congaplace.com

Posted: **Wed Aug 29, 2007 3:39 am**

the valje on ebay at the moment is an early model LP, made after LP acquired the rights to the name and design from haight ashbury music in the mid 80's. theses drums sound fine, but they are not american oak and i have seen several crack; but so do other drums. if someone is bidding, you may just wish to know that it is not a Flores or Akbar drum. just an FYI. one was just sold on craigslist in chicago for a bout $100., but that price was very good.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws....5037801

if you go to this post you will be able to make a comparison of the original and LP made valje

http://www.congaplace.com/cgi-bin....l=valje

i have sent an email to the seller re possibly disclosing the nature of the drum; being LP that is. he is inclined to keep it vague, only sent me a response that it had a replacement head sticker on the inside - all lp valje have this, even the bongo

Edited By congalero on 1188359336

Posted: **Wed Aug 29, 2007 3:44 am**

Yup. LP Valjes'.
2 cracks, not worth it , beware.

T

Posted: **Wed Aug 29, 2007 4:11 am**

Congalero,
Somehow I missed your Valje story thread you linked to. Thanks for sharing that. You are a Valje player for sure (even in the disguise of Gon Bops).

Even though the SF Valje's may be the hardest to find, I think the orginal sounds the best. though I could be talking out my as*, since I I'm not really sure if I even seen a SF Valje in good condition.
My 1st teacher had the original set. He taught alot of Haitian rhythmns, so he hit the side of the drum (tumba). as the lead drum. I couldn't beleive he would do such a thing to his beautiful drum.

How you diggin' the new GB's?

T

Edited By Tonio on 1188360720

Posted: **Wed Aug 29, 2007 3:50 pm**

Hey Congalero thanks fro posting that info. I saw that tumba on ebay but it looked like an LP and I am glad to know that my suspicion was correct.
I would hate to see some poor guy part with some cash thinking he is getting the real deal and it turns out to be made in Thailand. There is a conga and quinto listed right now and I think it is the same seller. I am not sure about the origin of those, they have like a stamp on them that has the LA location and a SF location. I don't know...

Posted: **Wed Aug 29, 2007 4:30 pm**

I asked the question on both; They replied via email that the single one (Tumba) is made after LP purchased Valje and the two drum item is made pre LP.

Interestingly I have not yet seen these replies publicly quoted!

Posted: **Wed Aug 29, 2007 6:47 pm**

Hey everyone, I wouldn´t buy congas with cracked shells.
Look what JCR/Funky Tradition has got to offer: a used TOCA quinto +tumba set with mule skins on them!!! I wonder if this wouldn´t be a better deal . Check it out:

[url=http://cgi.ebay.com/TOCA-CONGAS-Limited-Edition-TUMBA-QUINTO-Mule_W0QQitemZ290155115525QQihZ019QQcategoryZ3809

4QQcmdZViewItem]http://cgi.ebay.com/TOCA-CO....iewItem[/url]

(Remember: It´s the same kind of Toca congas Angà [R.I.P.] used to play...)

Edited By Mike on 1188413307

Posted: **Wed Aug 29, 2007 7:03 pm**

I bought my Lp fiberglass tumba from funky tradition / Isaac. He packaged it well..

as far as cracked congas go, some people I know really enjoy restoring old congas like Gon Bops and Valjes. It's a fun hobby if you can get a good enough deal on the drum.

and Ralph at Resolution repairs Valjes as part of his business.

btw I have a full set on order from Ralph, going to be ready in December :O

Edited By bongosnotbombs on 1188414280

Posted: **Thu Aug 30, 2007 3:54 am**

hmmmmm! ok now, this has been a theory of mine for a while regarding the valje's sold here in the bay area after haight ashbury music purchased the company from tom flores. one of our members purchased a set of 31" valje drums not too long ago here in the bay area. they had the valje label from san francisco on the drum, but a label bearing the L A address on the crown. now we see a drum on ebay that has both a S F address and an L A address on the inside next to each other; one with the san francisco label. my theory is that some of the L A shells and hardware were brought up from the old shop and sold here as part of the S F shop inventory; not necessarily made in S F - S F drums were 30" and not 31". The ebay drums are stated to be 30” but could be 31”. there is also a C on the skin and on the inside of one drum. this was an indication of being a 31" and a JC would indicate a 30"; as stated by john santos, in a memorandum i have, who was the VP of sales at the time. the heights stated by john are JC 30.5" and C approx 1 inch taller. just shows that anything can happen during a transition and measurements can be off a bit.

