Here we have something you don’t see every day, this is one of the last ever produced Slingerland Drum Kits from the very early 2000’s, this is both a Nashville and Conway Era kit which featured the last version of the cloud badge with the Conway Ar. badge on the 12, 15 & 24 drums and the Nashville Badge on the 16 floor tom. During the Nashville days these amazing hand built drums were crafted by Craviotto's Sam Bacco and finished by Pat Foley.
During this time Gibson owned and operated Slingerland from Nashville but towards the end of the Slingerland run Gibson moved the machinery to Conway. Some early Conway kits did suffer particularly from Wrap Gluing issues (this kit's wrap is perfect) though Gibson worked hard to get the factory working back at a premium standard in line with previous Slingerland finishing. The final kits coming out of Conway were every bit as good as the previous Nashville Studio King sets. Lack of marketing and over pricing seemed to doom the Slingerland name and unfortunately the Conway Slingerland kits in the mid 2000’s were the last ever made by Slingerland. The floor tom was one of the final Nashville produced drums, it was wrapped to match the Conway drums. Because the Studio King recipe and tooling remained the same this kit is a perfect match throughout.
As you can see from the pictures the quality and finish of this set is absolutely stunning and the drums sound incredible too! These are some of our favourite thin maple shell drums ever produced period! A real golden era for Slingerland. This is probably one of only a few ever made in such big and quite unusual sizes, this is a huge sounding set of drums with an earth moving 24” bass drum.
These drum kits are regarded by many top American artists as the best drum set ever made. During the Conway period Slingerland were being made using thin Keller Maple Shells. These thin shells combined with Slingerland's iconic lugs and cast hoops plus the workshops expert bearing edges make these extremely special.
As you would expect, the kit has DieCast Hoops, Slingerland fittings and the Cloudy Conway / Nashville Gold Badges. This kit benefits from Gauger Rims throughout - these were quite standard issue on most of the Studio King sets and further enhance the kits sound.
Condition wise the kit is in very nice condition, given it's around 23 years old it is showing signs of use (mainly the black painted parts on the bass drum hoops which could be re-painted), but it is still a very striking drum set, the chrome is great and the shells are in top condition.
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12 x 8 Tom on Gauger RIM
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15 x 12 & 16 x 13 Floor Toms on Gauger RIMS
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24 x 18 Bass Drum
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Finished in Black Marine Pearl Wrap
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Studio King Paper Tags inside all drums
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100% Thin Maple Shells
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Die-Cast Hoops throughout
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12, 15 & 24 Made in the Conway Factory
- 16 Made in the Nashville Facility
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9/10 Condition - Typical ageing visible on the Bass Drum Hoops, There is a Mark on the 12" Gauger RIMs mount. Shells, Chrome and Wrap are perfect.
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Visually and Sonically Beautiful!
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Made circa 2006 - The last of the proper Slingerland drums.