Latin Percussion M201 Matador Wood Bongos (Dark Brown)

These are great bongos for the price!

The shells are sturdy and even smoothly finished on the inside - no glue sticking out from between the staves. The metal hardware seems pretty tough, too. Solid workmanship overall here.

This makes these bongos sound quite powerful even with the flimsy stock skins. The open tones ring too much for my taste, as with most stock ones, though. (Note: I like playing bachata rhythms that involve dry, short sounds: lovely pops and thumps.) But the bongos hint at much potential - they should sound really pleasant after putting some real, thicker skins on them.

And I actually find these easier to hold between my knees than curved-rim bongos - they are narrower because the traditional rims do not protrude outside so much.

I wish I have listened to others advice and bought these when I was beginning to play. Instead, I have started out with the Sonor Global wood bongos, which are a bit cheaper. They still sound better than the comparably-priced LP Aspire and Meinl Headliner, in my opinion. But the quality and price/performance is so much better with the Matadors. Thumbs up!