Edited By congalero on 1188449000

Attachment: http://mycongaplace.com/forum/eng/uploa ... t_3_1_.jpg

Posted: **Thu Aug 30, 2007 6:38 am**

Have you noticed that one:

[url=http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-King-Conga-Drum-1970-RARE_W0QQitemZ280146309248QQihZ018QQcategoryZ38094QQssPageNam
eZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem]http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage....iewItem[/url]

?

Posted: **Thu Aug 30, 2007 3:46 pm**

I believe Ralph Flores had told me he is making his sets at 29" inches. I would enjoy comparing my set of Resolutions when they come in this December.....

Congalero, have you seen or do you have a set of drums by Resolution?

Posted: **Thu Aug 30, 2007 8:03 pm**

bongosnotbombs wrote:I believe Ralph Flores had told me he is making his sets at 29" inches. I would enjoy comparing my set of Resolutions when they come in this December.....

Congalero, have you seen or do you have a set of drums by Resolution?

i do not have a set of ralph's drums at the moment, but i did have the opportunity to test a couple out a few months ago when i saw him last. i think his drums are well made and have a good sound; remember that resolution was designed by he and his dad - tom flores.

the attached pic is from a link i found - funny how the shape of these drums looks much lke another very popular drum i have seen on these links ???

Edited By congalero on 1188504332

Attachment: http://mycongaplace.com/forum/eng/uploa ... 7-9_1_.jpg

Posted: **Thu Aug 30, 2007 9:01 pm**

Saludos Hermanos

bomb

Resolution is a fairly new company and their drums havent been on the market very long. not very many people have them because of that.

Oz

Posted: **Thu Aug 30, 2007 9:14 pm**

Looks like I'm going to be one of the first, got a set of 3 on the way and a set of bongos.

I seem to remember Ralph saying his drums are not only an inch shorter, but also the belly is a little lower.

Congalero, you mean Isla's?. I had thought so too.

I went for Resolutions because I wanted some Valje's but did'nt want to deal with the collector/vintage aspects that go with them sometimes, Resolution seemed like the answer.

Edited By bongosnotbombs on 1188516135

Posted: **Fri Aug 31, 2007 3:29 am**

ozrivera wrote:Saludos Hermanos

bomb

Resolution is a fairly new company and their drums havent been on the market very long. not very many people have them because of that.

Oz

i certainly understand the confusion as to how long these drums (resolution) have been around, as not many sets have been made. please refer to the attached for clarification.

quote from resolution drums web site:

Valje drums are no longer made by Tom Flores, as the business was sold in the 1980's. It was not until 1997 that my father became interested in making the same quality drums that made him famous, the company known as " Resolution" was created and now I (Ralph Flores) carry the unique tradition of drum making. Each drum is completely hand crafted using the technique and experience of a bygone era.

Posted: **Fri Aug 31, 2007 3:39 am**

bongosnotbombs wrote:Looks like I'm going to be one of the first, got a set of 3 on the way and a set of bongos.

I seem to remember Ralph saying his drums are not only an inch shorter, but also the belly is a little lower.

Congalero, you mean Isla's?. I had thought so too.

I went for Resolutions because I wanted some Valje's but did'nt want to deal with the collector/vintage aspects that go with them sometimes, Resolution seemed like the answer.

i am making no inferences here, just a remark to indicate that there are many drums that look alike. actually resolution look like a valje with a lower belly. i guess isla also has this lower belly so i can see how you would draw that conclusion. regardless of the many shapes we see, all are unique in the end, as are those that make them.

congaplace.com

valje on ebay - not LA or SF early LP model