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Meinl Percussion Bongos Hand Drum Set 6.75' and 8' with Hardwood Shells and Tuning Key — NOT Made in China — Marathon Designer Series, 2-Year Warranty (FWB190LB)

4.9 (10) Write Review
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$189.99

$ 93 .99 $93.99

In Stock

1.Color:White


About this item

  • YOUR FOREVER BONGOS: solid construction, outstanding tone, good-looking—check; these bongos are even prettier in person, and they're made with professional level craftsmanship fit for a wide range of use from recording and touring to jamming with friends
  • WHY IT MATTERS: you won't need to replace with an upgraded set later; feel proud to own bongos that are motivating to play with a professional sound and feel that lasts
  • DRIVING THE SOUND: we use humanely sourced, hand-selected buffalo rawhide heads that are easy to tune up and down; shells are crafted with Siam oak staves assembled on uniform grain and density for the best tone
  • ONE BIG THING: made with Meinl's patented Free Ride Suspension System that avoids drilling holes in the shells; this allows the shells to resonate freely and gives the bongos a wider dynamic range (fits most bongo stands—stand not included)
  • HOW TO ADJUST PITCH: includes a tuning wrench to make quick adjustments or head changes; tighten the steel tension rods for a higher pitch and loosen to drop pitch (bongos come pre-tuned but may require some adjustment)
  • BY THE NUMBERS: the heads measure 6 3/4” and 8”; the bongos are 7 3/4" tall and weigh about 9.4 lbs
  • THE BOTTOM LINE: these professional level bongos give you rich, clean, and resonant tone in any musical setting—live or studio; plus, you might get compliments on their good looks
  • THE BIG PICTURE: Meinl is a family-owned musical instrument manufacturer and brand established 1951 in Germany; our expert German designers have deep relationships with our builders to ensure you're delivered the absolute finest quality


The MEINL FWB190 Marathon Series Free Ride Wood Bongos are perfect for the ambitious beginner and for those looking for an affordable set that has outstanding professional features. The MEINL patented Free Ride Suspension System means the drums are joined together with no holes drilled in the shells. This maximizes the amount of resonance and warm tones that the Rubber Wood is known for producing. All MEINL bongo stands and mounts are equipped to securely hold the Free Ride mounting system in place. Marathon Series Wood bongos are equipped with hand selected buffalo heads that produce sharp highs with warm tones, and are easily tunable. Included is a tuning key, accessory pouch and tune up oil. Paired with any MEINL Congas, these bongos are a great start or finish to your percussion set up! The Meinl Professional Bongo Stand (Model# TMB-S) for seated players will also allow you to comfortably set these up with your drum kit.


