Lp Matador M201

I've owned these drums for about 7 years and I have mixed feelings about them. These are not the top of the line bongos from LP- most notably above it are the 'Generation II,' 'Galaxy,' and 'Giovanni Hidalgo' lines of drums. At the same time these drums aren't at the bottom of the barrel either- ranking highly (in my opinion) above the 'Aspire' and 'CP' lines of drums.

Compared to the lines above it, the Matador drums pale in comparison to the Giovanni series drums. The Giovanni's are made of ash and really do give a much more authentic (the LP website says 'superior' !) sound for Cuban music. The Matador drums can't be tuned as high as any of the lines above it either- which can make getting an authentic sound difficult as well.

The most traditional sound of a bongo is high and tight, and these bongos tend to be a little ringy for my ears (ringing longer than the lines above it). The general sound on the Generation II and Galaxy model drums is a darker warmer sound as well.

By contrast however, the Matador bongos are vastly superior to the lines of drums below them- the 'Aspire' and 'CP' model drums. Neither the Aspire, nor the CP model drums have the ability to be tuned in an appropriate range (to my ears) where as the Matadors can get there. The CP drums by comparison are basically just a toy- the Aspire drums sound awful and there is a big jump in quality from Aspire to Matador.
The Matador drum line in general are kind of the perfect middle of the road line of drums- they're basically the top of your student and bottom of your professional heaps, so to speak. I wouldn't ever take these drums on a studio gig, but wouldn't hesitate taking them on any form of gig.

These drums are perfect for the professional on a budget or the advanced student, and for the price, give the biggest cost to sound ratio (in my opinion) of any of the LP bongo lines.