The Future of Slingerland
The original company traces its lineage back to 1916 and
survived to 1969 as a family owned business. For the last 6 years or so
Slingerland has been owned by Gibson and for 7 or 8 years before that, it was
owned by Fred Gretsch, who purchased the asset in an auction.
Today,
Gibson sells imported Slingerland drums through a website they either own or
sponsor. There are no American made Slingerlands- only the promise that Gibson
will "soon" revive the line in a new factory in Memphis.
Our
Forum section has a number of loyal and enthusuastic members who believe the
Gibson era Nashville drums were the finest Slingerlands ever made. I agree with
that.
My own position is that this name is sacred in drum history. If
Yankee Stadium is "the House that Ruth built," then Slingerland is "the
House that Krupa built and Rich furnished!"
I am doubtful there
will be any more American Slingerlands unless Gibson sells the name.
Fred
Gretsch still has a lot of Illinois made Slingerland shells, hardware and parts
that are being sold by Musicalcloseoutsman on eBay.
If you want to
learn more about Slingerland drums, we invite you to order an autographed copy
of his Harry's book for Modern Drummer, the
"The Great American Drums". It's only $ 19.95
plus shipping. | |
