Snare of the day

Leedy Utility

This lovely 1960 Leedy Utility snare drum arrived in the shop a couple days before Christmas.

This 14 x 5.5″ Leedy snare drum in original, natural mahogany is in great condition. Dated 1960, it features 6 original chrome lugs, single flange hoops, vintage snare drum claws and the original 3 point snare strainer.

The Blue oval badge, with the postal code 48 printed after the word Chicago, dates this drum 1960. Overall this drum is in great, original condition. Featuring an original vintage calf head on the batter side and a Slingerland True-Tone on the resonant side, it tunes up easily and sounds great – the calf head giving it that great vintage tone. It sounds great with brushes as well as sticks; it benefits from a lighter stick to experience the full tone of the drum.

This Leedy snare drum may suit a player looking for something quirky, an alternative to some of the other 6 lug vintage snare drums that are popular. More details on the website…

Snare of the day

Slingerland Magnum 702 series

Well, its late in the day, but I have some time to sneak a quick write up on a tasty snare we have in store!

If you’re looking for a great Rock snare drum, maybe your search ends here…. an early 1980s 14×8″ Slingerland Magnum 702 series maple snare drum! This 5 ply maple shell snare drum is featured in the 1983 Slingerland catalogue. This drum is in lovely condition, featuring all original hardware including 10 full length lugs,  stick-saver hoops and Slapshot strainer.

The Slapshot strainer has lovers and haters, the latter due to it’s cumbersome nature. Personally, I love any drums where the snare wires extend past the diameter of the shell, it seems that most of the classics do – Ludwig Super Sensitive, Premier 2000, Rogers Dynasonic, Slingerland Radio King, to name a few. This strainer is a little bulky, but is fully functional and with a good set of wires present adds to the sensitivity and versatility of this drum.

That said, I took this up to Northstone Studios with Jayce Lewis a few weeks ago, giving it a trial run – it definitely rocked, plenty of volume, great body with a nice, full sound due to the depth. All in all, a winner.

What a great snare drum, one we certainly don’t see everyday here in the UK. More details on the website.

Snare of the day

Slingerland Radio King, 1958

This stunning late 1950’s Slingerland Radio King snare drum arrived at the shop this week. What can I say, one of the nicest sounding Radio King snare drums I’ve had in the shop for some time – some just sing when you hit them!

Finished in Black Diamond Pearl, this 14 x 5.5″ solid maple shell is in lovely condition. The previous owner had this drum restored 10 years ago – the bearing edges were re-cut, as were the snare beds. The shell interior is date stamped 21 JUL 1958 and is in great condition, with original hardware fitted; twin felt internal tone control/muffler, Sticksaver hoops and Clamshell snare strainer and butt end. The lever on the strainer has been updated with a modern replica arm, which functions great (the original lever comes with the drum).

Fitted with Remo heads and Puresound wires, the drum tunes up easily and sounds like a dream. A wet one. More information on the website…

Are 6 lugs the new 8?

With the rise in popularity of the 6 lug vintage snare drum, we take a quick look at some of these drums that were introduced as a budget student range. The Ludwig Pioneer and Slingerland Deluxe Student model, have equally become go-to snares for many studio players looking for a drum with a different characteristic to conventional 8 and 10 lug snare drums. Once overlooked as being ‘low end’ these drums are fast becomming classic snares worth having in the collection of any working drummer.

Here’s a short video of some of the snare drums we have at Nick Hopkin Drums – They are all tuned to about the same (75 bottom, 75-80 on a drum dial) although age of heads and type of wires do add character. Filmed on an ipad with a simple Zoom iQ5 microphone.

 

Snare of the day

Slingerland Radio King 14 x 7″

This Stunning 14 x 7″ Solid shell Radio King just landed at the shop…

What can I say? Highly sought after 7″ Solid maple shell in a cool Red/Yellow Duco with original Nickel hardware and hoops. Black / brass Chicago badge dates this drum late 1950’s (’56-59). Some wear to the paintwork, but this drum looks and sounds way cool.

