Hello men and women that hit things. I have some pics. I'm having a bit of a problem as the max. file size for attachments is very small. I had big, detailed photos but they were way too big. Tryed to zip them and too big again. I will have to make several posts to send them all up.

The Slingerland drums are from around 1946. Two Ludwig chrome snares, one from the 50s I think and the other from 1967. And then one unknown drum. A small kik or marching drum or I have no idea. Maybe someone can identify it. Like I said. The Slings were in a club where there was a fire. The wrap has been removed and the kik is in terrible shape. The snare drums have had the throw offs changed from the originals. My father (who was the original owner of these drums) worked 6 nights a week for decades and did studio stuff and jingles during the day. There was a lot of work for players back then. He did what he had to do to the drums to work. They really didn't think about how the modifications would affect the value. If you say uuggg or ouch a few times I will not be surprised. The 60s Gretsch set that I also inherited is at a friend's place and I will be getting them back and will post pics of those as well. They are in better shape.

I also have some Ziljian cymbals that I have to go through. The sizes of the Slingerland drums are (approx. as I'm not quite sure how you drummers measure these things).

Kik - 20 x 14

Rack - 14 x 10

Floor - 18 x 14

and the odd unknown drum is 18 x 14.

I will listen to what you have to say about these drums. I'm wondering if I should restore or sell as is, how hard it would be to get the parts that are missing and, how much are they worth as is and how much they would be worth if restored. Enjoy the pics.

More pics.

More pics again.

Even more.

How many are too many?

Am I doing this right?

This may be it.

Welcome to VDF!

Man, I don't know where to begin... if both of those snare drums were in 'original' condition, they would be worth a pretty penny indeed. Both of them had the strainer replaced with (lesser quality) 70's style Ludwig throws. That, plus the extra holes, cuts resale value by two-thirds, maybe more.

That Slingerland kit is an old Radio King. Valuable, desirable and they are among the highest quality drums ever produced. The problem with yours is, it's barely hanging on and it's been beat all to hell over the years. Again, in current condition, an otherwise very valuable old kit, will only bring in a third or less of market value for an original condition one.

GREAT, Classic drums, all of them. Just in sad shape and all of them needing extensive restoration to bring them back to what they are supposed to be. I'll bet they sound real good as they stand!

John

The 1st snare appears to be a Super Ludwig, circa mid to late 30's to early 40's, and the second snare is a Ludwig Supra, circa mid 60's

The wooden drums appear (all except the last one with the center lugs) to be Slingerland Radio Kings. Very nice made drums. The last drum with the center lugs appears to be what I think is a Gretsch drum. Others will chime in if I'm wrong, but if that is the one that is sized 18x14, then that drum may be quite valuable if it's all original. Both hoops have the center wrap strips and the same color, so it's possible the drum wrap was removed. That drum looks to have bass drum legs, which would make that drum alone quite valuable to someone who is looking for such.\

That being said, the metal snares if they have extra holes are not as valuable with the extra holes. The wood drums can be plugged for any extra holes and rewrapped. Hardware (lugs, rods, etc.) are the biggest battle for most, as shells can be repaired, hardware if broken serves no purpose.

If you want to restore, do it. The value will not be as much as if the drums were original. If you want to make money, individualize the drums and/or parts. Some purists don't like that, but it's yours to do with what you will.

Either way, you've got some cool drums and the possibility of a cool kit or some nice income for a new set.

Oh man, you're killing me. 2/3's what they could be worth. I'm weeping. Yes, the older Ludwig snare drum was in our house when I was growing up so I assumed it was a 50s era drum. Now you're telling me it could be quite older. Yes, I noticed the holes that were drilled. The other snare (newer Ludwig snare) was bought by me in 1967. As far as I can tell, there wasn't any holes drilled in that drum but it does have the newer throw off installed. Unfortunately all the old hardware is gone. I have a question about the Slingerland floor tom. It appears that one of the rims may not be the correct one. My father was doing some strange **** as he got older and one of the rims does not look like the other. I have to get the Gretsch kit back in the house to see what rims are on those drums. Thanks for having a look and letting me know what you think. Keep the comments coming and hopefully I can post the pics of the Gretsch set early next month. (I have a short tour coming up and will be away.)

Axel

P.S. The Slingerlands use to be covered with the Sparkling Gold Wrap. I remember how they use to look and they were very cool. I also liked the way they sounded compared to the 60's Gretsch set. They had a warm natural sound. I loved that kit.