"Los que saben ... saber" - Jay Bereck and Matthew Smith

Jay Bereck and Matthew Smith are in my opinion, the only two Master drum makers that are currently making traditionally styled "Cuban" percussion instruments in the U.S.A. that literally have "Soul" in them.

The "Soul" of both Jay and Matt go into every "organic" wood drum they make.
Drums made of fiberglass and plastic are absolutely "soulless".

Their drums do not look like they belong in a circus,
nor do they look like: "novelty salt and pepper shakers"

These are photos of Jay Bereck and Matthew Smith.
The very definition of Master "Artists-Artisanos"
"Los que saben ... saber"

Jay Bereck - "Skin On Skin"®
Made in the U.S. not cheaply made
on an assembly line in Thailand.

1986 - Brooklyn, N.Y.

I took this photo of Jay Bereck in his workshop with his drums around him. The drum in the middle in front was made by Natalio "Junior" Tirado, it had been stained black by Junior, I had Jay refinish the drum to show the natural grain of the Mahogany.

1994 - Brooklyn, N.Y.
I took this photo of Jay Bereck in his workshop
with four of his Oak drums around him.
The small drum in the front was a 8½ inch
'Requinto' I asked him to make for me.

Oak 8½ inch 'Requinto'
with plain black oxidized bands.

1994 - Brooklyn, N.Y.
At Jays workshop, picking out skins to buy.
This was when the quality of skins were much better than the
"overly processed" skins that are currently available.
No two skins looked alike.

Jay Bereck's "Skin On Skin"® Oak tumbadoras.
With thin "clean looking" brushed steel bands.
Photo: Juan in California

Jay Bereck's "Skin On Skin"® Oak tumbadora.
With thin "clean looking" brushed steel bands.

Jay Bereck's "Skin On Skin"® Oak tumbadora.
With thin "clean looking" brushed steel bands.
Photo: James in California

Jay Bereck's clean looking "V"
Photo: James in California

Jay Bereck "Skin On Skin"® tumbadoras.
"Economy line" made of Cherry wood with
plain black oxidized hardware.

Jay Berecks "Skin On Skin"® Oak bongoes
Photo: Dario, Miami

Jay Berecks "Skin On Skin"® Walnut bongoes
Photo: Dario, Miami

Jay Berecks "Skin On Skin"® Batá drums


Matthew Smith - "Ritmo"®
Made in the U.S. not cheaply made
on an assembly line in Thailand.

Hecho de Walnut, Matt Smith - "Ritmo"®


Matt Smith - Tumbadoras de Oak

Matt Smith - Tumbadoras de Mahogany - "Ritmo"®

Marca "Ritmo"® por Matt Smith

Marca "Ritmo"® por Matt Smith

Marca "Ritmo"® por Matt Smith

Marca "Ritmo"® por Matt Smith

Matt Smith's "V"


Matt Smith's bongoes - "Ritmo"®
Tres variedades de madera.

Matt Smith's bongoes - "Ritmo"®

Matt Smith's Mahogany bongoes - "Ritmo"®
Photo: Dario, Miami

Matt Smith and Jay Bereck
both made of Oak, the one on the right is mine.
"Que viva la memoria del gran Gonzalo Vergara "
Y el gran Natalio Tirado Ruiz a.k.a. "Junior"

Photos: My drums

My first drum made by Natalio "Junior" Tirado Ruiz.

My father bought it for me in 1973, this photo was taken in 1973, when I was 20 years old.
Sitting on a bench in front of Lake Pontchartrain
in New Orleans.

He bought a second one for me in 1974

(My father and I playing in my apartment in New Orleans)

21 years old,
Central Park, N.Y.C.

Three Mahogany drums made by  
Natalio "Junior" Tirado Ruiz.

An 11½' inch Tumbadora made in 1973, a 10¼' inch Tres Dos made in 1981 and a 9' inch Quinto made for me in 1994. The 10¼' Tres Dos was originally stained black, as Junior sometimes used stave's where the colors of the wood didn't match and he would stain the wood so the "off colors" wouldn't show. (As he also did with the Bongoes he made below)
I took it to 'Jay Bereck' and had him remove the black stain and re-finish the drum, which allowed the true beauty of the Mahogany wood to show.

My 11½' inch Tumbadora made in 1973  
by Natalio "Junior" Tirado Ruiz.
I used to have another like this one, but sold it to a student of mine.

"Junior" Tirado in his early drum making days made the "V" in his hardware very wide, a full ½' inch.

A 12' inch Oak Tumbadora made for me by 'Jay Bereck' in 1980.

Jay Bereck's Oak 12' inch Tumbadora,
"Junior" Tirado's 9' inch Quinto and 10¼' inch Tres Dos.
 This is a drum my father bought in Havana for $35. in 1957.

Made of Cedar wood (Cedro). With a 10½ inch head. The lug plates look like stars with six points. The original bands were replaced with "brushed" aluminum bands.

Bongoes made of Mahogany by Natalio "Junior" Tirado Ruiz.

These were originally "painted" red not stained, to conceal the different color stave's he used. I used paint remover to take the red off, then sanded them and gave them a very light coat of wood sealer. 7½ inch Macho and 8½' inch Hembra.

