Hey guys, hope all are well.
I recently bought a slingerland radioking snare drum (my first) off of ebay for about $260; the drum is in great shape: there is no ply separation, the strainer works, and the finish ply (white marine pearl) looks very good for it's age. What i'm curious about is why mine went for so cheap; I've seen them go for over $300 up to $1000. Is mine a dud for some reason and i'm unaware of it? It has the die cast hoops that I am familiar with, and the throw is the same I've seen in most Radio King pics, the slightly bulkier one. One curious thing about the snares is that they are SCREW ON. I've never seen this before; the tension for the snares are opposite of the throw arm, and the throw arm works on a see saw type fulcrum, so when the arm is thrown, the top of the mechanism pulls tight to the drum, thus making the bottom pull away and tighten the snares; when the opposite is done, the snares (as they are screwed into the hardware and not tied on) bend in the middle and away from the head, as the fulcrum drops the bottom "into" the shell. The badge is he gold and black oval that say "Chicago ill". Also worth noting is the fact that neither the top nor bottom hoop have the "radio king" engraving, though they do seem to be original.
Secondly, I was watching another radioking that seemed to be from a different era ( the hoops were not the same die cast as mine, they had the "single claw hooks" that grabbed the top and bottom hoops, like a bass drum hoop). Also, the throw was completely different from mine; the snares were the more traditional "tie on" type, and the throw arm was more traditional as well, I would say it resembled a skinnier, extended version of the Supraphonic throw. The drum ended up selling for only $202, which leads me to believe that it was not a top of the line model, but I could not tell why. The seller did not post any pics of the shell composition (plys, rings) but did say that it was a genuine radio king and not a student model, and the seller assured that it was in fine mechanical condition with no hidden surprises. The badge was identical to mine, gold and "Chicago, ILL". Was there something about that drum that I don't know?
Long story short, what exactly did I buy, and what exactly was the other model that I saw sell for so cheap? It's driving me nuts!!!
EDIT: Upon further inspection, I've discovered that the throw and strainer on my purchased model are "clamshell" models, and the strainer and throw on the second model resemble those found on the Gene Krupa artist model. Also, the claws I referred to on the second model (that sold for $202) are clips made of nickel, apparently known by some enthusiasts as "chubbys"....? I found pictures of them on the toms and floor toms of a few radioking drum sets from the 1940's. Still doesn't help me find out what I bought, what I saw sold, and why they were both so cheap. Thanks guys, looking forward to some schooling!!!!!
I recently bought a slingerland radioking snare drum (my first) off of ebay for about $260; the drum is in great shape: there is no ply separation, the strainer works, and the finish ply (white marine pearl) looks very good for it's age. What i'm curious about is why mine went for so cheap; I've seen them go for over $300 up to $1000. Is mine a dud for some reason and i'm unaware of it? It has the die cast hoops that I am familiar with, and the throw is the same I've seen in most Radio King pics, the slightly bulkier one. One curious thing about the snares is that they are SCREW ON. I've never seen this before; the tension for the snares are opposite of the throw arm, and the throw arm works on a see saw type fulcrum, so when the arm is thrown, the top of the mechanism pulls tight to the drum, thus making the bottom pull away and tighten the snares; when the opposite is done, the snares (as they are screwed into the hardware and not tied on) bend in the middle and away from the head, as the fulcrum drops the bottom "into" the shell. The badge is he gold and black oval that say "Chicago ill". Also worth noting is the fact that neither the top nor bottom hoop have the "radio king" engraving, though they do seem to be original.
Secondly, I was watching another radioking that seemed to be from a different era ( the hoops were not the same die cast as mine, they had the "single claw hooks" that grabbed the top and bottom hoops, like a bass drum hoop). Also, the throw was completely different from mine; the snares were the more traditional "tie on" type, and the throw arm was more traditional as well, I would say it resembled a skinnier, extended version of the Supraphonic throw. The drum ended up selling for only $202, which leads me to believe that it was not a top of the line model, but I could not tell why. The seller did not post any pics of the shell composition (plys, rings) but did say that it was a genuine radio king and not a student model, and the seller assured that it was in fine mechanical condition with no hidden surprises. The badge was identical to mine, gold and "Chicago, ILL". Was there something about that drum that I don't know?
Long story short, what exactly did I buy, and what exactly was the other model that I saw sell for so cheap? It's driving me nuts!!!
EDIT: Upon further inspection, I've discovered that the throw and strainer on my purchased model are "clamshell" models, and the strainer and throw on the second model resemble those found on the Gene Krupa artist model. Also, the claws I referred to on the second model (that sold for $202) are clips made of nickel, apparently known by some enthusiasts as "chubbys"....? I found pictures of them on the toms and floor toms of a few radioking drum sets from the 1940's. Still doesn't help me find out what I bought, what I saw sold, and why they were both so cheap. Thanks guys, looking forward to some schooling!!!!!
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