I've seen Ludwig 17" drums, but never Slingerland. I'll have to check my old catalogs later. Slingerland used two seams on their 18" drums, so two on a 17" would make sense...plus, recovering wrap in that exact BDP probably didn't exist, so I'd guess it's original. Those hoops aren't Slingerlands.

Are you sure it's not a 16 or an 18"? If it is a 17", you could mount floor tom leg mounts...generic ones are cheap and available...correct Slingerlands would look right but cost a lot.

Gauger's new suspension mounts have adjustable slots for the tension rods, so you may want to see one of those in person and give it a try.

nope, i measured it and it's 17". i have a slingerland snare and the top edge of the hoops curves in, as opposed to being outward like on this drum. is that what they're supposed to look like?

i really wouldn't want to put legs on it. this drum is in too nice of condition to run around drilling extra holes. i was thinking something like the mounts on tama rockstars, where that half-ring graps onto the rims. is that like the gauger thing you're talking about? do they make those that could support a 17" drum?

if you stumble across any more info in your catalogue i'd really appreciate it. thanks much.

[COLOR="Navy"]man will always be man:

A fascinating piece ? depending on what the original factory hoops were this is either a Haskell Harr Model or a Contest Model marching tenor drum, made in 1963. The Harr is shown below. The only difference between the Harr and Contest was the hoops ? Harr had COB rim shots whereas the Contest had wood hoops and claws, like the bass drum shown in the picture. Other than the non-Slingerland hoops on your drum everything looks fine. As Rich points out, drums over 16 inches in diameter got 2 seams. Yours are in the correct location for a 1963 marching tenor, and they appear nice, flat and normal.

Slingerland did make a 12x17 marching tenor, but had discontinued the size as a regular offering well before your drum was made. So this was a special order, the making of which was very common for the very-accommodating Slingerland. The biggest issue in filling this order would have been molding the odd 17-inch shell size. Check the shell - it is likely an earlier Slingerland mahogany shell ? made by bending pre-formed plywood, as opposed to the later practice of molding the shell plies individually in a former. The earlier pre-1957 bent shell has the tucked ply profile shown in the first picture on my shell page:

http://www.vintagesnaredrums.com/drcjw/article_3_shells8.html

The original factory hoops for your drum were possibly wood ? solid maple ? which was easy to custom make in this odd size in 1963. That would make this a 1963 Contest Model marching tenor. It is also very possible, however, that Slingerland used an old 17-inch single flanged hoop they would have had NOS in the factory. A custom 17-inch triple-flanged rim shot COB hoop would have made this guy a Harr model. The length of the tension rods on your drum look short for a Contest Model, but as with the easily swapped hoops, tension rods are easily swapped as well.

Slingerland sold its heads as a separate line, and the 17-inch Slingerland Weather All plastic head on your drum was a standard offering in 1963.

You have quite a unique drum ? it is definitely a collectible, so compliments to you on not drilling the shell. There are many other non-invasive mounting options.

Very cool!

DrCJW[/COLOR]

DrCJW,

i don't think you could have been any more helpful. thank you so much. what do you think a piece like this is worth, granted it doesn't have original hoops?

Another option would be to place it on a snare stand...held loosely in the basket. This is more of a pre-war period look but it could work.

Here's Gauger's web site

http://www.gaugerpercussion.com/

You may want to contact them...

A large basket, very short snare stand may be the easiest.

In the '20s and '30s all the drum companies offered basket type stands for their "floor" toms, before legs became in vogue...one of those might work, too, but there are no height adjustments, and they may cost over $100 to find a nice one.

It's hard to put a value on your drum,. Marching drums usually don't bring that much...because of the odd size, and the mounting problem you're having, anyone looking to add the drum to an existing set may not want to deal with it.

I'd say the drum is worth $100-200.

rich, i figured so. i was the only person to bid on it, probably because of it's weird size. so i got it for only $99 (plus shipping.)

i was thinking the snare stand but i didn't know if they made any that short. also one that's too short creates quite a problem. well anyhow, thanks again to everyone that gave me some info.

That's not mounting hardware in the first picture it's a tuning key holder