Here’s the next installment to my let-me-find-a-good-use-for-ethnic-instruments-in-my-studio project: an authentic cowhide bongo made in the mountain province of Benguet, Philippines. I bought it on the day of my college graduation so it’s really special to me. Tap with care.

If you’ve ever had a cowhide bongo you would know that they don’t have much resonance like the conga, instead they’re very natural-sounding, more earthy. It’s great for world and ethnic music styles. So if you’re making the soundtrack for the next Pocahontas sequel, maybe this can come handy.

Otobongo is available to download as a freeware VST instrument for Windows PC.