SLINGERLAND GENE KRUPA JUNIOR 7N ENSEMBLE DRUM SET

DRUMS
24x14” Artist Model Bass Drum Single Tension #339A - Stamped March 3 1958
12x8” Special Single Head Tom Tom - Stamped March 3 1958
10x7” Special Single Head Tom Tom - Stamped ???
14x5.5” Special Student Snare Drum #158 (3 Ply Shell, Six Lug, Rapid Snare Strainer, Straight Metal Hoops) - Stamped March 3 1958

HARDWARE
Epic Bass Drum Pedal

Purchased February 2017
If you have any questions about the kit, please contact me.

The latest addition to my ever growing Slingerland collection is not a top of the range set by any means, but a just as I like it, a rare and interesting set of drums none the less.

This particular outfit was squarely aimed at younger or student drummers setting out on their musical own musical journey’s and was no doubt targeting people who would have been in awe of Gene Krupa. 

This was a shrewd marketing move by Slingerland and a set of drums that was also perhaps very loosely based on Gene’s short time using a small second Tom Tom on his set with his trio and quartet as seen here in 1937?

My set acquired in February of 2017 is in a rare ‘Black And Gold Lacquer’ optional finish, also known as Duco.

It appears to be a factory date matched set with all but one drum stamped March 3rd, 1958. Only the 10” Tom Tom doesn’t appear to be date stamped, however, in the sands of time, the interiors were painted so it could have been lost during the paint application or during its removal during restoration.

It would be unlikely that the 10” was from another period or year especially as the two toms are a total match on the finish, although naturally, I sadly have no evidence to confirm this or otherwise.

Given the same day dated stamps and the fact the Artist Model Bass Drum is a non standard 24x14” #339A, it tends to suggest that this was perhaps a special order Gene Krupa Junior Ensemble 7N set as everything else matches the 1958 release, but as ever with these things, there is no way of knowing for sure.

The 7N drum set was shown in all Slingerland catalogs throughout its various incarnations in the unusual Marble finish as seen here in one of the early sets with an optional traps table. 

Very much now seen as a period finish and one that divides opinion in this modern day!

I have not seen another of these sets to date in the optional  ‘Black And Gold Lacquer’ Duco

For those not familiar with the Duco finish, many believe the term Duco stands for Dual Colour. Duco however  is in fact a very specific type of finish made from cotton, patented by the Du Pont Company and the word "Duco" is short for "Du Pont Cotton".

Duco's use of cotton was a technological breakthrough. 

A fast drying lacquer paint, it doesn't lose its lustre, is easy to clean, impervious to hot or cold liquids, hard to scratch and is almost as durable as the wood itself…or so they said at the time!

Often referred to as a less expensive finish on a drum set, it doesn't sound so cheap now, does it? 

Ironically for all that, if treated poorly, it hasn’t always stood the test of time over the last 80 years or so with many drums having had the paint fracture or chip and fall of.

Many poor condition Duco sets and drums have over the course of time had the paint removed and have been stripped back to the bare shells and either rewapped, repainted or left in a natural wood finish.

This set was in a very sorry state when it was acquired in 2016 as you can see from the following images, however it was lovingly restored in America by John over many months to what you see now prior to my purchase.

Certainly a ‘player’s vintage set and still with plenty of battle scars, it still struck me as remarkable is that so few of these sets seem to have survived.

Perhaps deemed as disposable ‘first’ drum sets, these Gene Krupa Junior Ensemble 7N are actually well crafted drums and these Slingerland single headed ‘concert toms’ clearly predated their more famous 1970’s counterparts by some 30 years!

I have seen these sets in use on the concert circuit today, 60 plus years on after they were built, such as seen here where just the 10" Tom Tom is in use. An easy set to transport and full of that classic vintage sound with bags of retro looks.

To date I have only seen around 7 Gene Krupa Junior Ensemble 7N, five of which were in the Marble finish, one in Blue Sparkle and this single set in the Black and Gold Lacquer that I own. 

Named after Slingerland’s greatest endorsee, the Gene Krupa Junior Ensemble 7N drum set was first launched in 1941 with a 4 piece drum set comprising of:

26x14” Bass Drum
14x7” Snare
13x9” Single Head Tom Tom
10x7” Single Head Tom Tom
Cow Bell
Wood Block
11” Thin Alejian Cymbal

Revisions were made to the set in 1948 with changes to the sizes of all drums that reflected the decline in popularity of larger drums to a smaller more portable set and this set continued until the end of 1954.

24x12” Special Bass Drum Single Tension
14x5.5” Special Snare
12x8” Special Single Head Tom Tom
10x7” Special Single Head Tom Tom
Cow Bell
Wood Block
10” Tuscanese Cymbal
3 Ply Laminated Shells With Maple Reinforcing Rings
Nikel Plate Finished Hoops.

The third and final incarnation appeared in the 1955 catalog with a further reduction in size to the Bass drum and this set was to remain unchanged (aside from the change from nickel plated hoops to chrome plated in 1958) until it saw its last production in 1962.

22x12” Artist Model Bass Drum Single Tension #337
14x5.5” Special Student Snare Drum #158 (3 Ply Shell, Six Lug, Rapid Snare Strainer, Straight Metal Hoops)
12x8” Single Head Tom Tom
10x7” Single Head Tom Tom
Cow Bell
Wood Block
10” Tuscanese Cymbal

In 1963, the 7N set became a 3 piece outfit and was rebranded to a 17N with just the one 12” Single Head Tom Tom.

I will be adding additional images of my Slingerland Gene Krupa Junior Ensemble 7N in the coming months.

I will be adding additional images of my Slingerland Gene Krupa Junior Ensemble 7N in the coming months.

If you have any questions about the kit, please contact me.