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MIJ "Frankenclubdate" Bop Kit

Posts: 1685 Threads: 529

Greetings,

Just wanted to share the newest restoration/orphan matching project from my secret drum lab in an undisclosed location.

Here's the skinny:

12" Rack tom-It's a "Round Badge" Star. Natural interior with re-rings and Slingerland Sound King style center mounted "club date" lugs. Slingerland style stick saver hoops.I removed the clip mount and filled in the holes and colored the holes with a red Sharpie, because I'm so clever. Or something.

14" Floor Tom-"Drum Mate" with a natural interior and no re-rings. Double Slingerland copy lugs. I upgraded the leg brackets to modern, eye bolt brackets (same hole spacing so no drilling) and upgraded to modern legs. Slingerland style stick saver hoops.

14" Snare Drum- "Heit" with a natural interior and re-rings. Slingerland style "Sound King" lugs. I upgraded the strainer to a more modern one (most of those MIJ strainers were terrible). Slingerland style stick saver hoops. Interestingly on this snare, it had pretty decent snare beds, but they were actually slightly off center! The beds were both slightly to the right of where the snares hit the bearing edge. The strainer and butt were drilled exactly halfway between the lugs, so maybe this was "Friday" drum from the factory? I widened them with the gentle work of a coarse file and some 220 sandpaper so they are uniform.

18" Bass Drum-This was a Tama "Stagestar" from the late 90's/early 2000's. I took off the black wrap, filled in all the holes (except the air vent) and re-wrapped to match. I upgraded to wood hoops with matching inlay (I gloss finished the hoops). I re-drilled for some old school spurs I had lying around, and I ordered new replicas of the Slingerland Sound King lugs from Drum Factory Direct and I used the existing (filled in) holes as a guide. I know there is some splay going on with the lugs, but I'm not too concerned, as the bass drum doesn't have a lot of tension on the heads, and the tension rods are still threading in smooth and not binding.

I opted to keep the bass drum "virgin". I am not a fan of mounting toms on snare stands. I decided to in this case, because I didn't want to put a modern tom mount (like a Yamaha arm or a Tama arm etc) on a classic little kit like this. I have a few extra MIJ rail mounts on my parts shelf, but with it being an 18" bass drum, I didn't think I could get the height I need from my rack tom with a rail mount (and judging by the photos, I think I made the right call). I have found that when using a snare stand to mount the tom, if you use an "old school" style basket, it still holds the drum firmly without choking it like a modern basket does. The main thing I don't like about mounting toms on snare stands is that I can't get it close enough to the center of the bass drum. Using a flat base stand helps get it as close as possible and it's comfortable to play, but I would like it just a bit closer to the center of the bass. That's just me

All in all, I'm happy with the way this project turned out. I acquired all four drums at different times and this kit is truly a joy to play. I wanted to share it with all of my friends here.

Enjoy!

V

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Posted on 4 years ago
#1
Posts: 2242 Threads: 380

What a great job! That kit looks fantastic! I'm sure they sound that way too!

Brian

Just a drummer who loves all things about vintage drums! Nothing more, nothing less.
Posted on 4 years ago
#2
Posts: 6363 Threads: 223

Hi V!

You did an excellent job with this kit! I really like the contrast of the clear maple bass drum hoops and the red sparkle inlays, instead of the typical black hoops. In regards to the "club-date" style lugs on the 12" tom, I'm sure you really meant "Stage Band", which is Slinerland's name for their center-mounted lug toms and bass drums.

I also think you made the right call with using a flush-base snare stand for the tom instead of a rail mount. You could use a rail mount with a long spade extension, but still might not get the tom up high enough depending on how tall you are.

Again, a great looking kit that has been given new life! Congrats!

-Mark

Posted on 4 years ago
#3
Posts: 6363 Threads: 223

Completely forgot that my 1967 Slingerland kit has the Maxwell rail with the long spade attachment. You can see that there is still extra length available to get the tom higher. However, my bass drum is a 20"...and I'm not very tall! Not sure if this would get enough height on your 18" bass drum. At least you can see it here as an option for you.

-Mark

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Posted on 4 years ago
#4
Posts: 1685 Threads: 529

Thanks for the kind words, gents!

Thanks for the correction, Mark. I did know that the Slingerland center mounted lugs were called "Stage Band" (I even have a full Stage Band kit), but I just refer to center mounted lug kits in general, rightly or wrongly, as "Club Date style", I guess because they are the most well known. Just like a "Kleenex" is a name brand of tissues, but many people call tissues "Kleenex", whether they are actually Kleenex branded or not. Same thing with Rollerblades (they are actually a brand of inline skates), Band Aids are a brand of adhesive bandages etc.

Speaking of the rail extension, I actually have one on my Stage Band kit and it works well, although that is a 20" bass drum. I still like the height advantage of the snare stand, so I'll leave it for now. I could always add the rail mount later if I choose. I think Precision Drum Company still sells the rail extension.

That's a great looking kit, Mark. I'm always a sucker for Silver Sparkle!

Posted on 4 years ago
#5
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