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It's a beautiful day in San Francisco. The flight up from southern California has been smooth. High-tech metal detectors and X-ray machines enhance my safety on the journey. Advanced radar systems scan the horizons for any hostile blips. Upon arrival, I buy a magnetized ticket at the automatic vending machine for the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system, which I ride into town while writing memos on my PALM computer.
The cab ride from the BART subway station includes computerized tracking of fares. We bypass the freeway, blocked by police due to the high-speed chase of a bank robber monitored by helicopters and freeway video cameras, triggered into action by a sophisticated bank alarm system that starts the whole thing rolling before the alleged perpetrator leaves the building. Yes, it's true, we live and operate in a very high-tech world.
Then it occurs to me that a very low-tech sort of thing may have happened. I might have the wrong address. The cab pulls up in front of an old warehouse building that appears to be shuttered. The cabbie waits while further investigation on my part finds one creaky door slightly ajar. A quick peek inside to see stacks of red oak planks and rows of bare shells in conga, ashiko, and bata shapes confirms that this indeed is a working percussion factory. A cheery "Hello" from owner Akbar Moghaddam, and I wave the cabbie on. Though I haven't realized it just yet, I'm about to cross over into a place where old-world skills and two human hands are the only technology in use. I'm about to discover Sol Percussion.
The story of Akbar and his path to Sol Percussion begins many years prior to the 1992 business start-up in the old warehouse on San Bruno Avenue. It begins with a percussion maker and World War II veteran named Tom Flores, who started manufacturing Cuban drums in 1954 under the name Valje. Flores began in Los Angeles, and local conga players, including Armando Peraza and Pancho Sanchez, played Valje drums during this time.
Akbar Moghaddam, owner of Sol Percussion	Valje continued to operate until 1983, when Flores sold the company to San Francisco-based Haight Ashbury Music Center. Akbar Moghaddam had been working for Haight Ashbury Music as a drum and percussion repairperson. He was sent to Los Angeles to learn the art of building drums at the Valje shop from Flores and another artisan, Octavio Ruiz. After about one year, Haight Ashbury Music moved the Valje operation to San Francisco to facilitate better control over the business. Akbar returned to San Francisco with the company and brought Octavio with him. On April 6th, 1986, a fire in a nearby building spread throughout the city block and consumed the Valje building. This ended production until Latin Percussion purchased the Valje name some years later and moved manufacturing of drums under that moniker to Thailand.
After the fire, Octavio returned to southern California, while Akbar went back to work in drum repair, further building his reputation as a master craftsman. He repaired drums for many of San Francisco's musical elite, including The Grateful Dead and Santana. The repair of so many drums led Akbar to ponder why these instruments were breaking. He examined the problems as they came in and would develop theories on how drums could be manufactured in such a way that would avoid the stresses and strains that led to the failures. He decided to work toward setting up his own percussion manufacturing business where these theories could be put into practice.
Octavio stands at the lathe and smooths out a conga shell.	Hand tools used in the lathing process: Octavio designed these one-of-a-kind tools.
This brings us to the 1992 launch of Sol Percussion by Akbar and a partner. The goal was to establish a manufacturing facility that would use the old-world skills learned from Flores and combine them with the design ideas Akbar had developed from his years as a drum repair technician. The partner, whose family still owns the building that houses the factory, moved on after deciding that building a percussion business was a bit too slow for his tastes.
The metal shop at Sol Percussion	Akbar uses a hand-driven machine to bend receiving rings for conga rims.
Akbar attempted to recruit Octavio to join the new shop. Octavio was enjoying the large Latin community found in southern California, but in early 2000, he finally agreed to try living in San Francisco again. He soon found himself quite at home in the Bay Area and was once again building the kind of instruments that best illustrate his immense talent. This move completed the current line-up.
The Akbar/Octavio team manufactures everything in the Sol Percussion catalog entirely by hand. The phrase "by hand" literally means that their hands are responsible for every part of the manufacturing process. Their "manufacturing as art" mindset is evident in the quality of construction and tone that is found in their instruments.
