Hi, everyone. Posted this on the Slingerland FB group but didn't get any definitive info....

I'm not a drummer, but a recording engineer / studio owner who is tasked with maintaining a few vintage kits. Our flagship set is a beautiful dark blue sparkle 1962 Slingerland (22" / 13" / 16") with a matching 1959 5x14" snare.

Recently decided to do a thorough cleaning & overhaul of our entire arsenal. While taking stock of the Slingerland kit, I'm noticing the tension rods are all over the place. All kinds of different sizes, varying amounts of washers, it's a total mess. Some are originals, with that square Slingerland-style top, but some are obviously just cheap modern rods.

So I'd like to set it up properly. I've noticed some good things, like we seem to have all the right rods for the floor tom - 16 rods at 2 5/8". But then all the others are a mess, all different sizes & stuff.

My question is, what would the original kit have had? The snare seems like it wants to see 1 1/2" rods, and we have enough of those for the top head (but not the bottom). The rack tom appears to want 2" rods. What sizes of rods are generally used for each drum in that era? Is there any standardization to this at all? For example, even though I have enough 2 5/8" rods to handle the floor tom, are they the right size? Does it matter?

Any advice or suggestions would be very much appreciated. I suppose I'd like to find original Slingerland rods but it's not a top priority, I would be OK with just buying new rods once I know what to get.

Thanks!