Many thanks for the replies so far.

Was there one particular Slingerland Radio King kit in the 1940s that stood out above all others?

The 1950s WFL was the kit that caught me by surprise in the replies, I guess as they are seldom seem here in the UK.

I had kind of guessed that it would come down to the Ludwig Super Classic or a Gretsch round badge set in the 60s, but good to hear the love for Rogers (especially as I collect AJAX drums!)

The biggest question though is this. Without Ringo pushing up the sales, how well would the Ludwig Super Classic have sold and would it be so collectible now?

My view is Ringo's impact was massive. Could be they were in a good price point too. Rogers drums were probably the more expensive choice, but by the mid 60's they were very high quality instruments. Ludwigs had some bumps that may have even been part of the effort at high production. They even tried riveting on the wrap at one juncture, which was really something to behold. But generally a really great sound and look and they had that oyster black wrap!

Atomic,

You posed a great question and topic for discussion. I see a lot of agreement here for the Slingerland Radio Kings defining the '40s (don't we all picture Gene Krupa swinging on Radio Kings when we think of the Big Band era?). And who can't look at a picture of Ringo's OBP Ludwig kit and not instantly think 1960s? But when I think of the 50s, I'm picturing smoky jazz clubs and Las Vegas cocktail lounges, and what kit do you close your eyes and imagine in those venues? Well, for me, it's not a WFL, it's a Gretsch 4-pc in Pink Champagne...

[Attachment: 95492]

I think that kit just screams 1950s, and I'm a Rogers guy!

Mike

I'm sort of surprised that so many have mentioned WFL for the 50s. Not that they weren't great drums but Slingerland was still king in that decade and WFL was likely not even the second best selling brand (I suspect Gretsch was #2). WFL/Ludwig really took off when Ringo hit big. They did have Buddy and Joe Morello in the 50s but things exploded when the Beatles hit. In retrospect WFL is highly thought of and sought as "early Ludwig", and deservedly so as they were fantastic drums, but I think if you could go back in time to the 50s that you'd find that WFL hadn't yet acquired the cache among drummers that it has today. Certainly a WMP WFL set is a classic but when I think 50s I think of a sparkling Gretsch set. Before Rogers came to the fore Gretsch were kind of the "Cadillacs" of the drum world and the brand I picture young drummers of the 50s lusting after when looking at ads in Downbeat and Metronome magazines (like a young Charlie Watts).

Of course there is no "right" answer to this question, just opinions and everyone will see it differently depending on their own perspective.

K.O, well said.

Keep in mind that the Ludwig Super Classic was an important set even prior to Ringo appearing on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. It was similar to the the WFL drums of the early 50s and Ludwigs of the later 50's with the differences mostly in hardware. I believe the shells were the same, 3 ply mahogany/poplar/mahogany and the Super Classic sizes were 13/16/22.

In 1959, even though he was the jazz drummer for the Dave Brubeck Quartet, rather than using a set of Gretsch Round Badges Joe Morello used Ludwig Super Classic in silver sparkle for years. The popularity of Dave Brubeck's group was high with iconic hits like Take Five. He was voted as the best drummer by Downbeat magazine several years in a row. For Ludwig, Ringo was the icing on the cake.

Very interesting, I didn't know that it had crossed into the jazz market and was such an established model.

FWIW, I have been assembling one drum kit for each decade covering 100 years (had to limit the collection somehow!). Some of my selections were limited to availability, and I have changed a couple out, but here is what I have:

1920's: Ludwig & Ludwig 11" by 26" bass and 15" snare, bass mounted cymbal clanger, lowboy with socks, temple blocks and cowbell.

1930's: Slingerland Airway kit

1940's: Still looking for WW2-era wood lug kit

1950's: Radio Kings in WMP

1960's: Ludwig Super Classics

1970's: Vistalites; Amber 14-16-18-26 and Supra snare

1980's: DW maple eight piece on rack with two extra snares and 15 cymbals, 2 sets of hats, both sizes of Zil-Bel, chimes, gong...

1990's: Tama Starclassic 6-piece with gold hardware and Stilt stands

2000's: Gretsch Renown maple six-piece, all floating toms (10-12-14-16)

2010's: Sonor Martini

I've kept cymbals with each kit period-correct, when possible, and mostly Zildjian. Extras, that I just had to have, even though they don't fit the pattern, include 1982 Gretsch Progressive Jazz, Staccato kit, DW Cocktail kit, ddrum Dios bubinga in red-white-blue sparkle, Vivant conical kit, 32" Ludwig 50's orchestra bass drum and '59 Keystone-badged snare (with 26" crash-ride and 16" hats, of course), Sonor Safari, Austin fibes kit, Austin fibes micro-bop.

While not perfect, they generally show what was popular in each decade; open to interpretation, of course.

Wonderful post! :)

That is exactly what I am doing here in the UK.

My collection is on the link below which is a website currently in build.

The whole point of this thread, for me personally, is to look at adding 3 iconic US kits to that collection based on the feedback received, so I will be checking out your collection along with all the suggestions made here.

Thank you one and all.