Hi All,

I am new to this board and as you can probably tell from my login, a Sonor player so I know very little about Slingerlands. However, about 10 years ago, I had the opportunity to purchase a vintage marine pearl Slingerland set. I always remember from high school (25 years ago) that the jazz band drummer had a set in blue sparkle and they were awesome drums. So when the opportunity presented itself, I jumped at these. The set consist of 12/13/16/22 black and silver Niles badges with serials in the 107xxx - 109xxx, setomatic chrome dual tom mount, snare stand, bass pedal, hihat and two cymbal straight stands. The kit appears to be original to itself, vibrant wrap and I would say a strong 8 of 10...not collectors grade, but very good condition

It also came with what I believe to be a matching 5x14 Artist Buddy Rich snare, but with the black and gold Niles badge. Here is what I know on this drum:

1. serial number of 105550

2. 8 lug sound kings

3. Zoomatic strainer

4. Original Slingerland snares??? (see below)

5. I believe it is 3 ply w/rings

6. Interior appears to be painted in a tan versus natural maple like the set

7. Drum is in great shape, vibrant wrap, great chrome. Condition 8.5 of 10 (seems to be a 3" crack/split on center of inner ply running side to side, not up and down and does not effect sound nor integrity)

8. Tone control small knob

9. Strainer side does not have a plate to go over the string, it just threads through the holes

Questions:

1. Do the snares have a metal strap on one end with a rivet and stretch over the snare bed and beyond on the butt end? I can't seem to find a picture on the site of the snares or butt end, only the strainer

2. Is the tan interior paint the chocolate milk referred to?

3. I think the snare is between 1968-1970...could this be correct? I am a bit confused because I thought there were no serial numbers in early to mid 60s and no 3 plys (sorry, I'm Slingerland ignorant!)?

4. Could this be a Buddy Rich model?

5. Is the Zoomatic correct with no plate, just a square piece of metal with holes for string on the strainer side? I see some pics with and some without. I just don't see a place to connect one with any screws.

6. Approx value for the set w/hardware?

7. Approx value for the snare?

I was going to sell the set and snare because I never used them and thought it a crime to just have them sitting and not being played. In preparation I finally got around to cleaning them, reheading the snare, checked Ebay for comparable prices (there is a similar snare on Ebay right now for about $450!) and thought I was ready to part with them but needed more info. Well, the snare sounds awesome...I am no longer sure I want to sell it! The kit will probably still be sold.

Sorry for the long post and thanks in advance for any assistance!

Gino

[email]luvdrums@erols.com[/email]