slingerland - Premier

[7/8]

Hello people, I'm starting to look at Slingerland and Premier to continue my collection... I have no knowledge in these two companies and I don't know which drums to look for? Any suggestions? Also anything that I should look out for, like bad years or flukes.

Thanks

[mcjnic]

This site contains some of the best Slingerland info on the web. You should be able to educate yourself on that by selecting the Vintage Drum Guide and reading all the cool stuff there. Seriously well researched.

[slingerland]

I remember going to the Niles plant right down the street from where I grew up, my dad took me there and said "son, pick out whatever you want" LOL it was my 18th B-day present. so I picked out a 24" bass 13/14/16/18" toms,in MWP and chrome snare\my only regrete is I wish I also got 6/8/10/12 toms BECAUSE I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR THESE NOW FOR 38 YEARS!!!!!
I thought someone on this forum would found me by bnow heck with the nice reward I have offered!!!!!!!
if you want to get some premier drums I have a friend who collects them, I think last time I check he had 18 sets......his wife is a saint....

[eamesuser]

Only thing I can tell you is you have picked a couple of the most affordable (at least in the U.S.)vintage drums to collect.From what I have heard with slingerland is that there are certain pieces of hardware like tom holders and throwoffs that are more likely to fail or harder to find in working condition or that were not great designs in the first place.Other people on here would know more about that.From my small experience with vintage premiers I have found that the build quality and workmanship are really good,the chrome work comes back very nicely,the bearing edges I have seen have been on 60's era drums have been as good as any I have seen including the german and U.S. makes and I have never even seen a pinhole knot on the inner plies not even on the couple of lower line olympic kits I have seen.They are really inexpensive in the U.S. and quite a good bang for the buck IMO.

[SkyDog75]

Just a couple of random thoughts:

The Slingerland name continued in various forms long after the original company ceased to produce drums in the 1980s. American-made Slingerland drums are generally desirable while the later Asian drums with the Slingerland name on them are much less so. If the badge doesn't have "Chicago" or "Niles" on it (or "Shelbyville" for a short time around 1965), it's not a vintage American Slingerland.

The Vintage Drum Guide has plenty of great info on Slingerland drums HERE (http://www.vintagedrumguide.com/slingerland.html), as well as a fantastic set of articles by Dr. C.J. Wenk (aka DrCJW) HERE (http://www.vintagedrumguide.com/slingerland.html). I've referred to these resources time and time again to learn about my own Slingerland drums.

Premier drums prior to the mid-1960s require "pre-international" sized heads. Remo still offers coated Ambassadors and clear Pinstripes in these sizes, but you'll likely find yourself needing to special order them.

[7/8]

Thanks for the info guys, I've heard about ace snares or super ace from Premier but don't know which ones to keep an eye out for???

Hmmmm

[royal ace]

Thanks for the info guys, I've heard about ace snares or super ace from Premier but don't know which ones to keep an eye out for???

Hmmmm

Royal Aces, made from late 50s(I believe) to late 60s; and the 2000 series, which started in the late 60s, are the ones to look for.
With the advent of the R.A.s, Premier had improved the the design of their parallel action strainer over the earlier Super Ace, with more reliable, smoother functioning mechanisms.
The 2000 series incorporated even smoother, more refined operation. The build and performance... sound quality... of all these drums is superb... as good as anything else on the market then (or now!) and better than most, IMHO.- Ron
My collection (L. to R.) 4x14 R.A.; 5.5x14 R.A.; 5.5x14 2000; 8x14 2005 (maple, 10 lug)

[SkyDog75]

One of the schools in the district I work for has a dark blue pearl 5½" Royal Ace like the second one pictured above. I did a little bit of work on it to fix some re-ring separation and tune it up. I wasn't really thrilled with the snare mechanism (not the best, not the worst), but the rest of the drum was REALLY well-built. Some of the highest quality hardware and chrome I've seen on a drum.

[royal ace]

One of the schools in the district I work for has a dark blue pearl 5½" Royal Ace like the second one pictured above. I did a little bit of work on it to fix some re-ring separation and tune it up. I wasn't really thrilled with the snare mechanism (not the best, not the worst), but the rest of the drum was REALLY well-built. Some of the highest quality hardware and chrome I've seen on a drum.

Schools are well known repositories of abused drums... and pianos!

My two R.A.s ... both from the mid 60s... still work flawlessly. I've owned them each for less than two years. they were obviously not abused by their previous owners.
I got the 2000 about a year ago from the original owner who... again... obviously treated it with the care and respect it deserved.
I bought the 2005 new in 1984. It has functioned smoothly and flawlessly for 26 years, during which time, as my main snare, it had seen a lot of constant use, with the exception of the last two years, during which time I have been playing other snares, including the other Premiers above.
Ron

[calfskin]

hey 7/8-----Premier is pretty easy to identify even unbadged(Autocrat,Broadway and Amati(almost nonexistent)),resemble them a bit but in a search for bargains, you might be wooed by bogus Japanese knockoffs of Slingerland. Some of the 50's and 60's Japanese drums were crappy knockoffs of Slingys and the novice could be fooled-----especially if the drum has a Slingerland badge on it. You might pick one of the cheapos up for a few bucks and educate yourself on the difference.------since you said ; you have no knowledge of these two companies.












Hello people, I'm starting to look at Slingerland and Premier to continue my collection... I have no knowledge in these two companies and I don't know which drums to look for? Any suggestions? Also anything that I should look out for, like bad years or flukes.

Thanks

[SkyDog75]

Schools are well known repositories of abused drums... and pianos!

Working for a school district, I'm painfully aware of how students can abuse instruments. It was really hard to keep my composure when confronting the kid who carved the letter of each note into every bar on a four-octave rosewood marimba!

When I was a student, I remember being taught to treat each instrument as if it belonged to me. That seemed to work then, but a lot of the students I work with don't seem to have any appreciation for their own belongings, either. (Mom or dad will just buy them another one, apparently.) So I've put my own little twist on the teachings I received. Instead of telling students to treat the equipment like it was theirs, I tell them to treat the instruments as if they were MINE.

The Royal Ace I mentioned is in impeccable shape, though. I'd love to adopt it personally, but the red tape involved makes it pretty much impossible. While one might think that I could offer the school a trade, there are regulations in place that prevent it. (If public employees were allowed to trade away taxpayer-purchased equipment, it could easily lead to fraud and abuse.) I'm tempted to see if I can arrange a swap to get that drum to my school, though. We've got three Supras -- nice drums, but a bit redundant. I wouldn't mind swapping one of them for a good wood-shelled drum, especially one as nice as that old Royal Ace.

[7/8]

Thanks for all this info guys, I've not started buying Premiers or Slingerland yet but they are my next target, so it seems the Premier Royal Ace 2000 series and Radio King from Chicago or Niles from Slingerlandsare the ones to watch. The Slingerland RKs are all steam bent one ply???

I've always heard about the hardware deficiences of Slingy, I'll keep an eye out for that! As for Premier, I've always heard only good things about the craftsmanship, I've heard they have the best chrome of all drumakers.

By the way, just bought a 1920's BB, should have pics soon!

Cheers!

Keep on giving me info on Slingy and Premier, if you hear or see any good deals, gimme a shout!