The drum set arrived earlier today, and I raced to GC to pick it up. As I drove, I imagined water damage, cracked shells, rusty hardware, strong tobacco smell. In my heart I already knew I was sending it back, so I didn't have any hope.

So when I arrived, the first issue we discovered was that the box was too big to fit in my RAV-4. I had to unbox everything in the open in front of the guys working and the customers. So yes, after a moment, a crowd gathered near. As I dug through the peanuts I could imagine the silent "too bad..." from the folks around me.

But them... I pulled the 12 inch tom from the box. It was wrapped very well, but I had to know. I loosened the wrap to find the muffler. To my shock, the felt padding on the muffler was not rotten. In fact, it felt new! So with my hopes sailing high I unboxed the rest of the drums and took them home, still wrapped.

At home I unwrapped the toms and... well... WOW! The set appears to be almost new. No smells, gorgeous wood, no water damage. I took my tape measure and each tom shell had about a 1/16th inch variance in diameter! Bass drum is closer to a 1/8" variance near the tom mount points (which makes sense.) There is evidence of some previous shell separation repair on the 14 (glue and sanding... very good sanding!) but I've seen new sets in worse shape!

Serial numbers are in the 57,xxx range, with raised lettering on the badges. All the drums have a "P" stamped on the inside. Definitely an Avante.

As I unwrapped more, it's not perfect: the tom mounts are showing rust, and the bass hoops are scarred up. One of the bass spurs is missing, and the rubber caps on the spurs and floor tom legs are shot. But still... I'm typing this post and I keep looking at the set. Wow... how did I get so freaking lucky?

Pics (not great quality). Inner tom condition is representative of all five drums.

Looking real good. Not much restoration needed on this '71ish set. You may need to buy another project though. Enjoy.

You got nice kit. Bumper cleaner on the hoops and car wax when done. Keep the rust in check now. Other than the spur and cap. I would leave the wear.

This may be a dumb question, but I'd like some opinions please.

The Slingerland set did not have a snare drum when I bought it. Looking back at the 1971 catalog, the set would have sold with a basic chrome-on-brass snare. These are easy to find, but I would prefer the tone of a wood snare. I'm trying to preserve the set "as is" but I'm also making it playable.

Yes, I could buy two snares :) .

But in terms of future collectability, would having a Slingerland wood snare instead of the COB snare impact the value?

Thanks!

Wood snare would have been available as an option with your kit. Having a correct wood snare should increase the value of your set over the Krupa COB. You will want to find a #153 Artist snare in BDP with serials close to the rest of the your set. Could take a while but luckily BDP was a common wrap.

Thanks! There's one on Reverb, but it's a mid 1960s, and the previous owner drilled a hole to mount an internal trigger :mad: Comparing the price to eBay, the Reverb snare seems high, given the alterations.

My daughter and son both play drums, and my son has several snare drums. Even though he moved out, he left his drum set here. I guess for immediate playing I can "rescue" one of his snares ;) .

Just an interesting FYI... I found out a little more about my set, and ended up spending more money.

I contacted the GC that shipped the set to me, asking if they had found an "extra" bass drum spur (only 3 arrived here.) While talking to the drum guy, he told me some more about the set: it was single owner, and sold as part of an estate. It's sad the owner passed away of course, and it explains the condition of the set.

He told me a bit more: in order to maximize the sales revenue, GC had separated the cymbals... and they still had some of them! Notice I said "had"... before the call was over I had pulled out my credit card and bought the cymbals over the phone! They should arrive tomorrow. 1970s Zildjian, 14" 16" and 18".

Unfortunately no bass spur though, and the vintage stands and snare are long gone.

Nice job tracking down those extra pieces. Vintage stands and spur should not be too hard to find. Post a picture when you get it all set up.

Those shells are some of the nicest ever made by Slingerland. Really nice rerings. They should sound great. I am not a fan of the double tom mount but do like the single mount. I will use the mount to hold the mounted tom and set up as a 4 piece , or one up two down. Luckily all four bass Spurs were with mine, but since I don't mount all the toms on the bass, I just use the first two Spurs and a bass drum ancor. You can get aluminum rods at Lowes you can cut to size and put rubber tips on. No one would notice it in the back Spur mount.