All Sol drums begin their life as planks of red oak that has been allowed to air-dry under plastic wrap for six months. Red oak is used because of its stability when moving between differing climates. The planks are cut into strips and placed side-by-side in a steel ring to form a round shell. Akbar says that one of the first things an apprentice percussion manufacturer learns is how to pick up the wood and place it in a ring without having any of the strips fall out before you get enough of them into the ring to complete the shell.
The newly formed shells are placed into a warming vat with a bit of water in the bottom. The wood soaks up the water and becomes flexible. Then the bottom, flared portion of the shell is pulled together and another ring placed such that both ends of the shell are snug. This non-glued version is allowed to cure for at least two months so that the wood re-forms into the desired shape of the drum.
The shell is then glued together using an adhesive that creates a bond stronger than the wood it's holding together. Akbar explains that this "stronger than wood" bond will forever prevent the shell from pulling apart. After several days, the shell is put on a motorized lathe and shaped using hand tools designed by Octavio.
In a multi-step process, the shell is smoothed for finishing. All excess glue is removed, both outside and inside the shell. Akbar states that removing excess glue inside the shell is one of the extra steps he likes to take to improve the sound of the drum. After a sealer is applied, multiple coats of the clear satin are hand-rubbed to give the shell's natural wood the best possible appearance.
The lugs, rims, and tension rods on Sol Percussion products are not stamped out by an overseas manufacturer. The parts are fashioned in the factory from cold-rolled stainless-steel stock that resists bending out of shape when under tension. Akbar demonstrated how the receiving rings on the conga rim are shaped using a hand-driven metal bending apparatus. This same device is used to make tension rods, which are designed to sit closer to the drumshell and thus prevent leg pain for bongo players. Even the side plate, which is cut into the shape of the sun, is made in-house.
The side plate has received special attention by Akbar. One of the many problems he found in his days as a drum repair tech was that all conga side plates eventually bend away from the shell due to the tremendous tension they are under. To solve this problem, Akbar designed a smaller side plate with closely spaced holes along the lower portion of the plate to secure it to the shell. These holes are positioned so that the tension created by the pull of the rod is more evenly spread between the plate and the shell, thus preventing any disfiguring of the side plate.
The rims for Sol Percussion drums are made from 5/8" stock but are double thickness with a rounded "comfort crown" edge. The double thickness helps prevent distortion of the rim from tension, and the rounded edge makes playing the drum more comfortable. Akbar relates that he developed this design "when players would come to me after a gig and talk about how their hands hurt so badly." He goes on to make the point that, "Much of what we do at Sol Percussion is for the health of the musician."
Even the finish of the metalwork has received much attention. Instead of chrome plating, which always seems to need polishing, Akbar chose to powder coat all hardware in a gold vein design. There is a subtle elegance to the antique look that this finish gives the metal. Akbar is quick to point out that such attention to detail is just another of the many facets of this company that set it apart from mass manufacturers.
Left: The Sol Percussion conga stand has an extra piece of metal attached to each leg that helps prevent the drum from moving in the stand when played. Right: Newly formed conga shells sit for two months to ensure that the wood has properly cured into the correct shape.
All Sol Percussion drums are sold with animal-skin heads. The skins are chosen according to thickness and type of animal for the different drums. Goatskin is used on talking drums and ashiko drums. Cowhide is used for congas. Horsehide is used on some small drums that require high head tension. The skins are cut to fit at the factory, with excess pieces used to make the new Talking Shakers, which require only a tiny portion of the skin.
Another example of Akbar's problem-solving abilities is found in the design of the ring used to mount the animal skins. Instead of a rounded hoop, Akbar uses a squared-off hoop that resists misshaping from tension and helps prevent the skin from slipping. When asked about synthetic heads, Akbar simply replies, "Synthetic heads are okay for live performance where you want a lot of volume. But for the traditional tone needed for recording, animal skin is the only way to go."
