[COLOR="Navy"]Steve:

Two questions will help - if you have it, what is the exact shell depth bearing edge to bearing edge, and what are the first 2 digits of the serial number?

DrCJW[/COLOR]

ser.no 244482 5 3/8 shell size not quite 5 1/2 thank steve

[COLOR="Navy"]slingerlandsm:

So, good call on the date, 1976 is the most likely. At that time gut snares were not officially offered on a Buddy Rich model, but were a central feature of the TDR-based Concert King. Your shell size being 1/8" under a full 5 1/2 would be more consistent with what Slingerland put out on a drum cataloged as 5x14. In general, Slingerland cut the shell blank a bit over the cataloged depth, to ensure that after bearing edge work the shell wasn't undersized. So, very often we see Slingerland shell depths are a "healthy portion" - a bit over, and rarely under. As to the snare beds - the beds on 1970's Slingerland wood snare drums are nothing like the deep snare beds prior to 1970. On the 5-ply shells look for a very slight planing at the top of the 45-degree cut - it's very subtle, and easily overlooked.

So it sounds more likely that your drum originally shipped as a Concert King. But in reality they are the same snare drum. In fact, Buddy Rich started playing a WMP 5x14 TDR 5-ply in 1973 - when it was cataloged as a Concert King. Slingerland just put wire snares on it and left off the tone control, per Buddy Rich. He liked it well enough and by the 1976 catalog Slingerland had a new Buddy Rich snare drum model.

DrCJW[/COLOR]

thanks so much for the info i just added this drum to my collection ,steve