congaplace.com

Good to see the board finally back up...........now down to business!

I finally got my order of drums from Ralph, 3 congas and a bongo! They are great.

So a few days after I got the bongo from Resolution I see an ad for some Valje bongos
on the ol' craigslist. It's rare to see Valje bongo ads, and the price was right.

So right when I have no business buying another drum.............I buy another drum!

So I just gigged with the Resolution last night, and it
was great.
The skins are those processed white one, which sound really good, the hembra
gets better and better as it breaks in.

The volume was really there.

The Valje is smaller in diameter and height than the Resolution, so it's a very different drum
Apart from some cleaning and wiping down the Valje just needed some new skins.

The store had some kip, so that's on the macho and a friend had a JCR mule so thats on the hembra.
Still breaking in but so far so good, especially that kip, man is that stuff good!

These Valje's have a bit of history, so I am hoping you guys will have some comment
on them.

They previously belonged to a bongosera in a band called Orquestra Sabrosita.

The seller had this to say.

Hi Geordie, I am very glad you bought and now have the bongos. It was hard for me to part with them, and I have been looking for a new home for them for a while. I meant to tell you that my partner who they belonged to befores name. She was Mala "Mana" Roderigquez, and she was killed in 1984 in freak bicycle accident. She was fairly well known in the salsa circles of the late 70's and early 80's. She was full of life and lived it like there was no tommorow, she was from southern San Diego

Do any of you out there know of Mala or Oquestra Sabrosita?

BNB, those are some BEAUTIFUL Bongos . Do you think they can make a custom set 7.25" & 9" ?

Thanks Cablloballo,
Coming from you thats a lot, if anyone knows beautiful bongos its you.
I think Ralph might be able to make a set in the size you want, I seem to remember he
was planning on starting a model that size, since bongos like that are starting to become
popular.
My Meinl was that size, but with the freeride system and the large hembra, they were too
wide for me, good sound though.

Lovely drums BNB....congrats.

I like the Meinl shells but that comfort curve hardware they have rings like a freaking bongo bell. Also their stock skins
are absolutely the worst I've ever come across....even the cow ones that are on their top of the line drums.....they're untuneable.

Hey BNB, glad that the Valje has the sound you was looking for. Yeah you are right, skins sound better and better as they break. I wrote Resolution an e-mail but have not receive any answer yet.

Ralph at Resolution is more of a phone guy, it takes a few days for the email to be replied
to.
Also it usually takes a couple of calls before I reach him. Afternoons are best.

Funny, I alternate between a kip from fat conga which is a beauty and one of those slightly thicker white steers from ralph on the macho of my timbas, the steer is on at the moment as it's perfect for that deeper, earthier, bright tone that I like for funk etc, it sounds great not tuned nearly as high as the kip.

I seem to obsess back and forth between instruments, with bongo's get most of the attention currently !

Barrie

Ralph will make bongos/congas to ANY specs, for a fair and reasonable price of course.. He JUST recently re-acquired what should have been his birthright, the Valje name. Seriously, who's more qualified than Ralph to continue his fathers work? As a teen, in about '65, he grew up in the shop as his dads apprentice and learned the technique first hand over the course of a child/young adulthood. He's currently tooling up to start making Valje's again so he's a bit busy but he is about ready to start taking more orders. He's going to keep making Resolutions too for anyone who prefers. Personally, I like my Resolutions a LOT so they aren't being replaced anytime soon. I have my order in for the first Flores made Valje bongos in 25 years, 2 sets actually and there's at least one order behind mine. The first ones will be EXACTLY as his fathers first ones (kind of a tribute), 6" and 8" in black walnut. The second set are going to be to my custom specs. I'm trying to get him to quit his day job so he can make Valje's for us full time. Yes, he has a day job so evenings are best for him.