Rare 10 lug Gon Bops set of Bongo - a restoration project

Once in a while you hear a story of some cat stumbling upon a Junior Tirado conga at a garage sale, unloved and converted into a plant stand.. purchased for a smile, taken home, restored and enjoyed for a lifetime as a family treasure.

I have heard of such stories.. but this is the first time Ive worked on one of these drums..

A friend of mine, and fellow conga geek and professional Tahitian drummer, was driving by a garage sale in Berkeley... stopped to see a Ukulala.. and out of the corner of his eye, spots this gem tucked away in the corner of the garage... hey is that bongo for sale?? sure.. how much.. not much.. done deal..

My friend walked away from that street sale with a complete gem. The most rare of Gon Bops... a ten lug set of high end bongo in Walnut.. the best instrument Gon bops ever made, in my opinion.

They were in relatively good shape, but the finish was wasted. For some reason, it had really nice skins.. looked like horse possibly..

Anyway, after being restored, this set is about as nice a set of bongo can get.

In the end.. one of the best 'finds' Ive know of... guess I should hit a few more garage sales this year!