[COLOR="Navy"]Warren:

My sincere sympathies to you and your family on the loss of your Dad. Perhaps having his kit will be a warm way for you to remember him by.

Gleaning what detail we can from the pictures, your Dad had a classical kit made by Slingerland sometime in the years 1974 - 1981. During 1974 - 1978 it would have been viewed as the core of the Buddy Rich 80N kit, minus the second floor tom and a second set of bass drum spurs. But your Dad probably just ordered it the way he wanted it, which is what most drummers did. Regardless, this configuration was a classical Buddy influence of the period.

Assuming original parts, a couple of key indicators bracket the date. The chrome bass drum hoop inlays indicate no earlier that about mid 1974, and the tone control on the small tom would indicate no later than the middle of 1981. To pin things down further would require filling in some visual detail I cannot quite make out with enough certainty in the pictures.

The bass drum appears to be 5-ply no rings ? true? Do the other drums have reinforcing rings or not? The tom heads may be original ? if so do the logos have ?BATTER HEAD MADE IN U.S.A.? or ?TOM TOM BATTER? followed by a patent number? Do any of the drums have ink stamps on the interior? If so are they a large ?P? or a script ?Slingerland?? And what are the serial numbers (first 2 or 3 digits will do)?

DrCJW[/COLOR]

Many thanks for your reply Dr. - very much appreciated !!

Below are some links to some more detailed pictures that I took of the snare (with the batter head removed) and one of the small tom showing the badge.

Unfortunately, there are no markings or stamps of any kind inside any of the shells (this worries me slightly..!!), but all the shells have an identical interior appearance, with no extra holes and the same (all matching) bolts, brackets and washers. Same color, shell thickness, finish etc...

The serial numbers range from 413402 on the snare to 471520 on the small tom.

I hope this information and the pictures will help you narrow down the age of the kit and assist in determining more detail. I'm keen to replace the missing tom arm, but I think I will struggle to locate one here in the UK. Do you have any contacts in the US that might be able to help?

Here (below) are the links to the detailed photos..

Many, many thanks again DR.!!! -Warren

http://www.identitycrisismusic.co.uk/pics/1.jpg

http://www.identitycrisismusic.co.uk/pics/2.jpg

http://www.identitycrisismusic.co.uk/pics/3.jpg

http://www.identitycrisismusic.co.uk/pics/4.jpg

http://www.identitycrisismusic.co.uk/pics/5.jpg

[COLOR="Navy"]Warren:

My sincere apologies for this late reply. Again, what a wonderful kit. While there is always some variability, your kit looks to have been made most likely in the 1979 - 1980 period. The 5-ply shells were standard, and with usually no markings at that time, so no worries there. The Set-O-Matic arms come up relatively frequently on eBay, so you should have little problem eventually running across one in nice condition. Or of course advertise in "Wanted" sections of this and other forum sites, if you haven't already.

DrCJW[/COLOR]

Many thanks again Dr.. an apology is absolutely NOT required !!.... I'm just more than grateful for the benefit of your expertise. Thanks for the dating and the confirmation about the shells. I'll get hunting for the Set-O-Matic arm...

All the best from the UK!!- Warren