While attention to quality is a major focus, innovation hasn't exactly taken a backseat. Akbar designed a conga shell with the belly placed higher than on traditional shells. The compact shape is much like a Cuban drum. This change acts to produce a strong bass response, a tight resonance, and a sharp slap sound. In keeping with Akbar's desire to create instruments that make drumming less painful for the player, the shell design allows the drum to be held between the legs more comfortably.
Rather than the three traditional drum sizes of tumba, conga, and quinto, Akbar expanded the line to five drums. A larger tumba and an even larger "Titanic" drum are available for players who are looking for new options in sound.
For players who want the traditional conga sound, Akbar also makes drums with the belly in the lower position. These are called Rumba Congas, and like the Sol Congas, are available in five sizes. For the two extra Rumba drums, Akbar made a smaller super quinto and a large super tumba.
Besides congas, Sol Percussion also offers two models of bongos. The Sol bongo resembles a classic Cuban bongo. The Sol Changüi bongo has a deeper and wider proportion and glued-on heads. This design was created to address the needs of the changüi and son styles of music. Other percussion instruments produced by Sol include tamboras, batas, a talking drum, and a model of ashiko.
Sometimes Akbar will take a traditional idea and twist it around into a whole new instrument. Sol cajon drums are an example of this. A Cuban box drum combined with a conga shape yields a drum that offers a sharp slap with loud open bass tones. The 44" Sol African congas are similar to long, thin Afro-Cuban bonko drums that are used in Abakua music and the boku drum used in the Carnival music of Santiago.
Another new instrument in the Sol lineup that's showing signs of quick acceptance is the Talking Shaker. This is a small, hollow wooden shell (about the size of cream-filled sandwich cookies) covered on each end with glued-on animal skin with some type of shaker beads on the inside. Holding the device in your hand and placing varying amounts of pressure on one or both heads produces a multitude of sounds. Hours of fun lie ahead for anyone who picks up a pair of these.
Innovation is evident in the stand department at Sol Percussion as well. Sol was the first company to introduce a triple bata stand. With input from percussion great John Santos, Akbar and Octavio designed an adjustable stand that will fit any bata from any manufacturer. Refinements in this stand are currently underway that will increase adjustability even further
Sometimes simple fixes are the best. An extra piece of steel on the Sol conga stand prevents the drum from moving around in the stand when played. Such details are the hallmark of Sol Percussion, ever trying to keep the comfort of the player at the forefront.
Sol Percussion doesn't just manufacturer drums, they teach drumming as well. A studio just inside the front door is used to hold group percussion lessons and demo the drums for factory visitors. Akbar likes to invite groups of local students for factory tours and tries to use the tours as a way to show the students real-world application of what they learn in school.
For example, Akbar recently demonstrated shell construction to a group of students, then asked, "How did I know what size to make the individual pieces of wood for the shell given the diameter of the drum I was trying to create?" As the kids developed that "deer in the headlights" look, Akbar used the opportunity to explain how math skills they have already learned can be used to solve this problem.
What's next at Sol Percussion? Expansion of the dealer network is a major goal. Akbar is negotiating with dealers in an attempt to get more of his instruments in front of customers, but readily admits, "It isn't easy." Akbar laments that, "Most dealers want lower-quality instruments that are more affordable for younger players. Sol doesn't try to compete in that market simply because that level of instrument is not what we are about." This is a high-end manufacturer with the goal of making instruments that are the finest examples of their genre. Akbar hopes that dealers may want to consider stocking small numbers of Sol Percussion instruments, "as a way to better service their semi-pro and pro-level players who need and want to purchase the best drums available."
Further information on Sol Percussion can be found at www.soldrums.com and through the factory at PO Box 170422, San Francisco, CA 94117, (415) 468-4700.
Copyright 2003, Modern Drummer Publications, Inc., Used by permission.