Anyone ever own vintage 3-ply Slingerlands?

Multijd said:
That doesn’t look like a Slingerland bd spur. They usually have a pointed end. You should use a rug with a block on the front or sone other way to stabilize the drum. That is standard.
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That is the original spur.

I’ve no need to use a Rug and a Block, as mentioned already I have clamp on DW Spurs which work just fine.
 
Yes! Back in the mid 90s I bought a kit from a friend. It needed some small repair work and a re-stain job. Ended up kinda Cinnamon/Brown.
Beautiful looking and sounding!
9x13, 10x14, 16x18 toms.
14x24 bass drum (virgin) no mount.
I played everything from speed metal to jazz on that kit. That's when I went to a double bass pedal instead of 2 bass drums. Took me a minute to get used to the pedal on a 24".
To be honest it had that magic. One of best kits I've ever owned or played! I traded it in towards a brand new Noble and Cooley Horizon series kit about a year later. I regret getting rid of it, but I do not regret picking up the Noble and Cooley kit. Another amazing magical kit.
 
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It was a Niles era kit.
 
Now that I think of it I upgraded to modern spurs.
 
Same kit right here. Mine was 1980.

reverb.com

Slingerland 'Spirit' Early 80's Black 4 pc. Drums | Reverb

Vintage (early 80's) Slingerland 'Spirit' series drum kit, first edition. 4 pc. Black 3 ply (maple/poplar/maple) shells with black granitone interiors. 22x14" bass, 12, 13 & 16" toms (standard depths, not power toms). Black & silver oval 'Niles' badges. Last of the American made Slingerla...
reverb.com reverb.com
 
yes They must have been by then
C. Dave Run said:
My kit was USA. It had Niles badges.
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outsourcing that particular tom hardware
I see the shells looked normal;



Vintage Slingerland Snare Drums - Vintage Slingerland Drums - Slingerland Drums

The history of Slingerland Drums - The Vintage Drum Guide shows you Slingerland Finishes, Slingerland Drum Badges, Slingerland Drum Set catalog pages, Slingerland Snare Drum catalog pages and the most complete Slingerland history all on one vintage drum web site
vintagedrumguide.com
 
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PorkPieGuy said:
Anyone in here ever own 3-ply Slingerlands? If so, what did you think of them? Experiences? What kind of music did you play?
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Yes, I’ve owned a few sets. Everything from 18” to 24” bass drums, and 12”-18” toms. Also, several snares. I’ve found them to be *similar* to Ludwigs, but not exactly the same. While each kit is hit-or-miss on its own, I’ve generally favored the Ludwig kits. On the flip side, I find myself preferring the 3-ply Slingy snares.

Overall, a nice tubby woody sound, like a modern drum set but with a pronounced midrange and reduced highs/articulation.
 
My personal favorites for many reasons, I’ve had at least six Slingerland kits over the years and still have three. All three-ply mid sixties. Two of them will never leave my possession — one in silver sparkle similar to the first kit my parents bought me, and the other is a recently acquired Stage Band in Grey Agate Pearl. The third is a beater in Light Blue Pearl (their version of Sky Blue Pearl) for rough venues where I don’t want to bring my better drums. Some say that they were better made than Ludwigs during that time and that the chrome was far superior. I’ve had superior builds from both but the Pre-Ringo Ludwigs I have are pretty special! (I’ve had several Rogers, Gretsch, Yamaha, Sakae and C & C as well.) Personally, I love the Slingerland spurs- they’re way better than gull-wings. I guess I’m not a big slammer on the pedal, and I use a DW 5000 with a rubber plate so it doesn’t move much. As far as snares go, I’m a total Ludwig nut! I’ve had a number of them but the only Slingerland snare I’ve ever loved is my early model aluminum 6-lugger. I play all rock, rockabilly and “country.“
 
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My first Slingerland set, which I still have, is a three-ply. I haven't played them in years, but hope to restore them someday.
 
