Extremely Rare Banded Valje Congas

[drumaloha]

Aloha!

I'm selling two Valje drums: a 11 3/4" quinto and a 12 3/4" conga

These are one of the very first sets of Valje drums that Tom Flores made in his garage.

Proceeds will go to feeding the hungry homeless.

Please visit: http://rarevaljecongas.blogspot.com/ for more details and photos

My contact information is on the website if you have questions. Please do NOT post inquiries to this list!

thanks!

[bongosnotbombs]

Tony Stearn is hardly an authority on Valjes. You should contact Ralph Flores at Resolution drums. Congalero a forum member here is also an authority, he probably has the largest and most complete collection of Valjes in the world. he might be interested in buying these drums of yours as well.

[pcastag]

Little dis there on a fellow forum member? Nice.

[congamyk]

If the current bid is $1500, why go to the trouble to create a blogspot with photos and hype to get more $$?
Just take the $1500 already.

From the blogspot selling the drums...
The drums are being sold to start a project called the Loving Kindness Center on Maui.
This Center will help bring peace and harmony to the world and help feed the hungry.

http://www.weddingsmaui.com/waihee.html
The Lovingkindness Center is profitable business selling wedding packages described by their own website as.....
The Center for Loving Kindness
Location For Private Wedding on Maui Hawaii
Picture a secluded promontory where the ocean and mountains seem to converge in connubial bliss.
There, the only sound you'll hear is the gurgle of the Waihee stream as it flows toward the blue Pacific below.

In this peaceful and dramatic place, relaxation comes naturally, as you prepare for this special moment in your lives in a comfortable and well-appointed private location. Spectacular backdrops for your prized photo memories abound - colorful gardens, verdant, sometimes misty, mountains and of course the open sea. It's the Hawaii you've always dreamed about, and yet it's in Central Maui-close and accessible.

They need money?

[Derbeno]

Mr Drumaloha joins Wed January 2nd and makes just two post to flog his Valjes as if it's a chartable fundraiser .

We were obviously born yesterday!

[drumaloha]

Aloha

1) thanks "bongosnotbombs" for the suggestions - I will contact both Ralph Flores and Congalero

2) replying to "congamyk" - the "Loving Kindness Center" is not the same as "The Center for Loving Kindness." The people who are starting the program the sale will benefit are the same folks that started this work on Oahu: http://streetangelshawaii.blogspot.com/ The reason for putting up a blogsite in hopes of raising more money is because it's about feeding homeless people.

3) replying to "Derbeno" - yes, I joined and posted. I had never heard to this list before and was told interested and supportive people would be here. I haven't had time to participate yet in the forums because I am in my high season teaching percussion in the schools.

Michael Wall - Artistic Teaching Partner, Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts (808) 737-3786 drum@hawaii.rr.com

[pcastag]

Thanks for clearing that up, looks like some people are jumping the gun on you, good luck with the sale , i know homelessness is a big issue in Hawaii with the high cost of housing.

[congamyk]

nobody is jumping the gun DB

just using common sense and having a little fun as drumaloha signed up and immediately started selling high $$ goods.
took 2 seconds to go to the website and learn that the place is a posh resort of sorts up on a scenic cliff overlooking the water and beaches.

hopefully there is cheap bus service for the homeless to get up there.

[drumaloha]

apparently not a very friendly scene here, if this is congamyk's idea of fun and common sense. As I explained above, the two organizations are not the same. the website "congamyk" mentions has nothing to do with the project to feed homeless people. geez. I have sent an email to the organizer on Maui suggesting a name change asap.

[pcastag]

Not sure what DB means, but don't worry about congamyk, he's just trolling with his relentless positivism . Most people on this board would applaud your efforts to help by selling one of your prized instruments. keep up the work in the schools too. It's awesome that kids in Hawaii are getting some percussion education.

[drumaloha]

thanks "pcastag"!

[congamyk]

that's very "positive" of you DBcastag.

hey drumaloha everyone here is friendly but like any website forum there are some people who sign up just to push a product or agenda.
IMO the deal smells like rotten fish. and that's a friendly way of saying it - believe me.

[pcastag]

DB?DB? Those initials aren't found anywhere in my name? I wonder what this DB could stand for hmmmmmmmm

[congalero]

Banded Valje, not so rare! My friend Michael L had five of these that he offered to me for $2,500. about a year and a half or so ago. The owner of Haight Ashbury music bought them. He put them up for resale, not sure what price he put for each drum. bongosnotbombs I think lives by the shop, so he may have seen them there. In any event, the rarest Valje I have seen so far was the ones painted red. In the end, it is really about the sound. My preference is the quarter sawn drums, older oak, that were made early on. Oak became very popular in the 80's in the construction of homes (cabinets ...) so drum makers had to go with what was more available in woods to keep their cost down. If you look at Valjes made early on the wood looks like that of old oak desks and chairs, later it looks like 80's and 90's flooring. There are exceptions pending supply at the time Tom needed product.

[congalero]

Looking at the post pictures of the drums, they are certainly 'early made drums'. The scoring on the inside does not seem to have the slathered glue Tom put on for support and the decal is not one I have seen before. The drums are for sure aged. The drums I was offered were professionally reconditioned on the exteriors with new skins. In the end all drums are worth what a buyer sees as a fair price, based on desire. All the best with them.