Maybe the Slingerland "Gene Krupa" is what your thinking of they had a few models yes?

Snare drums aside, there were fewer models than you might think. When it came to toms and basses, there was the standard single-rod-per-lug design, the "Stage Band" model with center-mounted double-ended lugs (similar to your mounted tom), and single-headed concert toms. And on older budget kits, you may find single-tension drums. For any given time, the shell construction on all those drums would be exactly the same. Same shells, just with different hardware attached.

The "model" of a vintage Slingerland drum set (as with many vintage sets) didn't denote the build of the shell so much as it identified the collection of parts: how many drums in which sizes, with what specific hardware. It was quite a different marketing strategy than today, where every drum set model seems to have its own shell composition and hardware line.

ive looked at many pictures of 1960s slingerland kits and i have yet to see a drum set with a hi tom as small as the one i have on this kit.... it almost looks like a snare drum? could it be altered as such?

I think this is a case of not doing your homework thoroughly before buying, as well as a seller that either had no clue, or knew he had something that it wasn't and figured he could get away with it. Seems that he did.

Sorry to sound harsh, but you really must know what you are buying before you lay out that kind of cash. This is just an expensive lesson now.

Good luck.

Jesse - if it were a snare drum you would probably see either some extra holes from a strainer or some ex strainer holes that had been filled.Try removing a head and check the interior of the tom that is in question. Also, if it were a snare the bottom rim would would have spaces for snare wires (unless the hoops had been changed out of course). Finally, all the evidence suggests this is not a Slingerland drum kit. Expand your search a bit and try the MIJ kit route. You may still figure this one out - Good Luck!

James

This is a Pearl stencil kit from the mid 60s, judging by the lugs on the tom. It is maybe Pearl. Star did not use that particular lug design, they are "stubby" in comparison to the Star lugs. This kit is certainly over-priced at 500. Should have been closer to 250 to be inline with MIJ prices. Sorry to say it, but as L-D stated, this is an expensive lesson.

Maybe the seller would put it right, but I highly doubt it. As for quality, they are decent. You can tune any drum to sound good, but head selection and tuning are going to be your key to making them sound great. As for the mis-matching tom, I have seen many of this era Pearl stencil with mixed lug design toms. Good luck with them!

EDIT: OK, after closer inspection, this appears to be a completely mixed kit. The T-rods on the bass look to be Star, as well as the interior of the bass painted grey. Te floor tom also apears to be Star. The small tom and the snare, however, look like Pearl. I will need better close ups to be certain of anyting on this one. As soon as you get it in hand, get some pix posted for us.

Think I came across this kit a few times in my 'Ontario, vintage percussion' checks - wasn't it, (at least at one time) listed something like: 'Ludwig snare, with matching orange sparkle kit"? Are all interiors painted? Just wondering if they might have been painted after the fact, to hide the tell-tale vertical wood grain. If it was still listed as a Ludwig snare, and the one pictured is the one you got, then I'd think it fraudulent. Seen a few locals lately, trying to pass off early stencil kits as 'vintage', and asking way too much. Got to be careful out there.

Well, they are "vintage" kits, they are just not vintage American kits. As for the painted interiors, Star painted their 6-9 ply shells this grey color, so it's likely not an attempt to hide anything on the sellers' part. If, however, he sold them on the premise they are something other than an MIJ kit, he is either ignorant and needs an education, or is a straight up liar and thief and needs to make right the monetary value.

These are rather hard to find in orange sparkle, and they appear to be in rater good condition. If they are all Star drums, and not a mixed kit, they should be worth somewhere in the 250-300 range. I have seen this before, with the single center lug design tom with all the others dual lugs, and the couple I have seen were Star kits so if all drums are Star, this is likely a matched kit. Make any sense?

@jonnistix - Didn't mean to imply the stencil kits weren't 'vintage', (poorly worded), just that recently folks seemed to be pricing them too high for what they really are, trying to take advantage of the vintage market. I've been looking at these kits myself, and have been checking out dialog here on VDF for more accurate price ranges, and value. Seems like it's very easy to get burned unless you really know what to look for, and I've found you guys here on VDF have been a wealth of valuable information. Been glued here since I found it.

http://www.vintagedrumguide.com/japanese_drums/images/Star/1967-5.jpg

looks like i know where the high tom came from the 1967 Star Cocktail kit...