I own a 3 ply 12-13-16 -20 (60's) and also had a 3 ply 13-16-22 (70's).
I never liked their spur design and replaced them with modern spurs. Yes I drilled, and they are player drums.
I got into Slingerland because I read they are a good runner-up to 3ply Ludwigs and there were more of them or better deals on the used market.
But I think they have much nicer bearing edges than old Luddies, and a nice mellow sound of their own,..... though I still love and pine for the 3 ply Ludwig sound.
 
Just picked up this 1964 3ply kit recently. 22 13 15 (14). Love the satin flame finish. Especially in the snare you can really hear that nice maple sound and the re-rings are thick and help the drums to feel solid. I’d definitely recommend them for the right price but as others have said, the heads and bearing edges are the biggest contributors to sound in general, but you gotta get what you think is cool! I just wish the floor tom was bigger. If anyone out there has a blue satin flame floor Tom that’s bigger than 15, let me know. Any brand
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I had a 3-ply from 60's with re-rings a few years ago. Found at a pawn shop. Got them cheap. Wish I never sold them, but not because they were the best most awesome sounding gigging-recording kit. I wish I kept them because they were so darn cool. Silver sparkle. But they were 1960's. Nothing worked quite right. BD spurs were a hassle. Never could find rubber stopper sorta things that worked for tips. Didn't wanna tear up my carpet. I finally got walking cane bottoms to kinda work. The hardware was so-so. Rack tom mount slipped every now and then. Snare strainer didn't work very well. Was cool for practice kit in basement but no way would I have gigged it. Just not reliable enough. I could envision a major catastrophe in middle of a set on stage with the Rack Tom. Not reliable enough for gigs. But hey looked way cool in basement and was just a nostalgic treasure.
 
I own a 3 ply Slingerland. Mahogany, poplar, Mahogany. I love the sounds I get from this set. I think youve heard our band on here. Once in a while I break it out for a show or recording.
 
Rattlin' Bones said:
I had a 3-ply from 60's with re-rings a few years ago. Found at a pawn shop. Got them cheap. Wish I never sold them, but not because they were the best most awesome sounding gigging-recording kit. I wish I kept them because they were so darn cool. Silver sparkle. But they were 1960's. Nothing worked quite right. BD spurs were a hassle. Never could find rubber stopper sorta things that worked for tips. Didn't wanna tear up my carpet. I finally got walking cane bottoms to kinda work. The hardware was so-so. Rack tom mount slipped every now and then. Snare strainer didn't work very well. Was cool for practice kit in basement but no way would I have gigged it. Just not reliable enough. I could envision a major catastrophe in middle of a set on stage with the Rack Tom. Not reliable enough for gigs. But hey looked way cool in basement and was just a nostalgic treasure.
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OP here!

When I first posted this, I was thinking of buying a set of Slingerlands. I have since bought them (and posted way too many pics on here of them!). They are from 1974. The 18" floor and the 24" kick have mahogany interiors and the 13" and 16" have maple interiors. The factory edges are flawless. Everything is tight and the fit in and finish is stellar. These things NEED to be gigged!

Yes, the hardware is finicky. I'm in the middle of putting Helicoils in all of my brackets. The kick drum spurs are done, and I bought a kick drum anchor, so between that and the spikes on my DW pedal, that thing is solid as a rock. I hope to get helicoils in the floor tom leg brackets this weekend. I'm using pipe clamps as memory lock on my floor tom legs as well, so even if the bracket comes loose/fails during a gig, I'll have just a little more assurance that they are going to stay put.

I'm not very handy, so this is taking a while to do (plus I work full time, have three kids, etc.). I'm REALLY wanting to gig with these, so I'm doing everything I can to make them as road-worthy as possible. Also, I put the rack on on a snare stand, so I'm not worried about it.


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I love 3-ply Slingerlands! I have had several sets and seldom been disappointed. I don't have any right now, but that can always change if a good deal comes along. I love the fat vintage tone from those rounded bearing edges in the 60s and early 70s.
 
I had these for a wile, great kit. I sold them to buy my 60s Ludwig kit which I still have.
It would have been nice to keep them both but I just couldn't.

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What.company or.companies will produce the from bass drum logo work?
Thank you for any info.
 
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