skins, Bongo Drum Skins and Bata Drum Skins as well as rawhide drum heads for many other drums. If needed we can provide guidance on steps of mounting the Conga, Bongo or Bata head or if you are in the New York area we can do the work for you. We also have claves handmade from exotic hardwoods, cowbell beaters and Guataca.

L&H percussion

New Claves

2010-01-26T12:39:00.001-05:00

Some nice skins……

2009-08-06T21:00:00.001-04:00

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This is some really nice Mule that I have on a Quinto and Bata drum

L&H Guataca

2009-08-06T20:44:00.001-04:00

2009-08-04T21:32:00.001-04:00

L&H Percussion Claves Sample

2009-08-04T21:31:00.001-04:00

Logo

2009-07-07T01:24:00.001-04:00

Conga Heads and Conga Skins

2009-07-03T21:58:00.001-04:00

I have some great Conga Skins , Mule skin, Cow Skin Steer Skin. Calf Skin for Timbales

What A Day

2009-06-25T00:15:00.004-04:00

I spent the day with a great great great old school cuban trumpet player.... music pores from this mans skin...

I have some nice calf skin that can be used for Timbales. I have 2 big rounds one 18" and one 22".

I just cut up 2 hides. One mule and one Steer/Cow. Ive got a big supply of Bongo Heads and Conga Heads for the next few weeks. Any one who needs Bata Drum skins Ive got some great stuff for you too..

2 Refinished Drums

2009-06-08T22:00:00.004-04:00

Here are a few photos of some drums that I recently completed.

These congas are for sale. email msb@landhpercussion.com

Skins

2009-05-27T23:25:00.002-04:00

L&H Percussion
Conga Heads
conga skins
steer conga heads
new conga heads
Mule Conga heads
Mule skin conga head
cow skin conga heads
remo conga heads
latin percussion conga heads
best skins for congas
hardwood claves
claves
replacement conga head

http://landhpercussion.com/

Workshop W/ Master Percussionist Eddie Bobé

2009-04-14T23:04:00.001-04:00

Descendant Music and L&H percussion Present:
Master Percussionist Eddie Bobé

The First workshop
for Intermediate/Advanced students

Master Percussionist Eddie Bobé will be giving a workshop focusing on the conga drums and Afro-Latin percussion. Mr. Bobé will share different concepts of latin drumming, and his unique perspective and view of the Caribbean percussive arts. The workshop will be tailored to the needs of the participants and will serve to deepen ones understanding of conga drumming and the clave. Through this limited opportunity workshop, Mr. Bobé’s unique perspectives and understanding of drumming will be sure to take your drumming to another level.

About the instructor:

Mr. Bobé is a repository and wealth of knowledge and a master percussionist in the Cuban, Haitian and Puerto Rican Folklore traditions. His 40 years of experience as a performer and insider in the field of latin drumming gives him a unique perspective and understanding. His work as a pioneer of the central park rumba scene in NY culminated in the release of the critically acclaimed CD “Central Park Rumba” which received 4 stars in Downbeat. Through the years Eddie Bobè taught at Julliard, New York Drummer’s Collective, the Boys Harbor Music School, Johnny Colón School of Music, the Third Street Music School, and the New School for Social Research, the Brooklyn conservatory of Music. He has performed and recorded with Eddie Palmieri, Paquito D'Rivera, Ismael Quintana Ismael Rivera, Bob James, Phillip Glass, Art Pepper, Chico O'Farrill, Peter Erskin, and many others.

This is a limited opportunity learning experience. Students will be selected and the workshop will be limited to 6 students. The format will include lecture, demonstration, listening and participation.

Date & Time: Sunday, May 3rd 1pm- 5pm
Location: MusicWorks Studios
Cost per person: $200
Note: 50% Deposit due upon confirmation of available spot. Balance due at workshop sign-in.
For more Information or to secure your spot please call (908)419-7364 or Email msb@landhpercussion.com

Why some skins are ugly

2009-03-10T23:11:00.002-04:00

Some mule skins you see are pretty gnarly on the underside and give the top a bit of a beaten up look. I have spent long hours looking at the nicks and scars on hides and some are bad and some not. Mule hide is very dense so many of the things we think are issues will never become issues.

Some hides are splits....
This is a very important thing to understand . Splits will more times than not look like a perfect skin and very well may be but its from a thicker animal and "split" to make a thin hide. I have done many test with hides from 3oz up to almost 9oz. I am of the opinion & for my personal taste 4-6oz is the way to go. I also like to use relatively the same weight on all my drums. I strive to make sure I have top product and that once mounted that same care in selection comes through in the tone of the drum.

Bongo Skins

2009-03-06T23:25:00.001-05:00

Ive got a bunch a really nice skins for bongos. these can be any combination of mule or cow. and for 50 bucks for the pair. My bongo heads are well worth it.

Web Site Up and Running thanks to icaliber, LLC

2009-03-05T21:13:00.000-05:00

I want to thank Brian from icaliber, LLC for his hard work on the site landhpercussion.com
It was a great experince working with such a professional and talented designer. If anyone is looking to launch a site check out icaliber, LLC.
http://www.icaliber.com/

Photo Test

2009-01-28T17:16:00.000-05:00