congaplace.com

hola congueros
Seen these on craigslist,was wondering if anyone could tell me what era they are from

gracias

They look like siam oak LP valjes to me.
PC

Is the decal the giveaway?

The Valje logo stamped on the lug plates and handle makes these LP for sure.

Hmm, strange, my Valje/LP conga has this logo on the shell:
Looks slightly different from the one in your photo, doesn´t it?
Also the handle is not the same as mine,
perhaps the craigslist seller applied a somewhat older handle to the drums.
Last but not least there are no rubber bottoms which LP introduced.
Having that said, the Siam oak tells me that those congas are by LP after all.
They might be in-betweeners from the mid-1990s or so.
If I had the chance, I would jump on them anyway, Dangler, they are fine drums.

Dangler - the look like my Valjes. Mine were made in 1975/76 - I bought them new in 77.........So I'd say mid 70's??????
Nice drums!

Kona wrote:Dangler - the look like my Valjes. Mine were made in 1975/76 - I bought them new in 77.........So I'd say mid 70's??????
Nice drums!

I do not think LP made any Siam Oak Valjes in the 1970s.

But let´s hear from you, Dangler, how things went with that craigslist offer - did you take it?

The LP / Valje Congas are from the mid 90s. At first they were Cherry, and then quickly
switched to Beech wood, (not Siam Oak) same as the LP Valje Bongos. The Logo changed slightly also.
At first they were called the "Armando Peraza" model , if my memory serves me correctly.
Beech is a very good sounding and stable hard wood. They then discontinued them.

The LP/Valje bongos were also discontinued, but brought back by popular demand.
I used to watch Johnny Rodriguez play them, so I got a set.
The new LP Johnny Rodriguez Model Bongos are the exact same Beech
as the LP Valje, but with the 9" Hembra and the same Valje style hardware.
One of the finest LP products, in my opinion.

Isaac Gutwilik

At $650 for the pair(quinto,conga) I decided to pass,If they had been Flores Valjes I would have grabbed them for sure.

Kona wrote:Dangler - the look like my Valjes. Mine were made in 1975/76 - I bought them new in 77.........So I'd say mid 70's??????
Nice drums!

Kona ,Do you have another set other than the ones you are trying to sell?I thought yours were made in California.
The hardware does look the same though.

Isaac wrote:The LP / Valje Congas are from the mid 90s. At first they were Cherry, and then quickly
switched to Beech wood, (not Siam Oak) same as the LP Valje Bongos. The Logo changed slightly also.
At first they were called the "Armando Peraza" model , if my memory serves me correctly.
Beech is a very good sounding and stable hard wood. They then discontinued them.

The LP/Valje bongos were also discontinued, but brought back by popular demand.
I used to watch Johnny Rodriguez play them, so I got a set.
The new LP Johnny Rodriguez Model Bongos are the exact same Beech
as the LP Valje, but with the 9" Hembra and the same Valje style hardware.
One of the finest LP products, in my opinion.

Isaac Gutwilik

Lp made valjes before the cherry wood armando peraza models. The give away with those is the grain, pre lp valjes were quarter sawn oak.
PC

the hardware isn't LP and the logo looks a little different then what was on the LP Valje. My guess is that these are very late model Valje from the 80's just before they sold to LP. Most likely made in San Francisco (not LA like the original valje).

Sorry to contradict, but these are not SF Valjes. SF Valjes were also made from quarter sawn oak, and it is easy to see that these drums are not made from that wood. Also, while I only have an LA Valje, my friend had a set of SF Valjes he sold a while back, and I do not recall this type of hardware on those drums. LP made several runs of LP Valjes with different woods, I'm assuming some of them may have had different hardware as well.

How about this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqo_rTzfCgw

Okay, ill piggyback onto this thread and ask if anyone can give me an idea what era my Valje is from.

Did they build fewer Ashikos than congas?

Im pretty sure this is before LP bought the name.

Is this an Akbar Valje just before the factory burned down?

Very nice Valje. I would say this is a later series. I have 3 of these in 10", 11"and 12" (the sizes are not exact they stray 3/8").