Hi RadioKingMike!

I'm a bit confused here. Are you saying that you purchased the kit that OldSchool was originally referring to? If so, the serial number provided does show the kit clearly into the 80's. The bass drum shell appears to be the 3/8" 5-ply, but you don't mention about the toms. If the toms are 3ply, without rings, that I really think this is a J4 kit and not a 9R. Let us know about the toms.

-Mark

+1 with idrum4fun. Mid eighties Artist J4 kit. Don't be surprised if the toms are 5-ply also as the 3-ply non re-ring shells were used on the lower "Spirit" line.

Yes, Mark. RadioKingMike purchased the kit that I was referring to in my original post.

Hey guys.......They are Slingerland drums with either three ply or five ply shells on the various drums. The serial numbers approximate the dates of when these shells were made. Will you be disappointed if the drum outfit was made up of drums that were not pictured together in a catalog, and given a name? Why don't we just call the drum set "Ernie......The Generic Conglomeration Of Drums That Someone Wanted To Order As His Or Her Very Own Drum Outfit"?

No disappointment here, simply trying to answer the OP's question. Yes, this may be a pieced together collection of drums. All that is really known is the bass is a mid 80's 5-ply. The shell lay-up and serials for the toms is not known. The drum sizes have not even been confirmed. Hopefully RadioKingMike will post some addition info and a more thorough identification can be made. Looks like a nice kit.

Hey Fellows, I've been away for a few day's,m Wanted to answer a few questions....... First off there were no disappointments in buying this kit if there was I would've never purchased it ! I normally don't talk about the cost of a kit but I want to put any doubt to rest, $450.00 was the fee for 20x14 , 12x8 & 14x14 the toms are 3ply & 5 ply bass drum .

There are NO Extra holes and ALL the tension rods, Lugs, hoops, etc. are really great shape. I cleaned all the bass drum lugs and they look very clean along with the tom hoops, I was surprised on how well the Crome looked mainly because no one has cleaned or polished anything in a long long time !!! The tom diamond bracket had a hairline fracture in it but I had a nice clean replacement on had and the cymbal mount on the bass drum had a helio-coil in it that wasn't done correctly so I replaced that with a orginal one I had once I get done going over the kit and putting New heads on her I will take some pics.

So now that some of the questions have been answered what model # do you Think it is ?? Thanks for all responses ,Mike

Sounds like a good price for a nice Slingerland kit in Jazz sizes! As previously mentioned, we sometimes worry too much about applying a specific catalog name to a kit. Be that as it may, based on the 3-ply toms w/o rings and the 5-ply bass drum, plus the serial number, I still maintain that this would have been the Artist J4 kit. The only issue is that there was never a cymbal arm bracket installed. My guess would be that this bracket was added after the fact.

Again, please don't worry so much about what specific kit this would be. Just enjoy your vintage Slingerland kit. (OK, I still think it's a J4!!)

-Mark

Mark, Thanks for the comments, Honestly I've been wanting those specific sizes for awhile so when I saw the post on Craigslist I didn't waste any time ..... I knew for the asking price,if all looked good it was a Great Deal, I was just the lucky guy who was able to make it happen and the first one to look at them. It's really crazy what these 20,12,14 kits are demanding I just don't understand it. I'll take a J4 Kit any day...... Pics coming in a few days...! Mike

Mid 80's Artist J4 kit. Additional research shows the Artist line and Spirit line shared the same 3-ply ringless shells. Are the serial numbers all reasonably close?

Here's a picture of my Artist J5, also showing the 5ply bass drum and 3ply rack tom.

Another cost cutting step was that the 22" bass drum had only 8 lugs per side instead of 10.

-Mark