I got a 20,13,16 mid 70's 5 ply kit for a steal. And the uneven edges were indeed troublesome. The heads fit fine but tuning was a chore. I sent them to Bernie Stone, at Stone Custom Drums and he cleaned the edges up beautifully. A great company to work with.They tune easily and sound great.

Your attorney didn't also happen to say anything about cocaine, Acapulco shirts and renting a convertible, did he?

Interesting you should mention out-of round shells Mark. I bought a new set of Ludwigs in 1998 and ordered some special sizes of 9x12, and 15x15 along with what was then a conventional bass at 14x20 and floor at 14x14. The 15x15 was out of round from the factory and could not be tuned properly with any head I tried including the Ludwig head. The dealer was useless on the deal, and in fact took the drum for a couple of months and returned it to me trying to give me the idea he'd sent it out, which he had not. Ludwig simply gave me the bird when I tried to make direct contact on the warranty. Nice that Slingerland stuck with it until you had was you paid for.

I've been advised not to answer that question...

Hi Dan!

Your story just goes to show that Slingerland was not alone with these issues! As to my issues, yes, Slingerland really did come through for me. Looking back and knowing what we now know about all the problems Slingerland was having, it's amazing that they did come through for me!

Mark

My parents started me with a Slingerland black sparkle 22", 13" rack and 14" snare, brand new in 71'. Added on a 16" and a 12" a few years later and they had switched over to 5 plies. I loved that kit, but it annoyed me the slight tonal diffirences and I ended up re-shelling it with Keller thin 5 + 3 shells done by Joe Cusatis and the Modern Drum Center NYC in the 80s. I gave the Slingerland shells to a friend. The newer shells being thin and having 3 ply re-rings sing compared to the originals. IMHO

I would love to someday have the same configuration kit with same born on dates and 3 ply with re-ring shells for posterity.

When was the change made from 3 play to 5 ply?

Slingerland offered a few marching drums with 5-ply shells around 1973, in the TDR series I believe. The first catalog to offer complete kits with either 3-ply or 5-ply shells was 1977/78.

Mark

When I ended up placing an order for a custom Slingerland kit from my local dealer back in 76, there was a Slingerland rep in the store, believe it or not, and he told me they were offering a new 5-ply shell that he referred to as "pro shells". I'll never know if he was making it up on the spot to impress me, but I fell for it...hook line and sinker.

Fortunately, the drums sound wonderful and I have never regretted it.