Howdy all,
It is with great pain that I join and make this post. Due to 1) a job layoff and serious financial trouble, and 2) rock music is a young man's game and I ain't gettin any younger, I have to put a value on my beloved kit and sell it.
With great thanks to DrCJW, I found most of what I need to know here, but still have a few questions.
I have what is close to the Super Rock Outfit 51N as pictured in the '77-'78 catalog, 5-ply in Black Diamond wrap. However:
1) where the Super Rock has one 9x13 tom and one 10x14 tom, I have two 9x13s, one with tone control, one without, and
2) the floor tom is 16x16, not 16x18.
Could this kit have been specially ordered?
The badging on all the drums is of the '73-'86 Niles football style, matte black ink, and the serials appear to be very late 70s, maybe 1980 or 81. No date stamps appear anywhere on the inside of any drum. The rundown:
Kick: 14x24, serial 452274, dual spurs, original Setomatic tom mount, hoops suffer from minor scrapes/dings, wrap is intact and in very good shape. (A side note: a former bandmate told me his father owned the injection molding plant that made the plastic balls for these mounts, and Slingerland had originally chosen a cheaper plastic formula based on manufacturing costs, but was forced to go to a more expensive plastic when early mounts cracked prematurely. Mine is intact and healthy.)
Floor tom: 16x16, serial 481560, wrap is intact and in very good shape but pulling away at the seam about 1/4 inch.
Rack tom w/tone control: 9x13, serial 415054, wrap intact and in good shape except for very minor seam warpage.
Rack tom w/o tone control: 9x13, serial 512715, wrap intact and in very good shape.
All of the above were purchased for $350 in the mid 90s from the second owner and they were near mint then.
I also have two Slingerland snares and one Ludwig snare:
Snare 1: 5x14, chrome steel, 8 lug, sixth Rapid throwoff, serial 440186, some minor pitting but overall in good shape. Purchased from the original owner in 1987 to go with my first kit, a birch Yamaha, second from the bottom of the line in 1984.
Snare 2: 6x14, chrome wrap over 3-ply (inner ply appears to be maple), 8 lug, sixth Rapid throwoff, serial 577128, some minor scratches/dings and the throwoff needs repair and is disassembled. Purchased from music store in early 90s.
Snare 3: Ludwig Acrolite(?), 5x14, aluminum, 8 lug, P85 throwoff (has a sticker instead of the Ludwig logo cast in) serial 3076920, post-'79 blue/olive non-pointy badge (that got bent somehow anyway), has some minor interior corrosion from steel hardware/aluminum shell contact, throwoff needs repair. Was left behind by a drummer I replaced.
I'm super bummed about having to sell this kit - I received many compliments over the years on its sound, especially during recording and from live sound engineers. I ran coated Ambassador batters and clear Diplomat bottoms on everything but the kick, which was either a clear Pinstripe or Evans batter and a coated Ambassador bottom...
But I digress. I apologize for no pics - I sold my camera along with a bunch of other non-essential electronics. I have a webcam but it's not good for detail shots.
Any and all help on a value range will be appreciated. I also have a set of recent Sabian HHX cymbals, but no stands or hardware (my nephew helped himself to those a few years ago when I stopped playing).
Thanks for your time,
Dan