Hi mandrake!

I'll try to clear this up a bit for you. Slingerland's "student" drums were mainly built to satisfy a certain price point; ie "less expensive". One way to achieve that goal was to cut down on the amount of hardware on the drum. A snare drum with 6 lugs would be a bit less expensive to build than one one with 8 or 10 lugs. Less drilling and the savings from a few less lugs. Also, "student" model snare drums would make use of snare wires with less strands, usually incorporating 12 wires instead of 16 or 20. Making the hoops would also save a bit, as they only needed to be formed with 6 lugs. While we might look back at our 60's and 70's catalogs and see a price difference of less than $20 between, say the Deluxe Student and Hollywood, remember that that was a lot of money to a parent back then!

Also, the shells were of the same material, just less hardware!

In reference to your Krupa COB, those were Slingerland's bread-and-butter snare drum included with most of the pre-packaged kits. Usually it was an 8-lug model, but also came in a 10-lug version.

Finally, in reference to your "surefire" strainer, I think you're probably referring to the "rapid" strainer.

Hope this info helps a bit. Happy Holidays to you!

Mark

Generally the major manufacturers used six lugs on their "student" level drums as a costs savings measure. Less hardware and labor associated with them. In the case of the Ludwig Acrolite they were basically Supra's without the chrome finish and with eight lugs (typically bow tie) as opposed to ten. What makes this interesting for collectors is that the shells are usually the same quality as the high end drums. The question is how many lugs do you like at that point. You can get more accurate tuning and higher tuning with more lugs though some would also argue that less hardware leads to a more open tone. Therefore, all of these drums have value. In simple terms, a six lug snare would be considered student level, 10 lugs are high end and 8 could be either. For the record I have a six lug wood shell Slingy from the early sixties that I like a lot.

tks guys.... that clarifies things.... I actually like both snares... the 6 lug 'student', gives a much 'woodier' tone and is great for country and gigs that are not so high pressure and more importantly matches the rest of the kit.... while the krupa is much crisper and is great for jazz gigs and ad-lib playing..... and yes... its the rapid on the student, and while the zoomatic is nice, it died in 76 while we were playing a gig in lawton okla.... naturally this was before pc's and the internet, so I found a local music store, but all they had was the rapid, and couldnt fix the zoomatic, so I had them install the rapid on the krupa. Its given me good service over the years, but, should I ever decide to sell them, I would get a zoomatic and install it, just to keep the drum 'original', as I have taken excellent care of them and they are as close to show-room new as a 45 year old set can be..... again.... tks

WMP that is beautiful. I have that 6 lug student model, very easy drum to tune up. I struggled a little getting my COB Sound King mellowed out. I think that chrome snare looks great behind the kit!

Nice drum!

Tks.... back in the day, when I bought them.... as a reply said... $20.00 was REAL money.... so I opted for the 6 lug, and personally, I liked the sound of it better..... and these have had TLC.... taken apart once every year or two.... cleaned, polished, etc.... I'm pretty proud of them... no rust, pits or major flaws.... of course after close to 50 yrs, they're not perfect... but as I said, as close to show room and you'll find anywhere !! I've thought about selling them a few times, considering the prices vintage drums are getting these days.... but, I'm probably asking too much.... oh well, LOL