Well, mr wh00cares, dontcha think that really pearls and tamas weren't a bit better quality-wise? I mean Slingys gots da sound, but the Japanese drums were of better quality!!!

Answer.. No they are NOT..

Cheers

Thanks for all the answers - that was many!

I seems I am not alone in thinking that the Slingy prices are a bit lower than the other three american brands - right now.

It also seems there is a belief this stems from advertising, and that perhaps Ludwig is percepted as being more Rock´n´roll. There are a great deal more rock´n´rollers out there....

Well, if the price of a nice COW Slingerland snare with Zoomatic strainer IS around 50$, as it seems on ebay right now, it will stay in my house....

Got it together with a well worn (out) Rogers 12, 13, 16 and 22 kit, originally fitted with Swivomatic tomholder, re-fitted with a system from a Big-R.

Will be recoated and made up as a players kit.

This winters project!

Regards

Jon

if I end up with the Slingy COW kit Im trying to buy, I'll hit you up on that snare drum and see if you want to part with it.

Having played Slingerland, Yamaha and Ludwig back to back I prefer the Ludwigs sound.

However, there is nothing wrong with Slingerlands (hence Im trying to get a kit) and I too am surprised at how under valued they are on the market.

Good for buyers, bad for sellers.

RogerSling - No worries at all. I know just what you mean :).

Ever hear of Neal Peart? And he continued to use a Slingerland snare even when he became endorsed by other manufacturers.

I think I have to agree with the idea of "popularity" based upon "marketing."

When I was a kid and getting a good start on drummin', right or wrong I viewed Slingerlands as for the "jazz"/"big-band" guys (Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa, etc.). That type of music is what my parents thought was the BEST, and what us kids SHOULD be into (and of course, we we NOT). So, the obvious generation gap came into play, and I wanted LUDWIGS, which no doubt due to marketing, etc. (Carmin Appice, Jon Bonham, etc) led me down that road. I also had the idea (again, right or wrong) that Slingerland's hardware, stands, etc. seemed a little "old fashioned" when compared to Ludwig's Atlas stuff.

So in 1971 after saving my dollars over a long period of time (and selling my 50s Gretsch kit to my little brother), I bought a brand new Ludwig kit.

Now I've got both, love 'em both, like to BUY the Slingerlands but love to SELL the Ludwigs (due to market prices, of course).

I hope this all made sense, as I've typed it up while working on three different computers!

Bill

Growing up, I too, viewed Slingerland as old fashioned. I was into KISS and REO Speedwagon and those guys didn't play Slingerland. The old fogeys my dad listened to like Buddy Rich and Louie Belson played Slingerland. This is from the perspective of a 10 year old kid. I changed my tune when I got my first set of Slingerlands when I was about 20. I haven't played or cared to play another brand since. Slingerland speaks to me. They are THE BEST DRUMS for me, period. If God himself plays drums, I bet he plays a copper over wood Slingerland kit.

Also, for defenders of the Japanese drums, I can only say that my old Tama Imperialstar octoplus were the worst drums I ever owned. The Titan hardware was crap and the lugs pop off just by looking at them. What crappy metal did they use for their castings anyway? Junk.

The big difference that I see is that Ringo played Ludwigs.

That was probably one of the most cost effective marketing decisions ever made.

Like it or not the Beatles inspired a whole generation to take up music.

Not that it's in the same category, but who would have ever heard of Hofner if Paul hadn't played their instruments?

My first real drum set (Slingerlands) were purchased new in about 1965 from Drum City in Hollywood, and these drums were recommended by Roy Harte. Roy was from the pre-Ringo generation so may have been more inclined to recommend something other than Ludwig, or maybe he had a better margin on Slingys than Ludwigs, who knows?

I do remember distinctly that as a pre-teen drummer, not playing Ludwigs was very uncool.

I think the popularity of Ludwigs that was born during that time has carried over to a large degree, and is probably more responsible for the price difference between Ludwig and Slingerland than other considerations. Especially as the constructin is so similar, and in many cases, the hardware identical.