that's the kit (71) I just bought and with a mid sixtys artist same color they do sound incedible

Have owned two kits of Slingerland and neither one has disappointed..

First was a new Jet kit and I admit to being influenced by it's great contemporary appearance.. At the time I had seen nothing like it and had to have it. My first kit had been a MIJ Slingerland copy and I was already addicted to Sticksaver rims. (Band were wanting me to buy Ludwig .. Ringo etc). Also worth mentioning that buying the Jet kit altered my life dramatically. Having arranged to collect it after hours from the warehouse, in doing so got to chat to the manager who offered me a job as their warehouse manager. So this led me to a working life within the music & entertainment industry.

Second Kit is the one I still own which I purchased purely for it's big sound.. Along the way I have owned a beautiful Ludwig kit and a couple of Pearl kits as well as Rogers, Gretsch & Tama toms.. and snares..

My attachment to Slingerland is such that I would knowingly pay more for the brand than any other... with other things being equal...

Cheers

John

Well said.

At the moment, this is about as close as you're going to get: http://www.chicagodrum.com/

Chicago Drum is a company built on the traditions of the old Slingerland® drum designs tempered with new technology and innovation. Attention to detail and a spirit of true percussion leads the way to the best drums that money can buy. Check them out today.

I've got some '47 Radio Kings in 26/13/16 and they're incredible. Don't have quite that Ludwig 'thump' but they're incredibly warm and have tone for days. They almost sound pre-eq'd. When we recorded our demo the sound engineer lost it. After we got tones, which pretty much consisted of him throwing a few ribbons and cartoids around in a something reminiscing of a Glynn Jones approach with an extra distance room mic and one in the kick then spending a couple of minutes balancing the levels, he kept coming up to me and saying "Man! Those drums! They do all the work for me!" When we all took a break for lunch he sat in the studio and played them by himself with a huge smile on his face. Slingerland for the win.

While thinking about it, I own more Slingerland snares than Ludwig. Kit wise I think I have about as many of both. I gotta get my 1950's Slingerland Duco snare back from my friend. Love that snare.

I picked up a red sparkle 1965 Slingerland 22, 13, 16 with a 14x5 8 lug snare off my local cl a while back.

I have been collecting parts and playing the heck out of them.

They sound awesome. flower

Why does everyone keep saying how great Slingerland drums sound and not answer the question of why the 60's kits don't bring as much money as the other companies? I doubt it's because they are out of business, Rogers and Camco have been out of business for years and they sell as well if not better than Ludwig or Gretsch. Slingerland were good drums, but, in my opinion, they were not great drums and that's why I suspect they are not as sought after.

In all fairness and honesty though Rogers and Camco are really only sought after by nuts like us. I can't ever recall any other drummer I know who isn't a vintage freak drooling over Camco's. Last guy who praised his Rogers kit, was talking about one of the modern ones.....

And again between the two it boiled down to marketing of the times. And let's call a spade a spade. Most of the vintage buyers of today, were guys who either want to get another kit like the one they had, or want the kit they never had.

I personally love owning drums older than me, and because I have no sentiment to any of the companies I want them all. Which may be a serious issue in and of itself,lol

Originally Posted by johnnyringo

"Why does everyone keep saying how great Slingerland drums sound"

No Idea... Why would anyone say that??? Funny Post

Cheers

John

I'd buy a Slingerland kit, and i'm a Ludwig man. ;)

Ringo, Bonham and countless others made them the 'known' brand of drums. Slingerland never had the blokes of that calibre in 'mainstream' music, the majority of their big names were guys out of the jazz/big band scene. Ludwig also pretty much won the snare game. Rogers were 'the Cadillac of drums' and Camco had a similar thing going. Slingerland were like the less popular little brother of Ludwig so they didn't stand out in the same way that Luddies did. I can't personally speak for any of their later stuff (post 60s) but everything before then that I've seen or heard has been top notch.

It's just one of those things, Slingerland, like the early Tama Superstars, are just undervalued drums. A better way to put it is that they are better value than their counterparts. Horses for courses.