These are my favorite bongoes, made in Cuba in the early to mid 1950's by drum maker and bongocero Candido Requena. Made of Cedar (Cedro). 6¼' Macho and 7' inch Hembra.
I recently sent them to master drum maker 'Matthew Smith' to have them re-finished.

I prefer to use only natural or white (bleached) "Cow" skin, which is impossible to find here in New York City.

I prefer the sound of "Cow" skin, very different than Mule. I don't like skin that you can see your hand through (opaque skin). The majority of skins (hides) sold commercially now are mostly inferior bull hide, steer hide, deer hide, horse hide, mule hide, and the cheap shitty "honey colored" skin (that you can read a newspaper through) that comes on every drum made by *Lp®.
(*Don't "trust the leader")

Los cueros - Cuba.
(Pancho Quinto; Iya - Martha Gallaraga; singer)
No "honey colored crap" for this young drummer!
Ni plastic synthetic shit either.

Oak Requinto custom made by 'Jay Bereck' "Skin On Skin"

A true "Requinto" I recently sold on Ebay, it was custom made for me in 1993 by 'Jay Bereck" (Skin On Skin).
Made of Oak, 26' inches tall, with a 8½ inch head.

Photo of 'Chano Pozo'
playing a 8½ inch "Requinto" in 1947

Cuban style Tumbadoras & Bongoes made by Matthew Smith

Matthew Smith master drum maker's web site.
http://www.ritmostudios.com/default.htm

"These are my own personal opinions,
I am not telling you what to buy, or what not to buy"

In my opinion, these are the best Congas "made anywhere in the United States, even the tumbadoras currently made in Cuba can't touch 'Matt Smiths' drums.
The shape of the drums are excellent, with the "belly" of the drums in the correct place.

Unfortunately, since the death of Nataly "Junior" Tirado Ruiz, the only place to find a drum made by "Junior" is either once a year on Ebay, or at a yard sale/garage sale (If you're lucky). Jay Bereck' master drum maker of "Skin On Skin" is still making drums, located now in upstate N.Y., though there is a waiting list as is expected for any "custom made" musical instrument of high quality.

I have played Matthew Smiths Congas and have a student who owns four of them. They sound great and look immaculate. Truly "custom made" drums.

My own views and "personal experience" with other drums:
Congas made by "J.C.R." (Bronx, N.Y.) to me are based on "Junior" Tirado drums.
"Junior" Tirado used the back area of Cali's shop to make his drums during a period when he had no other place to make his drums, Cali learned how to make tumbadoras using some of Junior's techniques. Cali Rivera' of J.C.R. is a great metal worker who makes a nice line of cowbells, timbales and bongoes, makes repairs, re-glues, flesh hoops, crowns, lugs etc. and is a very friendly and humble person.

My personal experience with drums made by "Isla" (Hollywood, California) is the crown tends to bend out of shape after only six months to a year and have an unattractive and horrible looking weird "ridge" in the belly of their drums.

Tycoon Percussion = incredibly ugly assembly line crap... made in Bangkok, Thailand by workers who are paid bull shit wages.

"Moperc" (Canada) , ridiculously priced "designer" drums that weigh a ton and look nothing like the "classic Cuban" shape which I personally prefer. I love Canada and Canadians, but not these drums.
"Sol" (San Francisco) and "Volcano" (Hawaii) exotic, but visually...no thank you.

"Bauer" (Brasil)... bloated bowling pins, visually unattractive and look like they need to be on a low fat diet.

"Meinl" (germany) assembly line drums that look, feel and play like a child's toy drum to me.
I recently found these two videos on YouTube... I feel sorry for this guy who bought "Meinl" drums that were complete garbage. Video 1 - Video 2

"Lp" Matador / CP's aren't even worth mentioning unless you're a "beginner" or own a summer camp for kids. And "Lp"..... plastic and fiberglass sounds just like "plastic and fiberglass".
The "Lp" so called "Palladium model"... crap made in Asia by workers who are paid bull shit wages. Visually unattractive drums "roughly stylized" after Jay Bereck's "Skin On Skin" and "Junior Tirado's" drums. But musicians who get them for "free" ("endorse") will never complain.
Some people will play rubber, plasic, fiberglass and "mystery materiel" (composite), if it's "given" to them free.

In the world of the "classic acoustic violin"... there is the 'Stradivarius'... in the world of the "tunable acoustic Cuban tumbadora" there was Gonzalo Vergara , Candido Requena then "Junior" Tirado then Jay Bereck's "Skin On Skin" and now Matt Smith's "Ritmo".

Both Natalio "Junior" Tirado and Jay Bereck's drums have "roots" that relate back to the "classic gold standard" shape, size and look created by Gonzalo Vergara in Cuba "over 50 years ago".
Sadly, most "young" drummers have never even seen a Gonzalo Vergara drum, or one made by Candido Requena, another Cuban classic drum maker.
This is still the shape that Matthew Smith's drums continue to retain the "roots" of in his exceptional "custom made" drums.
Matthew Smith's company is called "Ritmo".

"The classic"

Below are two drums made of Oak, the one on the left belongs to a student of mine and made by Matthew Smith ("Ritmo"). The one on the right is one of mine made by Jay Bereck ("Skin On Skin").
You can see that the "belly" of the drum made by Jay Bereck ("Skin On Skin") sits slightly lower than on Matt's drum, and Jay's drum has thinner bands that are not highly chromed, instead have a "clean looking" brushed finish.