Help ID This Vintage Slingerland Kit

robthetimekeeper

Senior Member
Hi All!
I'm sure one of you can tell me something about this kit. Here's what I know already.
It has a Niles badge.
It is coated red inside.
It has re-rings.
It is red sparkle but faded to look orange.
Only the bass drum has a badge. Serial #19448
The sizes:
18x14 BD (both hoops and all rods and claws)
16x14 FT (both original hoops)
13x9 TT (no bottom hoop)
10x9 TT (looks like a concert tom) Someone put a smaller mount on it.
It has Ludwig heads on the toms that look like they might be from the 60's or 70's.
The bass drum seems to have the original heads and what might be a vintage pillow inside! LOL
The kit seems to be in great shape probably due to a thick layer of dust that came with it for no extra charge!
I know almost nothing about vintage Slingerlands so I appreciate any info I can get.
Thanks for looking!
 

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I can tell you:
The badge dates it to 1962-1970.
The red paint on the inside was a terrible mistake by a previous owner.
The faded wrap and lifting seams make it undesireable to a potential buyer.
The 18" bass drum might otherwise be worth a pretty penny.
I've never seen that mount before.
*GASP!* Get those toms off the ground--you're destroying the bottom bearing edges!
...that's about it for me.
 
Don't lose that 18" Bass Drum. It is rare. It will also sound great if you set it up properly. Lose the tom mount, fill the holes and rewrap it.
The rest of the drums are firewood. :)
 
I can tell you:
The badge dates it to 1962-1970.
The red paint on the inside was a terrible mistake by a previous owner.
The faded wrap and lifting seams make it undesireable to a potential buyer.
The 18" bass drum might otherwise be worth a pretty penny.
I've never seen that mount before.
*GASP!* Get those toms off the ground--you're destroying the bottom bearing edges!
...that's about it for me.

Thanks Caddy! Your reply made me laugh.
If it is a rare kit, it must be worth something to someone. Would make a good restoration project.
I've never seen that mount before either but that's not sayin' much!
 
Thanks, you should sell off the 16" floor tom that you have because that size won't work well with the 18" bass. You could use the 13x9 inch tom as a fusion style floor tom and use the 10x9 tom as the high tom. That would be cool. Use bottom heads of course. Have the 10x9 cut down to a 10x8 and have edges and hardware put on it for a bottom head. get a bottom head and hoop for the 13x9.
 
Good ideas Bob! I also just stumbled upon this 14x10 tom. If I get them all re-wrapped I could make a mini 5 piece.

Personally, I really like the orange sparkle. It was all red sparkle at one time and still is in some places. Like on the underside of the bass drum. Most would say that it is ruined but I think it makes it unique. To me it's like a rare finish that you can only get by aging. :)

Here are some pics inside the bass. Check out the vintage pillow! lol. Smells like it hasn't been opened since '65!

You don't like the tom mount? I think it's cool. Though I am now thinking it was added later and is not the original mount for that bass drum. I've been looking through the old slingerland catalogs but I can't find it anywhere.
 

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Here's what you should do:

1. Take the wrap off the 16x16 floor tom, trim it a little, and use it to wrap the 14x10 tom. Heck, the wrap is practically peeling itself from the 16" tom at the mere mention of this suggestion. You can use the "trimmings" to patch the hole where the tom mount was in the bass drum, after you plug the holes in that mess.

2. Take the lug casings from the 16" floor tom and use them on the reso side of the 10" concert tom.

3. Use the floor tom brackets from the 16" and put them on the 14" tom.

...there! A 10/14/18 vintage Slingerland kit in hard-to-find "red to orange fade" sparkle wrap! Man, I'd be all over that!
 
Here's what you should do:

1. Take the wrap off the 16x16 floor tom, trim it a little, and use it to wrap the 14x10 tom. Heck, the wrap is practically peeling itself from the 16" tom at the mere mention of this suggestion. You can use the "trimmings" to patch the hole where the tom mount was in the bass drum, after you plug the holes in that mess.

2. Take the lug casings from the 16" floor tom and use them on the reso side of the 10" concert tom.

3. Use the floor tom brackets from the 16" and put them on the 14" tom.

...there! A 10/14/18 vintage Slingerland kit in hard-to-find "red to orange fade" sparkle wrap! Man, I'd be all over that!

You just blew my mind! Ha Ha!
 
You could even make a 1 up, 2 down kit by using the 13" tom along with the 14" tom as floor toms. You could mount both of the floor toms on a stand.
A mini Bonham kit :)
 
65 - those are some of the best shells made by Slingerland.
I'd disagree that most of the it is 'firewood'. Just needs restoration, neat find.
The tom mount - never seen that either, but is awful...especially on an 18 bass drum.
 
65 - those are some of the best shells made by Slingerland.
I'd disagree that most of the it is 'firewood'. Just needs restoration, neat find.
The tom mount - never seen that either, but is awful...especially on an 18 bass drum.

Thanks Opentune. I totally agree with you both about the "firewood" and the mount!

I've learned that mount is a late 70's Super setomatic double tom mount. So my suspicion that it wasn't stock was correct.
 
That kit was deffinately,not born together.That Tom mount is 78/79 Slingerland.The smaller concert was added later from a kit called the Modern Combo,which was all single headed drums.The stick saver rims,may be Cob also.Check and see of a magnet sticks ot not.No stick,brass rims.

Great shells.That will make a great players kit.

Steve B
 
I ordered that tom mount around 1980 in order to replace the regular Slingerland double tom holder, which had two main problems: the toms were quite distant from each other and their respective position was fixed (if you wanted to place the first tom in a certain position, than the second tom was moved consequently, so you finally had to keep both toms almost flat ...). This new holder gave you much more flexibility but also presented a major problem if mounted on a regular older bass drum: the toms leaned too far toward the player ... I prefer to avoid comments re. the aesthetic of this object ...
 
65 - those are some of the best shells made by Slingerland.
I'd disagree that most of the it is 'firewood'. .
I was joking when I wrote that. That is why the smile is after my statement. The bass drum is the star of that show though. The other drums are fairly common.
 
Ha ha - that's gotta' be the ugliest tom holder setup I've seen. LOL

I like some of the ideas in this thread. Make an 18 / 10 / 13 (floor tom - use the legs from the 16) kit.

Use some of the lugs from the 16 for the bottom of the 10.

I'd get some bass drum hoops and lugs for the 16 at some point, and make a mini bass drum out of that shell.
 
I prefer to avoid comments re. the aesthetic of this object ...

It is definitely very adjustable and sturdy.
I find the objectionable appearance makes it more interesting. Its ugliness is its charm!
 
Ha ha - that's gotta' be the ugliest tom holder setup I've seen. LOL

How do you really feel? lol

I would have to agree with you. Ugly or not, I may have already found a buyer for the mount.

I'm gonna have to think about what to do with the rest. I started out sure that I was gonna sell them but now I have too many great ideas on how to use them.
 
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