I WAS going to say that that might be the snare bed...but then the pictures showed otherwise. Indeed, you DO have a "bad" edge. Yes, it will effect the sound. In fact, on a snare drum in that particular area, it is very important to get the snare beds jusssssst right if you want a buzz-free and responsive sound. Could it be that the edges have been re-cut? In all honesty, though, I would not be all that surprised if they came from the factory that way. Quality control during that era of drum making wasn't very high.

If the drum is a favorite, you might consider having a bearing edge expert like Rob Kampa look at them. I don't know how feasible that would be, though, as the drum's value might be less than the price to fix the bad edge. I could be wrong.

Ok, that's not very good then. Crap. The snare also came with an oversized snare wire that, in my opinion, fit very bad as some of the strands had been crooked beacuse they were pushed against the hoop.

I will try to tune it as good as i can and bring it to my band rehearshal tomorrow to see how it sounds in that enviroment. Otherwise I'm considering of contacting the seller to bring it back, or what do you think? Afterall, he did describe it as "a great sounding drum" and "in great condition" and i don't think that matches the reality!

Really greatful for advice on this one!

In regards to the seller the drum itself may sound great.And the bearing edge may have been over looked.

I guess you're right, maybe I'll just have to swallow my "unfortunate investment" and try to deal with it the best I can. Since the seller is Scottish and I'm Swedish it's hard for me to overlook the drum before, but that's indeed something I'll be more careful with in the future.

Thanks for the help!

Hey, don't feel too bad. I did the same thing with a green sparkle Ludwig snare drum awhile back. I bought it for under $200 and then when I got it, the edges were all over the place. I couldn't make it work for me so I sold it for a loss. Then, a few months later, the same drum came up for auction and it sold for nearly three times what I had sold it for! Sometimes, there is no justice! HA! ;)Burger Kin

I think ive just made a similar mistake with a green sparkle 68 slingerland. I opened it up and the 1st ply has a few hairline cracks in it. Plus the top bearing edge is slightly chipped. Non-original strainer too! Oh man I think it was a bad deal--I got it for 110. Its that green sparkle man it sucks you in.

You guys with your bad edges should check out the Bonzo Drum Company website. Matt Sinyard is a terrific wood worker and he has done wonders for one of my snares which was written up in Classic Drummer. He may rework those instruments and give you something back that sounds great.

Gary

Dix Hills, NY

Believe it or not, in some cases with special vintage drums, even if the bearing edges are bad, it is better to keep them original. I could have gotten that green sparkle drum re-worked so that the edges were perfect, but, if I had done that, the only value left would be as a player's drum. It would have lost a significant amount of its collector's-value -if not all of it. As I said, I lost money on the deal anyway! :(

There are several bearing edge masters in the US, but Ach is in Sweden and I don't know anyone in that part of the world to recommend.

It is my humble opinion that the Slingerland drum in question is not a drum of great value as far as collectability. It may have a lot of sentimental value or there may be other reasons why it might be feasible to find a way to fix it, but I don't think it would be all that desireable a drum either way. No disprespect intended.

Well, the good thing is that i brought the drum to the rehearsal with my band and it sounded awsome!! I probably underestimated it while just trying it out in my apartment. But in the musical enviroment, I got it to sound just like the really sweet Gretsch snare I've been borrowing! So now I really don't feel bad about it because it did what i wanted!