SOLD !1969 Slingerland "Black Beauty Pearl" Set

[famousdave]

Very hard to find '69 12/13/16 w/virgin 20 in "Black Beauty Pearl". Purchased from original owner, and disassembled, polished, and missing hoops and rubbers replaced. Wrap is tight, 2 small cracks repaired w/ epoxy and urethane. Up close still shows some wear that could be wetsanded out, but it was never my intention to completely erase the set's history, and from 2ft away is stunning. Chrome is good. Bass hoops resprayed with correct silver sparkle inlays replaced. Turns out pre-70 jet black Slingerland sets are almost non-existant. $1000 w/ plain ambassador bass head, $1200 w/ custom hand painted and silver leafed logo head. Local pickup preferred, but will ship for cost & packing materials from Chicagoland.

View attachment 47884

 

[jmetatual]

What are the serial numbers on this set?

 

[lossforgain]

I'd be interested to know the serials as well and if they are gold or silver badges. Very classy set! I have the same setup in silver sparkle and doubt I would let them go for your asking price. GLWS!

 

[famousdave]

Black & Brass badges, hence the "hen's teeth" perception...12 & 13 are 133589, 133489, bass & floor are 134463, 134439...not sequential, but fairly close for Slingerland. Also, 1969 being a transitional year they already had cos hoops and the larger muffler knobs. And my price is what I believe I'd be willing to pay for them, although the longer they sit here the more tempted I am to keep em' ! Such a cool, honest, and unusual kit...

 

[jmetatual]

Could you please post a picture of a badge? Are the interiors clear or do they have the beige stain? Serials 133xxx-134xxx are not consistent with '69. All 60's drums should have COB hoops, transition to COS was in '70.

 

[famousdave]

Black & Brass. Milk chocolate interior. Setomatic mounts....Purchased from the original owner that claims those are exactly how he purchased them..cos hoops, those numbers, and the larger muffler knob. As far as numbers go, there aren't any real guidlines. We know about when the tags were made, but no idea when they were applied. I imagine barrels were refilled before they became completely empty, so you could get older badges as you phased out the brass ones. And by coincidence, I've recently seen drums that were also '69, with serials in the same ballpark.

 

[famousdave]

Could you please post a picture of a badge? Are the interiors clear or do they have the beige stain? Serials 133xxx-134xxx are not consistent with '69. All 60's drums should have COB hoops, transition to COS was in '70.

 

[jmetatual]

Quite an interesting set. The badge you posted is certainly 60's. Typical '69 serial numbers are over 200,000. While not impossible for lower numbers to show up on later drums it is not as common as many believe. All 60's Slingerland drums should have COB hoops but those could have been changed out. I believe you stated that some were missing when you acquired the set. Any chance the original owner has a sales receipt?

 

[jmetatual]

As far as numbers go, there aren't any real guidlines. We know about when the tags were made, but no idea when they were applied. I imagine barrels were refilled before they became completely empty, so you could get older badges as you phased out the brass ones. And by coincidence, I've recently seen drums that were also '69, with serials in the same ballpark.

The serial numbers generally follow a expected pattern. There are anomalies/outliers and they are interesting because they are not common. Do you have any pictures or a link to these other '69 drums with similar serials to yours?

 

[famousdave]

Well, I'm getting my info from folks that actually worked at the Slingerland plant, and from others that know far more about them than I could hope to, such as Brooks Tegler. They began using cos hoops before 1970, and also according to the people that were there, the badges were litterly pulled from a giant bin, so yea, numbers that are out of your timeline occur all the time. And no, I do not have a link to other drums. The original owner purchased these drums from Biasco Music, here in Chicago, in the fall of 1969.. It came with those numbers. It came with cos hoops. We know these to be the facts about this particular set of Slingerland drums. Shells could also have been sitting in stock for some time, as we already know due to rarity that Black Beauty didn't sell well....

 

[jmetatual]

Some provenance and/or like examples would have been nice. Good luck with sale.

 

[Renoroger]

Well, I'm getting my info from folks that actually worked at the Slingerland plant, and from others that know far more about them than I could hope to, such as Brooks Tegler. They began using cos hoops before 1970, and also according to the people that were there, the badges were litterly pulled from a giant bin, so yea, numbers that are out of your timeline occur all the time. And no, I do not have a link to other drums. The original owner purchased these drums from Biasco Music, here in Chicago, in the fall of 1969.. It came with those numbers. It came with cos hoops. We know these to be the facts about this particular set of Slingerland drums. Shells could also have been sitting in stock for some time, as we already know due to rarity that Black Beauty didn't sell well....

My first “pro” cymbals came from Biasco Music in 1971!
( Still got the receipt around here somewhere...)

 

[famousdave]

My first “pro” cymbals came from Biasco Music in 1971!
( Still got the receipt around here somewhere...)

That's awesome !

 

[famousdave]

Why

Some provenance and/or like examples would have been nice. Good luck with sale.

Some provenance and/or like examples would have been nice. Good luck with sale.

Claiming or proving what, exactly ? Doesn't really matter what the numbers are. We already know for a FACT that Slingerland numbers can be all over the map. We also know they HAVE to be 68 or 69 because we have black & brass badges, milk chocolate paint, and setomatic mounts. And what's the point of this conversation anyway ? 1000 people have seen and commented on this set, some of whom are actual experts, and not a single one has questioned the provenance. Just you. So, why again ? Were you considering a purchase, or just really had to share your misguided opinion on my for sale post ?

 

[jmetatual]

My apologies for any inconvenience, I thought we were discussing an interesting drum set with some unique features. Thanks for the extra photo.

 

[Rich K.]

Could you please post a picture of a badge? Are the interiors clear or do they have the beige stain? Serials 133xxx-134xxx are not consistent with '69. All 60's drums should have COB hoops, transition to COS was in '70.

Those serial numbers would date the set to roughly 1968 which would make sense with the owner's story.

 

[pedro navahas]

That’s a way cool kit, worthy of every penny. Did you paint that bass drum head?

 

[famousdave]

Yes sir, hand painted ! Also, I have a few black 20" Evans hydraulic heads in stock that can be custom lettered with a logo of choice....

 

[famousdave]

Bump...

 

[Tama CW]

Those serial numbers would date the set to roughly 1968 which would make sense with the owner's story.

Those serial numbers are more in line with late 1966 to early 1967. I have a summer/early fall 1966 kit from the original owner.....badges all 128,XXX (ink date stamps on the interior). And I've since closely followed gold/black badge kits in the '62-'69 range.
And the serials are pretty darn consistent as JMetatual has indicated. I've seen 66's range from 100K to 145K or thereabouts.

The numbers increase about 25K-35K per year (7.5-8 yrs of serial numbers until black and silver badge change in 1970 - 250,000 or so badges.....33K per year average).
I normally see '69's near 190K-220K. Pretty low odds of 3 year old badges all appearing together....in close order....applied to the same drum kit. It could have happened. Just FAR from the norm with that huge a jump.

I give original owners on 35-50 yr old kits very little creedence in their dating claims unless backed up by a receipt, bought the kit on their wedding day or received as a graduation present or something. I've been guilty of the same thing on things I bought new
in the 1970's and 1980's....and can no longer figure to within 2-3 yrs when I actually purchased them. 1966, 67, 68, or 69 doesn't really change the value of the kit all that much. Black sparkle pearl was available in all those years.

The angled floor tom legs, tom mount, Buddy Rich stands (if all purchased new) would put it in the '68-early '70 range.