This is a beautiful set. I would keep everything original, & just keep working w/ felt & cloth to dampen the bugs. You're probably overly sensitive to the rattles, which nobody else even notices.

tdennis,

Thank you very much for the compliment and advice.

You're right, I am pretty OCD about everything on my kit being perfect. I just worry that a mic would pick up the rattles if I ever brought this kit to a venue that would require mic'ing. Also, I mentioned being pretty OCD about that kind of thing, so it would probably drive me crazy anyway. Eye Ball

The lead vocalist in one of the bands I play with, and we always mic the kit because we play to a click, is also a sound guy/our sound guy. He always gives me grief about growls and funny noises, so I imagine he'd pick up on it too.

Hi Welcome to the forum,

You are off to a great start here with a beautiful kit like yours..very nice indeed.

As far as the rattles go, I have not actually had any experience of any rattlle problem with the floor tom legs, however the leg lugs were "reknown" for the slippage issue even when new....(in particular on a drum riser with any degree of vibration). To stop the slippage I'd buy & fit 3 x 9.5mm memory clamps for the legs. For the rattles remove a head & check tension on all of the lug & leg screws. Sounds like you have already got the muffler thing sorted out.

Good Luck

Cheers

Hi Lynn,

That is a really beautiful set you have there - enjoy it! I have a similar set (although mine is made of "orphans" from the 50-60's) and the floor tom also rattles. I think the tone control is the culprit in my case, but now that you have mentioned it, I will check all leg brackets.

Anyway, I know some people use rubber isolation feet on their floor tom legs to make the drum more resonant. Perhaps having these feet would alleviate some of the force on the leg brackets and help you reduce the rattle? No clue if they would actually work for this purpose, but maybe worth trying if all other suggestions fail. Good luck and I hope you find a solution! Please let us know what works :)

Good Morning SlingerLynn!

First, let me say that your kit just screams "pure class!" I love EVERYTHING about it (except for the rattle, of course). You really did a GREAT job detailing all three pieces. They're stunning! I've also got a '58 Slingy WMP kit but mine came with an early '60s floor tom. I guess that's the trade-off: No rattles but, then again, not a '58 floor tom. Hopefully you'll get your issue resolved soon. I'm sure your kit sounds every bit as good as mine, which is fabulous.

ENJOY and thanks for sharing the pics!Excited

Really nice kit! And WMP my favorite. I'd love to have a set like that someday. Welcome to VDF!

Glenn.

Thank you all for the very kind compliments. I have put a lot of time in detailing everything and am quite proud of my new/old kit. It was actually in quite good condition when I got it, with only minor grunge, lots of missing paint on BD hoops, and incorrect parts (triple flanged hoops on rack and half of the claws and Ts were Gibraltar). But, as I said before, I'm pretty OCD about my drums, so they had to be cleaned and put back to original.

Thanks for the advice and please keep it coming! LongJohn and James, I may (probably will) try the memory locks and the isolation feet although they aren't correct pieces...they are easily installed and removable.

OldSchool, my FT is actually stamped JUN 1959, while the BD and rack are stamped AUG 1958...guess I should change my signature to 1958/9 Slingerland. ;) From my fairly extensive research while watching the kit on eBay and since purchasing them, I have found information, I forget where, that "way back when" a "young drummer's family might have chosen to order a kit a piece or two at a time" and that drum companies would just grab shells off of shelves when orders came in, paying no attention to dates. So, with that knowledge, and the uniform aging of the wrap on my drums, I believe they came as a kit possibly purchased in mid-59...at least that's what I hope. So, your FT may not be a true orphan. My snare, however, is an orphan (got it off Guitar Center's vintage page after I bought the kit), but the badge matches the one on my bass drum, and according to Dr.CJW's Slingerland badge article on Vintage Drum Guide, was only used from '56 to some time in '59, but it does not have a date stamp. It is WMP though, but a good bit more yellowed. But it is a single ply maple shell! Clapping Happy2 Unfortunately, someone in it's past didn't take care of it like I will...it's a little out of round. crying2-07

Again, please keep the advice coming. I will try to post updates periodically as I try your ideas. I will also get pictures of the entire kit when I get the snare put together. I also have an Epic hihat stand that I accidentally had shipped to my mother's house when paying via PayPal. While I'm on that subject, if any anyone has or knows someone who has 50s era Slingerland snare and cymbal stands, I'd love to get some, though I may have to purchase a piece at a time depending on price.

Thanks again for all the compliments and advice. You have all made me feel welcome to the family, and I hope I can contribute as much as I've been helped. God bless you all!

Still no solution to the problem. Honestly, I haven't worked on the issue since creating this thread. I will update when I work on it more and, hopefully, solve the problem. However, I did get my resonant head from the sign shop. Check it out! Still waiting on parts for the snare, though. I'm going crazy Eye Ball waiting for them!

That drum set is beautiful. You can try looking at the springs for the leg mount buttons. Springs can lose their rigidity or become too compresed. You can try stretching the springs slightly or going to a good independent hardware store to match up new stiffer springs to the old ones. If the new ones are much too long, simply snip off the excess coils. Or, a slightly longer spring will offer more resistance resulting in a more firm braking mechanism for the tom leg. It should also reduce or eliminate any rattle from the old worn out springs.

Someone else already suggested snugging up all lug mounting screws, muffler mounting screws, and leg bracket mounting screws.