this is the frist web site ive ever posted anything. i would like to ask a question to anyone with knowledge of slingerland drum kits. i have an opprotunity to purchase a 5 peice kit . the owner calls it a 500 magnum,
its in mint condition with all hardware and cymbals. he is asking 750.00
for all including hard cases. is it wourth it?
[COLOR="DarkRed"]Hello, and welcome to the Forum.
There are a lotta ways to answer this Q.
From a vintage drum forum perspective, the Magnums were Slingerland's last line of drums made during the company's crash and burn in the '80's. These are early-mid '80's drums. Generally, it is considered that Slingy quality vanished around the late '70's...after that the company name got sold a few times over...their hardware became quite poor, their shells (historically always made domestically) became very poor, and then they switched to asian-made shells...which were not highly regarded.
So...the Magnums are from that time, not the more "classic" Slingy era which arguably ended around '78 or so. Anything pre-'80 is therefore considered vintage Slingy...these, in quality, are not in that echelon.
Given that...IMHO...if you have $750 to spend, I think you can get a better, bona-fide vintage kit. It may not quite have all the bells-and-whistles included, though. But for $750 you can get a better kit incl. hardware and cymbals.[/COLOR]
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Now, for the sake of balance...the counter-argument would be:
$750 including everything for a drum set which isn't a low-level contemporary asian kit is a good price (assuming the cymbals aren't junk). So, given that it would be a package deal including cases...again, if the cymbals are just half-decent...it is NOT a bad price for a fully-appointed drum set.[/COLOR]
I disagree, magnums were the top of line drums made in Niles IL. with there in house produced 5 ply shells same quality as always. There spirit series drums were 3 ply imported shells with no rerings in them, that was the cheap line. The magnums are solid as ever and boomers !
If the cymbals are A zils ,hats, ride, a couple of crashes,I would say that is a good deal as a player kit,you have everything you need to play and gig with,as an investment or collector kit time will tell,but not really that collectible right now. What color/type of finish on the shells,and sizes are also factors.If you could post pics we could help more,but if they are in ecxellent condition it sounds like a fair deal to me.
I have a Pewter silk Early 80's Magnum 5 ply set and they are excellent built drums. The hardware its beefy as hell. bearing edges and tone is as good as any Ludwig late 70' early 80's 6 ply shells. The Floor tom in particular is just amazing. The 12 lug 7&x14 snare projects and sings on every dynamic level...Magnums can defeat any modern era American made drum set and they're no cheapo import but Slingerland's very Swang song...
