Here is a pic of the various
Valje's made over the years.. nice to see them all in one pic (by Sir Brian).
from left to right, LA sunset strip Tom Flores Valje, SF Akbar Valje (refurbished by Wil Perez with custom stain) , LP siam Oak Valje, LP Cherry Valje. And the LP Beech Valje to follow.
Inside pic is of the 'tweener' seemingly siam oak lp valje. Note, the first pic on this post is yet another connotation of LP valje 'tweener' with sf valje sticker, lp shape and rubber bottom.
So, the progression of woods for lp valjes goes as follows:
1995 or so till 1997 - Siam Oak, 1997 to 2000 - American Cherry, 2000 to 200? - Beech.
Welcome conga board members ;)
Tony
I have a pair of cherry LP valje anf i AM FOREVER GETTING COMPLIMENTS ON THE SOUND AND LOOKS
ReplyDeleteIn what way is is a devolution?
ReplyDeleteHas the wood quality decreased over the years
or is it the sound that has become less brilliant?
I bought two Lp Valje quintos. The Siam Oak would crack.
DeleteI can speak from personal experience. It was a devolution. I had two siam oak Valje quintos crack on me. It was probably due to two factors: the elimination of the interior scoring which prevents cracks and the type of wood, Siam oak which is not very condusive to Michigan climate. Seneferu
DeleteI can speak from personal experience that it was a devolution. I had two Lp Valje quintos crack on me upon purchase from the drum shop. They were made from Siam Oak which is not very condusive to the Michigan climate. Also the elimination of the interior scoring that Tom did probably was also a factor. The cherry drums and maybe the beech were probably better being domestic woods.
DeleteWell, It was a transition from hand made instruments to mass produced.
ReplyDeleteThe LP Valje are very fine mass produced drums.
But Tom and Akbar had serious drum making chops that came through the instrument and gave the sound a character that you wont find in a mass produced drum.
Hope that helps,
Tony
Certainly Crafted drums will exceed mass produced. But both versions of Valjes had design flaws in hardwares ~ lugs that had riveted saddles that bend out of alignment, & hole locations in line w/ the wood grain which is sometimes a problem in oak shells do to the grain patterns & the soft grain tended to crack. Ultimately...all things being equal, the heads made a difference, and the only true up grade to Valjes design was a simple rubber base that added resonance & offered protection to floors...thats a small evolution of a devolved drum :)
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ReplyDeleteAnon,
ReplyDeleteLP improved the hardware, and the glue.. added a nice rubber bottom. LP went with a thicker shell and used Siam Oak from asia, initially.. the devolution was, is, in the sound of the drum.. the older shells made by Tom Flores were better sounding drums, without question. ..probably a matter of the kind of oak they used and the thinner shell. Devolving from a hand made instrument made by a player, to mass produced drums made by assembly line workers.. and you can hear it!
Tony
I have a set of Jack Costanzo bongoes that I bought from Tom Flores at his shop on Sunset Blvd.That was in 1963. I also have a quinto, conga and tumba from that era. They're kind of fragile compared with mass produced version, and have a more angular profile.
ReplyDeleteI bought a set of Valje bongos back in 1960s they are walnut. With kip shin heads. I paid $125.00 for them . I met a guy name Jack Costanza who played for Stan Kenton turn me on to these drums . Still have them and they sound good as the day I bought them
ReplyDelete