[COLOR="Navy"]Hello Tommy:

Yes, your solid maple #153 Artist was made sometime between May to July of 1963. The solid shell, the serial number, tone control knob size, style of Zoomatic and COB hoop profile are all characteristic of an Artist made well before 1968. As such your drum does not, technically speaking, carry the name "Buddy Rich Artist".

Of course this is the view a Slingerland purist might take. Whether or not the manufacturing date has to match the time period in which the endorsee played the model is clearly a matter of personal view. It's the same model, and you have one gorgeous solid maple Artist. But strictly speaking, to have a Buddy Rich Artist one would have to have a #153 made between the middle of 1968 to early 1970. Look for a black & brass badge with serial number about in the range 175,000 - 240,000 to be certain. And expect that such an Artist will have a 3-ply shell, and a chocolate milk stain on the maple interior. That's a Buddy Rich. After the beginning of 1965 Slingerland made nearly all #153 Artists with a 3-ply shell, despite what was printed in the catalogs. Any solid shell #153 that you might find made after early 1965 is an instant added treasure. And if you find one with serial number above 175,000...

DrCJW[/COLOR]

Hello Carl!... and,

Let me thank you for the very concise reply... but then again, that's what I have come to expect from "Mr. Slingerland"... DrCJW! Okay,

I had a feeling that my "Artist" was older then 1968 when I saw the serial number. Again, being a Rogers guy first, Slingerland has a lot of areas that I'm not totally sure about, with serial numbers/dating being one of them. Buddy on the other hand, I know cold! :-) Having said that:

Buddy hooked on with Slingerland in the Fall of 1967 and stayed until 1976. So, that being said, I now know that my "Artist" being a 1963 is not "technically" a Buddy Rich model... HOWEVER! ... isn't this just semantics? Buddy did in fact play the "Artist" model snare drum when he started with Slingerland. I have an excellent September 1968 performance on video/film of BR with his then NEW Slingerland's, and the snare drum is shown/heard to excellent advantage!, and it is the "Artist". "Looks" exactly like mine... and of course we knew that! So,

I will keep my "Artist" in my BR snare drum collection as it is essentially the model/wrap he played, but, I will keep my eyes peeled for the "correct" #153 BR Artist as you have described. Jeeze!... and I thought I was done!!

Tommyp

[COLOR="Navy"]Tommy:

Sure, it's absolutely just a technical factoid of timing, one which is important or not based on personal choice. Buddy Rich played Slingerland snare drum model #153, and you have one, just made during a time when he was not a Slingerland endorsee. What does that mean? Your decision. As with any vintage collectible there are going to be collectors to whom that really matters - they must have the correct vintage and the Buddy Rich name officially matched to the production date. And then there will be folks that probably could not care less. In fact there are drummers I know of who would much rather have the earlier solid shell model rather than a later 3-ply model, Buddy Rich name or not. Personally, I value them both, but then that's just me.

By the way - Buddy Rich declared the Slingerland #153 Artist he was playing in early 1968 as the "greatest snare drum I ever played". Of course, you know Buddy...

And also, by the way - during Buddy Rich's endorsement period with Slingerland in the late 1960s and 1970s he played every single "pro-level" model snare drum that Slingerland made. Every single top-line Slingerland model appeared on the BR bandstand at one time or another. So maybe you have a lot more fun collecting to do!

DrCJW[/COLOR]

Hi Carl!

Yes!... you are of course absolutely correct on the fact that Buddy played just about every snare drum Slingerland had to offer! However!... he had a few "favs" if you will, and these are the drums that we most OFTEN see on the bandstand over this Slingerland endorsement period. ( 1967 to 1976 ) ( not including the Fibes SFT 690 COF of course! A perennial thorn in Don Osborn Sr.'s side!! ) Specifically, in order:

The "Artist"

The 4X14 16 lug Buddy Rich Model in WMP/COW

The Buddy Rich/TDR

These three models are the most popular during this Slingerland period. I have TONS of media including still, vid, DVD, film, that bear this out. So again, it comes down to how FAR one wants to take his "collection". My collection focuses on the most POPULAR and most often PLAYED models during this period for BR... and these three are it! Of course I now know that my "Artist" isn't exactly in the proper time period to be a BR drum... so ... I will be looking for the "proper" one! In the meanwhile it will suffice as the "proper" model, based on what we have decided is a ... technicality.

Always a pleasure DrCJW!

Tommyp

[COLOR="Navy"]Tommy:

Yep, absolutely, you have the main three he played, and beautiful examples at that!

Carl[/COLOR]