It is my usual discipline to leave this journal focused on my adventures in art-making, but a busy year of uninterrupted work left me feeling really burnt out. I had been painting day and night, sessions on several canvases tucked between my job for over the last month in pursuit to keep the flame alight, when I finally needed to step away for a spell. I needed to do anything else. I was reminded of a challenge I had turned down for far too long- fixing up that clunker of a snare drum I’d avoided for many years, neglected in a forgotten corner of my apartment.
My pal Dan sold me this drum along with a matching Slingerland 14” floor tom, a small 60’s Ludwig drumkit with mismatched toms & bass drum, an assortment of old hardware, and some beautiful Zildjian cymbals. I had cleaned up/replaced the heads on the floor tom & Ludwig kit in the past year or so, which I use for my acoustic band, The Good Medicine Revival Show, but had long been intimidated by the disrepair of this snare that gathered dust & paperwork near the computer at home. The snare strainer system was so cranky that I sincerely believed it to be broken, but upon closer inspection a couple weeks ago coupled with some internet research on the subject it merely needed some tender loving care. When finally realizing what I had on my hands, the thought came: “the time has come to polish off this diamond in the ruff”.
A few clues as to where this drum surfaced in my study on the subject, including the seemingly dysfunctional strainer/throw-off mechanics. The strainer is a 3-point Radio King, various designs of which having been manufactured all the way back to 1928. The strainer assembly dismantled revealed further evidence this is circa ’60-‘61 Slingerland: according to Dr. C.J. Wenk, the upper arm of the throw-off is no longer screwed on/removable, but permanently riveted. When I purchased the drum 7 or 8 yrs ago, shoestrings had been used to attach an old set of Pearl snare wires to the strainer, so I knew that wasn’t stock, but I had no idea then about the unique snare wires system designed for the hardware. Most of the snare drums I had dealt with had utilized cord to hold the snare wire set to the strainer save some of the marching snares I used in school and my Ludwig Coliseum snare, which used a Classic P87 (pain-in-the-ass). Unique to this design is the use of metal tabs riveted to the snare wires, which clamp right into butt end and to the throw off side. I had Drum Headquarters in Maplewood attached the new Puresound snare wires, after my cleaning and reassembly of the drum and it’s strainer hardware. I couldn’t see how this could system work effectively when I first discovered it, but it does work quite well.
My other clues concerning the times of this drum were:
*a solid maple shell with solid maple reinforcing rings, prevalent from 1955-1964.
*Used from April ’61 until Sept. ’62, a black Niles, Illinois black badge with raised gold script without a serial number was another clue to the vintage of this drum, serial numbers not having been employed on Slingerland drums until October 1962.
*a darker shade of Black Diamond Pearl finish/wrap with “more of a black on black character”, according to the fruits of Dr. C. J. Wenk’s research featured on vintagedrumguide.com, where I found a great deal of info on Slingerland history.
With the appropriate snare wires, Danny’s Slingerland has unusually sensitive snare tensioning- simply incredible... it’s whisper is heavy with breath using brushes, and a throaty thump with snappy high-end dynamic commands attention when using a stick. As a musician of many years, I believe instruments have a soul of sorts- they want to be played and cared for. Music is the most abstract form of art, the most developed voices of which having been employed by us humans- our tools used in wielding this art are the machines of the Gods, crafted by mankind. A week of work on the drum had uncovered an unrealized and divine little possession- I played the refurbished drum at an impromptu jam session this past Friday and I couldn’t be happier!
Tearing it down:
...the cranky strainer in question, disassembled:
...and the buttend plate assembly:
...the internal muffler was in great working order:
...okay, all cleaned up and reassembled:
...back from Drum Headquarters with the appropriate snare wires attached:
Mission Accomplished!
Thank you, Mike for the WD-40 and the silicone grease! Thank you Drum Headquarters for installing the snare wires for me!
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