i would have to drill holes on my bass to put the mounts you have on my bass

I would say the bass is a '55 or '56 model.... the first year of the sound king lugs was '55, and the wrap under the scarf ended in '56. Is the drum a 22x14 ?

yes sir sure is

I have a 55 and a 56 Slingy 22x14 bass.

Both use this set up.

Landen, did you read the text in the catalog page I posted?

I just realized ... it reads.. "Drill hole through shell to locate spurs at maximum spread. Tighten with lock nut inside shell."

It's giving instructions to the customer on how to install them themselves!

That makes me think that those spurs (model 1280) are a replacement or upgrade from the hoop-mounted economo spurs (model 1279).

Damn, here's the next snag.... the economo spurs look like they were only on 12 inch bass drums or drums from earlier... like '51.

Anyway, it appears that since the catalog is giving instructions on how to install them, that the spurs are legit, but not installed at the factory.... they were offered for the owner to install themselves.

My head hurts.....

WOW that is nuts! i cant believe it i was so skeptical when i bought this drum but i am glad you guys are reassuring me. my buddy mike from texas was telling me to get this drum and was saying its real man dont worry i know what i am talking about. i am glad i listened to him he is a cool guy and alot of help, and so are you thanks alot for bringing this stuff into to the light. i still havent figured out the purpose of the hole on the side yet.

Yeah, that doesn't belong....... I think Mikey was right when he said he thinks it was an attempt at adding a muffler at some time.

I wouldn't sweat it much, you're going to re wrap anyway, right ? Just plug it, there's lots of threads around on how to do it.

The spurs I received with the drum are original, as best I can tell. Since there's only one hole for each spur and no stray holes, the only other possibility seems to be that the drum came with hoop-mounted spurs and the original owner installed the retractable 1280's. Unfortunately, there are a few extra holes in the shell now because I screwed on a reinforcing plate for damage around the spur hole where the spur got punched through the shell. I'm all for leaving things as original as possible, but in this case, I figured an altered drum is better than a broken drum!

As for other, more common types of spurs, I don't think there would be anything significantly different that could use the same holes. (I did replace my spurs with a different/newer larger-diameter part because of the shell damage, but they're pretty similar in function.) Looking at the geometry, it's hard to see how a different type of retractable spur could use the same holes. Most other retractable spurs are further up the sides of the shell, presumably to achieve a wider, more stable stance.

You just helped me nail down the year of my kit. Thanks!

Sound King lugs and "dogtag" badges indicate mid-late 1950s. My snare's a Radio King, but its hoops aren't engraved with the Radio King name. That places my drums in 1956 or later. And the wrap is tucked into the scarf joints, which apparently indicates 1956 or earlier. Thus, my drums must've been made in '56.

Man, I'm just quoting info from Dr. Wenk's articles in the Drum Guide.

On Landenlarry,bass drum the spur's someone added them to the drum they are mounted wrong--they are way to close to the lug, they should be mounted about 3 1/2" down from center on lug and 3 1/2" in from edge of shell..Also to me the one's on your drum are copy's M.I.J. slingerland leg mount's would have a big cup washer not the flat one that's on the drum...Your bass is from 1955to 57 and should have a round brass badge...In my next post i will tell about the 1280 spur's...mikey