they've all been on the ropes here and there gretsch, ludwig, slingerland, et al

it's tough being a drum company Mister T

One other thing, and this is certainly subjective, but of the big four American drum companies, Slingerland's logo always seemed to be dated. That probably contributed to their appearance as an "older, less modern" company. Ludwig changed out their script logo and keystone badge while both Grestch and Rogers logos were a little more contemporary in the first place. If Slingerland drums were somewhat less desirable in the mid to late 60's and through the 70's then they would have less appeal now. Of course we all know that they are still great drums with a possibly poor marketing plan. That ad featuring Buddy in a Nehru jacket with arms folded may not have sparked the imagination of a new generation. Just a thought.

I remember that Slingerlands were kinda stodgy. Nothing was further from the truth, but their marketing plain sucked. That being said, I am a huge fan of Slingerland snares (despite their throw deficiencies) and will have at least one Slingy snare waiting in the wings at every gig. This is, when I am not playing the snot out of my Knucklehead snare.

It probably depends on who you ask. If we're talking vintage gear, I love the Radio King snare drums. I own one of the 5.5x14 versions in WMP finish. It's an amazing snare drum. No one can argue with these solid shell snares. As far as kits go, I'm partial to 60s Ludwigs, but that's just me. If I weren't into Ludwig, I'd probably be into Gretsch as a close second. I don't have experience with Slingerland kits though, so I may not be qualified to say. And don't forget Rogers...great stuff too.

While the hardware was sketchy and lugs would explode, the old stuff did sound better. It probably sounds better now as e wood has aged and hardened. I like 60s Ludwigs, too! I miss my old '71 Rogers kit. Radio King solid wood snares are amongst the best snares made, save for a Knucklehead snare drum. On a separate note, I can't wait for the Knucklehead to age a bit more...

80s Gretsch are pretty darned good drums. I can't say I know the sound of an old set of Gretsch drums. I want to hear some up close and bunnyal...

Love my late '60s Slingerland kit. Totally unique sound, but asthetically speaking, nobody made those Tiger Pearl wraps as stylish as Slingy did, in my opinion.

Especially the Red Tiger Pearl - classic.

I have a 1968 White Tiger Pearl that has "ambered" to this amazing smoky gold and black hue. It's almost yellow, and is sometimes mistaken as such when I gig with them. (I've attached a photo of my son working them out.)

I am restoring my old Rogers kit from childhood right now. When those are finished, I am probably gonna put these WTP Slingys on Ebay.

But based on this thread about the depressed Slingerland prices, I ain't in a hurry to do it now!! Cool DudeCool Dude

- Vincent

And, oh yeah, I would put my Super Sound King with the Dual Strainer up against any snare drum ever built. . . K-cracK rimshots!

Slingies stodgy?

I dunno. Maybe if all we think about is their iconic WMP stuff. But they were active participants in flashy rock and roll. Two examples:

Nigel Olsson's Slingy kits were pretty flash. I always loved that blond double headed kit with the long toms.

http://www.angelfire.com/ca/nigelfanclub/nigelpix1.html

His tom fills on all those Elton ballads still give me a boot.

Neil Smith during his time with Alice Cooper also had some fairly over the top Slingy kits. There was a big chrome set (20 pieces give or take). I recall some fairly exotic hardware stands that were probably custom made. And there was this kit.

(I just deleted the pic of the mirror drums, which proved to be Premier. Good interview with Smith about his drums here:

http://www.ink19.com/issues/march2003/interviews/nealSmithPartIi.html

My first "vintage" kit was a 70's Slingerland 22/12/16 kit (13 must've gottn lost along the way because it had a double mount) that I got in like...spring 2002 or something.

I started on pots and pans at home as a kid, then moved up to an Amber Vistalite kit (concert toms/matching snare) in middle school (1991). My first drum set was a "Thunder" junker, but when I turned 14 and could get my own real kit I went with a big Tama Rockstar DX in blue/purple because of the kit I saw Dave Grohl playing with Nirvana.

I grew up playing Tama/Yamaha drums in the 90's and got a chance to play a friend's 60's Ludwig kit around 1999. At this time they were still just "old" drums to me and he had crappy batter heads...no reso heads....etc on them for "easy compact transport" so I didn't really "get it" in terms of the sound. By the time I got that first Slingerland kit that I lovingly restored and played (because the rack tom was shallower than my stupid power tom) I immediately fell in love with vintage drums because of the sound.

All of the "marketing" of their original offering was long gone/didn't apply to me in the least. It was all about sound they made. Im sure I would see things differently if I grew up looking at the catalogues of all the major companies in the 60's and 70's the way I looked at Tama, Yamaha, Pearl etc in the 90's...but I just got into it way after any of that was reality. To me Slingerland always seemed the coolest because they were so readily available, inexpensive, and sounded the best (to me). They were literally my first experience with "that vibe" that I love so much about vintage drums and it was no fluke! 3 ply with rings. So great. I agree Ludwigs are similar in overall tone, but they just don't have what Slingerland has (to me) in fat round low end resonant tone. Im sure part of that is loyalty because of that Slingerland kit that got me into all of this to begin with. Maybe I just got lucky and have owned some really nice examples. Don't get me wrong...I love all different companies offerings from different periods for different reasons, but to me Slingerland "wins" the overall title.

Soap Box

-Adam

my first real kit was a Slingy and when I was younger I never appreciated them because I wanted a Ludwig kit! I would hit pretty hard, just to be heard or rather hear myself over the Marshalls and the Slingy kit would always loosen up. Ludwigs were known for their hardware and maybe that was the draw. I love Slingerlands now, some of the best sounding drums out there.