As I was looking for a lighter bongo while playing seated I came across this HB-50 set and was immediately intrigued. Ordered it and it arrived a few days later, well packaged as always!
After a little tune-up I could get a nice oldschool sound and feel out of it, nice slaps and muffles and a slightly ‘wonky’ bass note which I think cuts through in recording really well.
Only cons are the somewhat small size of both drums and the poor quality of the skins…have noticed that all major brands have lost the art of selecting quality skins and I should know cause I’ve been reskinning African drums for over 20 years (both goat and calf)!
A student recently bought a cheaper brand bongos; well made but rather heavy BUT really good thick cow/calf skins, much better quality than the major brands!!