SLINGERLAND TOMS- No air holes from factory?

#1
Titletown Tim

Posted 11 January 2010 - 09:34 AM

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I went to look at a 1959 Slingerland set this weekend that the original owner is planning on selling. This set is immaculate in every way. The only odd thing about this set is that the 3 toms do NOT have badges or air holes. (13" rack, 16' and 20"- YES 20" floor tom)I am confident this is NOT a re-wrap.
How long did Slingerland produce drums without badges or airholes, or is the set just an anomaly?
I am also curious if the unbadged toms deflate the value of this set or not?

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#2
mtarrani

Posted 11 January 2010 - 09:47 AM

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My 61s are the same. During a period up to a point in the 60s only the bass drums had badges.

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#3
Titletown Tim

Posted 11 January 2010 - 09:59 AM

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Mike,
Do the toms on your kit sound good even without the airholes?

The heads on the toms of the set I'm interested in are the originals and owner has them tensioned up high. They sounded choked...

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#4
Guest_leedybdp_*

Posted 11 January 2010 - 10:00 AM

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The 13" and 16" toms from my Gene Krupa set do not have air holes or badges, and the Super Krupa snare and 22" bass drum do have the air holes and badges. Real vintage drum experts have said that this set is most likely a 1956 set because it has Sound King lugs but still has the open "U" brackets for tom leg mounts. That would make it a transitional set from radio King designation. If the toms had air holes and badges, real vintage experts would suspect that the drums have been altered from their original state or are newer drums, I am no expert. But, I think that those beautiful BDP Slinigies are righteous as they are. The possibilites of using that 20" tom for an upright second bass drum or a cocktail drum are very interesting. For the right price, grab those puppies.

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#5
mtarrani

Posted 11 January 2010 - 10:06 AM

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Mike,
Do the toms on your kit sound good even without the airholes?

The heads on the toms of the set I'm interested in are the originals and owner has them tensioned up high. They sounded choked...

Hell yes they sound good. Great. The airholes are superfluous for drums without calf heads anyway.

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#6
Vistaliter

Posted 11 January 2010 - 10:08 AM

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I have a couple Slingly kits that the rack toms do not have badges or air holes....

Both 60's.

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#7
mlayton

Posted 11 January 2010 - 10:09 AM

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Mike,
Do the toms on your kit sound good even without the airholes?

The heads on the toms of the set I'm interested in are the originals and owner has them tensioned up high. They sounded choked...

Hell yes they sound good. Great. The airholes are superfluous for drums without calf heads anyway.

can you expand on that a bit...

mike

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#8
troymiller

Posted 11 January 2010 - 10:13 AM

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Same story here... on my RK kit, no badges or vents on the toms - only on the bass and snare...

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#9
mtarrani

Posted 11 January 2010 - 10:14 AM

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Mike,
Do the toms on your kit sound good even without the airholes?

The heads on the toms of the set I'm interested in are the originals and owner has them tensioned up high. They sounded choked...

Hell yes they sound good. Great. The airholes are superfluous for drums without calf heads anyway.

can you expand on that a bit...

mike

According to stuff I have read on forums over the years, the reason for air holes to begin with was to equalize for calf heads. Don't know how true that is, but the drums I have without the vents sound every bit as good as ones with.

Edited by mtarrani, 11 January 2010 - 10:14 AM.

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#10
Titletown Tim

Posted 11 January 2010 - 10:46 AM

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Leedybdp,
Nice looking set! LOVE that cannister throne...

So what were the "correct" dimensions of Krupa's set from that period? The owner of this set said that his set was a copy of Krupa's (5x14, 13, 16, 20, 22") except he opted for the BDP finish rather than Krupa's choice of WMP.
Nice story on these drums- The seller was a student of Haskell Harr's in Chicago in 1959. Mr. Harr was affliated with Slingerland so Haskell was kind enough to hook him up with a great price on a new Slingy kit. These drums have very little use (even the rubber feet on the floor toms have virtually no wear)and have been sitting in Macintosh canvas cases for the last 25 years.

Seller is asking $2800. for everything pictured plus the cases and an additional COB Slingy snare with calf head(torn).
I had some "sticker shock" when seller told me $2800. As nice as the set is, $2800. seems steep to me...

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#11
Guest_leedybdp_*

Posted 11 January 2010 - 11:04 AM

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Leedybdp,
Nice looking set! LOVE that cannister throne...

So what were the "correct" dimensions of Krupa's set from that period? The owner of this set said that his set was a copy of Krupa's (5x14, 13, 16, 20, 22") except he opted for the BDP finish rather than Krupa's choice of WMP.
Nice story on these drums- The seller was a student of Haskell Harr's in Chicago in 1959. Mr. Harr was affliated with Slingerland so Haskell was kind enough to hook him up with a great price on a new Slingy kit. These drums have very little use (even the rubber feet on the floor toms have virtually no wear)and have been sitting in Macintosh canvas cases for the last 25 years.

Seller is asking $2800. for everything pictured plus the cases and an additional COB Slingy snare with calf head(torn).
I had some "sticker shock" when seller told me $2800. As nice as the set is, $2800. seems steep to me...

The Gene Krupa Dlx. Radio King Ensemble 1-N was catalogued from 1948-1955 as 5.5x14, 9x13, 16x16, 14x24 or 26. The Gene Krupa Dlx. Ensemble 1-N from 1955-1973 was catalogued as 5.5x14, 9x13, 16x16, 14x22. A second floor tom seemed to be at the buyer's discretion. I am not a stickler for catalogued sets being the only set-up that is authentic.

Those drums with all of the cymbals and hardware should be worth $2500. The brand, age, and condition of the cymbals could make this a real bargain at $2500--$2800. I would not mortgage the house for them if money is a major concern. My guess is that a major vintage drum reseller would want much more for the drums alone. And, then make a killing on the good cymbals and hardware.

BTW...that canister throne is a re-wrapped Ludwig throne that I bought on eBay.

Edited by leedybdp, 11 January 2010 - 11:07 AM.

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#12
K.O.

Posted 11 January 2010 - 11:19 AM

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Gretsch round badge toms don't have any airholes either (badges affixed with tacks) and they seem to sound just fine.

I've heard/read it was around 1965-66 when Slingerland went back to putting badges and vents on toms after not doing so for several years.

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#13
Titletown Tim

Posted 11 January 2010 - 12:02 PM

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Cymbals are Zildjian and immaculate. (except for the mysterious splash).

There is a date stamp on the inside of the Slingy snare (April 1959). I did not take heads off of the toms or BD to check for date stamps in them...

What is the value of the hardware and throne only?