I had one of those in the late 70’s early 80’s and it looked cool on stage but the sound wasn’t great. Later I picked up a Paiste 20” gong and that thing sounded incredible.

Actually still have the Paiste but not sure what happened to the Zildjian.

If you plan on buying I would try it out first make sure you like how it sounds.

Wayne

There was a Zildjian gong for sale in Drugan's booth at the Chicago show yesterday but I don't recall for how much. It wasn't cheap. I think it was a 30" one.

+1 on a 20" Paiste gong. Sounds just as good as the larger ones and opens up a lot faster. Also easier to transport ... it nests perfectly with a 22" bass drum.

Al

This is it

I think Zildjian imported those (although I could be wrong).

The one at the show yesterday was made like a cymbal but with a dished edge sort of like if you bent the flange of a china cymbal back 90 degrees. It had a center hole and was lathed as well.

Gongs in the 34" size appear in the model list for Zildjian in 1980. They are called Taiwan Gongs. There are also Gamelon and Turkish gongs but not in the 34" size. The Taiwan Gongs were available in 30", 34", 40", 48". The 48" was dropped in 1989 and the rest were dropped in 1996. The model list is silent on whether these Gongs were imported.

That one has a solid Zildjian logo with the little ® in the tail (if I'm seeing the ® properly). That is consistent with Zildjian ink from 1992 onwards, although it is possible that ink on Gongs doesn't follow the exact year pattern of the main A Zildjian cymbal lines.

As far as price goes, I have to extrapolate from my sales prices of large diameter cymbals (26" plus) and gongs which I've got recorded. Based on that data I'd say it is unlikely to sell at $800. The likely range is more $400 - $500 tops, maybe less at "flea market" prices. (but see two posts below) There are occasional sales of large diameter cymbals above $750 but those tend to be 1950s. Some sellers see big dollar signs with large diameter cymbals, but it seems to me that although they are relatively uncommon this doesn't raise the price a lot because the demand is also low. I've got more data than is shown in this link, and Gongs (aka Tam Tams) aren't included in this analysis).

http://black.net.nz/avedis/avedis-prices.html#big

Additional data may change the situation a little, but for now it doesn't look like larger diameter automatically gets a big price premium just for being a large diameter. And Gongs don't do as well as ordinary shaped cymbals based on the data so far.

Here is a Trans Stamp 28" Gong (a Type II which is consistent with the 1949 WFL Catalog page Bill Maley posted). Perhaps the one you saw looks like this?

http://www.vintagedrumforum.com/showthread.php?p=305875#post305875

In terms of prices these fall into the $450 - $550 range, and I've recorded both Type II Trans Stamps and late 50s Small Stamps on them. I haven't seen a 30" one yet. Four years on from that thread I still see erroneous claims by eBay (and other) sellers that these large diameter Tam Tams didn't appear in Zildjian catalogs until the 1960s.

And one which looks like that flea market one, but brand new $750 with free shipping:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Zildjian-P0501-34-Hand-Hammered-Gong-Made-In-China-Complex-Warm-Overtones-New/401071150641?epid=25012046655

Now called "Hand Hammered". The ad says Made in China, and the Zildjian model info says

Hand Hammered Gong introduced 1989 in 30", 34", 40" with a 26" introduced in 1998.

The model info list lacks images so I didn't know this was what the other models had turned into. Now that we know it is a current model and the brand new price is $750, I'd recast my previous estimate of "$400 - $500 tops" down to start at half the new street price for the equivalent cymbal, so $375 and maybe $400.

That one is mine. It is a 28" Turkish gong or Tam Tam. It has a 50s stamp. Brian allowed me to show it in his booth, but it did not sell. It is back in Kansas City now.