esprit
September 5, 2025
When shopping around for these I liked the concept of the Free Ride Suspension System, and so far I like it now that I have it. Unfortunately I don't have anything to compare it to but I don't see any downside. In theory one could swap out different sized or tuned bongos that use this system. It may have a tendency to transfer sound to the other Bongo since it's a mostly metal to metal linkage with a small layer of rubber in the clamp. No isolation to speak of. However that contributes to its unique sound also. I'm not a pro but I just enjoy chillin' and exploring various percussive combos.PROS: - Good entry level set. Like really good afaict. I think one would have to spend A LOT more to get gains.- Incredible range of sounds. I can get around 8 distinct sounds out of each reliably.- Really good dynamic range. From soft late night finger taps to full out percussive slaps that the whole neighbor will hear, it's definitely more volume than I need. These can be played very quietly without sacrificing the range of sound types.- Good tuning range , and fairly easy to tune * See note below.- Holds tune acceptable well ** see note.- Seems like a quality build. Time will tell.- Look and finish top notch. The Tobacco Burst color looks amazing.CONS:- The set is heavy, which is only a problem if you need to carry it around a lot, backpack it for camping or gigs. However the added weight contributes to its overall stability and not reacting/moving around with aggressive playing. If dropped even the slightest bit though I think it would cause more damage to itself due to the weight.- The tuning and bracing lug nuts really should be nylon lock nuts, to prevent unintended turning which would affect tuning. It's not a huge problem but something to think about. I'd recommend a couple things to make it better.* A quick tune wrench. It come with a traditional wrench which is difficult at best to tune 8 lugs. Instead I took a 13mm deep socket and wrapped enough grip tape around it to build it out enough to get a good grip. SO much easier and faster.** Nylon lock nuts. I still need to order these, but I think it will help to hold the tuning a little better. At the end of the day, it's about the sound, and these have exceeded my expectations!
Khiggins
August 21, 2025
Wonderful quality and excellent sound. Purchased as a gift and also bought a case for carrying. Arrived quickly and in perfect condition.
Mofay
July 17, 2025
Let me first say I am not an expert on latin percussion. But I have spent several years playing sax and doing arrangements for salsa bands in Florida where all the percussionists were people who were born and raised in Puerto Rico, so I have a pretty good idea what these things are supposed to sound like. For the past few years I've been leading the jazz band at the community college where I teach, and this most recent semester, (Spring 2017) we shrunk the group down to 4 horns plus latin rhythm section. Since the head band director wouldn't let me tune his set (yeah, he's a dork) I decided to buy my own. These seemed like a good combination of price and quality, so I took a chance and bought them here on Amazon. We used them all semester, and I could not have been more pleased. I have learned to tune these up properly (after watching a LOT of Youtube videos) and I really love the snappy but rich tones that this set produces with the heads that were included. We played a lot of different styles (cumbia, cha-cha-cha, yambu, bolero, boogaloo and bomba-sica) and I was able to tune these drums to work well in all those styles, even though they really don't belong in all of these styles. I learned enough to play these in a very basic way, and then showed a non-musician how to do it, and he played them all semester. By the end of the semester, he was getting a much wider range of tones out of them than I could. When we put a mic on him, these bongos sounded really fantastic. These bongos seem very sturdy. I like to tune them up pretty high, and I always detuned them after every rehearsal/performance, but there was never any problem with the hardware. Everybody loved the rich amber color with red accents, and the hard clear coat over the wood has resisted dents and scrapes really well. Overall I have been thrilled with these bongos. They look and sound great, and I would buy another set if needed some more.
Kent Byron
May 24, 2025
These Meinl bongos sound fantastic. I listen to a lot of percussion from around the world. These bongos are legit and gorgeous sounding. The traditional chrome hardware isn't that important, and it drops the price of bongos, it seems, if you don't buy chrome, and yet the black metal hardware is plenty strong, I don't feel I'm missing anything not having chrome. Super strong hardware around the drums. They look gorgeous. But I never buy an instrument because of how it looks, that's secondary. Looks come last for me, especially if there's a bargain price on a certain color. For me, Sound first! Always! And build quality is a must also. These are built like a tank, comfortable to play and the sound is delicious. I've recorded with them too. They sound as good as anyone's bongos. I didn't even tune them yet! Pulled straight out of the box... what a sound. I'll explore tuning in the near future but they sound so good now, I'm just going to play them. Great job, Meinl. And the finished, shiny rubberwood is just gorgeous. Nice fit and finish. These will last a lifetime. The skins are durable. These came with a wrench and lug lube to keep everything moving easy when tuning. Bravo!
Frank Cruz
April 22, 2025
I bought the Easter (79.00) and did not like them, thin sound, and cheese manufacturing. So I decided to add $60 and get a better Bongo, WOW, I'm glad I did it. These bongos are infinity better, sound, feel, look, everything. If there is a disadvantage over the Easterns is that the Meinl are heavier, but the sound completely makes up for the extra weight. Very glad that I returned those cheapo sounding Easters and got the Meinls. I compared with the Matadors from LP, the floating system of the Meinls seems to provide a richer dynamic range and with a better tone and louder kick. It feels like there are more sounds available, very clear. The Matadors are loud but lack the full fat, mean sound of the Meinls.
Sascha Depunkt
April 8, 2025
Wie von Meinl gewohnt...top Verarbeitung und Sound.Kann ich nur empfehlen.Ich hab beim "Freeride System" das Gefühl, dass die hässlichen Obertöne die Bongos manchmal produzieren bei dieser Bongo nicht auftauchen. Unbedingt sollte man ein paar Euro mehr in einen guten Bongoständer investieren...lohnt sich !
Mr. D. Pearson
March 19, 2025
Heavy. Solid. Great sound.Very pleased with these bongos. Best bongos I’ve had so far. A little more pricey than others I’ve had before but obviously gotta pay for better quality.
Piero N.
March 12, 2025
Così come da titolo, con questo strumento è possibile avere la botte piena e la moglie ubriaca! Si, proprio così, perché Meinl costituisce una sicurezza sullo strumento, e poi la qualità del suono di questi Bongos sono davvero impressionanti!
FB!
March 3, 2025
Excellent bongos at exceptional price!
biff
February 18, 2025
右も左もわからず、単純にボンゴやりたいってことで購入。以前はスルドをやって居ましたが、いろいろ当てやめて居たのですが、やっぱりリズムを刻みたくなって購入しました。使ってみて思うことは単純なのに深みがある、ということでした。週末叩いて楽しんでます。別でスタンドとケースも入手したのでいろいろやってみたいです。