Manufacturers, brands, skins, maintenance, stands, sticks, michrophones and other accessories for congueros can be discussed into this forum ...... leave your experience or express your doubts!
This is another mystery Valje drum. It is not mine, and there is no longer a flower vase on it so before you start saying, "why is there a flower vase".. please know that my friend has rescued this drum. I still have not been able to get it yet. I talked to Ralph Flores (Resolution/Valje) about it. The wood is newer, not vintage. The hoops that hold the hooks are shorter (closer in to the drum) then Tom Flores and the bolts that hold the plate are not counter sunk. The plates might not be original (Ralph thinks they are not!) but who would go to all that trouble to copy Valje plates? The grooves were not done by Tom Flores,(according to Ralph) as they are not symetrical like his father would indeed do occasionally. But..who would have a huge enough lathe to put these in? It would have to be someone with access to a huge shop. Is this a custom drum..and did Akbar make it perhaps? The handle is also too high.