Fitted with a new Remo Hazy Ambassador and a set of Puresound wires as the originals were a bit worn out; I left the batter head as it has cool song notes and lyrics written by a previous owner. This drum takes regular heads, tunes up easily and sounds #Stunning! More information on the website…

Snare of the Day

Slingerland HSS Radio King

This drum represents the last of the Solid Shell Radio Kings and came to us in near immaculate condition…

This snare drum dates to the HSS era of Slingerland (1989-1994) and represents the last range of Radio King. This snare drum is a one piece maple shell in Marine Pearl wrap, vintage hoops and original Slingerland hardware.

It tunes up nicely and has all the characteristics you’d expect from a solid maple shell; Volume, stick sensitivity right across the head, warm full bodied tone. It is in absolutely lovely condition and would suit a player or collector.

More info on the website, a short video of it in action on our instagram.

 

Snare of the day

Slingerland Radio King ‘student’

This stunning Slingerland ‘student’ Radio King arrived at the shop in great condition…

This snare drum dates to around 1950 and is in great original condition. Rather than being a solid shell drum, this student model is a 3 ply shell. It still features those lovely, fat, maple re-rings that help give it that vintage tone. All hardware is original including the brass hoops and three point strainer. Note that these student models don’t have the Radio King snare brackets.

These drums are by no means rare, but it’s the first I’ve seen in a glitter finish, and on this drum the blue glitter is very well preserved. It tunes up nicely, with no flat spots, and sounds great. More information on the website and a short video of the drum in action on my Instagram.

 

 

Snare of the day

Leedy ‘Shelly Manne’

This lovely Slingerland era Leedy snare arrived at the shop recently and is now on the website….

This drum was available 1958 – 1965 and was among the last Leedy drums manufactured. These Slingerland era drums feature 3 ply shells with chrome hardware; this model is fitted with a 3 point strainer and Slingerland’s stick saver hoops.

Finished in White Pearl, this 14 x 5.5″ snare drum is in lovely original condition – with the exception of new heads and snare wires. It tunes up nicely and has a nice, bright response. Although a long way from the original solid shell Ulysses Leedy drums of the early 30’s, this drum is fairly sought after by players and collectors alike.

More information on the website.

Snare of the day

Slingerland Gene Krupa Sound King

Apologies if I’ve skipped a couple days. If I did ‘a day in the life’ post you wouldn’t believe how insanely busy I am running this shop! So today’s feature is a 1960’s Gene Krupa Sound King snare drum by Slingerland.

We’ve just had one arrive at the shop, in very good condition, with just some scratches to the stick saver hoops. With all original hardware, this chrome over brass 14 x 5″ drum sounds amazing – a real favorite of mine. Three lines in the centre of the shell and fitted with a black/brass Slingerland badge. Fitted with Slingerland’s Zoomatic strainer which works well; personally I am a fan of these although others aren’t. I think they look classy and are easy to use, and much smoother than standard strainers made by competitive brands of the same era.

You can find more information on this drum on our website. We also have a couple 1970’s drums available, when the Krupa name had been taken away and it was now the Sound King. These have the later Black / Silver Slingerland Niles badge.

Snare of the Day

Slingerland Student Radio King 13″

Our featured snare drum today has to be the drum that arrived yesterday, as I personally have never seen one before! It’s a late 1950’s 13″ Slingerland Student Radio King .

This is an original 6 lug,  13″ Student Radio King in sparkling silver. All hardware on this drum is original – stick saver hoops, clamshell snare strainer, even the snare wires. The shell interior is dated twice – April and June 1958!

It has some splits in the shell that have been re-glued, but is still in round and tunes up great. Despite its age the bearing edges are in pretty good shape.

Rare to see one of these drums, particularly in the UK. More information on this at Nick Hopkin Drums.