slingerland espresso

[fuzzy5113]

hey people!
does anybody have any experience with the slingerland espresso kit? the demo posted on their website shows the dude playing sitting down, but does that mean it really isn't meant to be played standing up?

[Bruce (the K)]

I haven't actually seen one of these in the flesh but I believe this set is meant to be played sitting down only. It is more compact than a conventional 4-piece, both because you use the floor tom bottom head as the bass drum and because the snare mounts directly to the floor tom, rather than having its own stand. You're using 3 drums (snare, tom, and floor tom) to get 4 sounds (snare, tom, floor tom, and bass).

I think the whole 'cocktail' label is sort of a misnomer for this kit. Yes, it's smaller than a conventional drum kit and takes up (a little) less space but you still need a drummer's throne so it's still laid out 'horizontally' rather than 'vertically' like a tall, thin cocktail drum that is meant to be played standing up (and takes up the absolute minimum amount of room on stage).

I also don't care for the fact that they don't give you a bracket for the bass drum pedal but just count on the weight of it to keep it from wandering around. I like to have my bass pedal clamped on to something so I know it will stay put.

Still, it seems like an inexpensive alternative to a full set and you're only carrying 3 drums, not 4.

Has anybody actually seen or played one of these?

[Keith Cronin]

I don't think you could play it standing up - the bass drum is onlyl 16x16 - it's just a regular floor tom. If you raised it up high enough to play it standing up, the pedal couldn't reach the bottom head.

It's just a small kit, not a cocktail kit. But it looks kinda cool....


KC

[jmettam]

Hey Fuzzy,

I'm with Bruce on the sitting down concept. The kick/floor tom is a 16x16 so you would have to use extra long floor tom legs an some sort of bass drum pedal extension to make it higher.

Check out the Rogers Astoria/Parklane:

http://www.cocktaildrum.com/models/astoria/astoria.html

it's the same basic concept only 40 years before! I have talked to a couple of Astoria players and they sit as well.

I've heard that the Espresso is not a bad kit. Slingerland does not make the same quality of stuff that they did back in the day but for around $400 it's supposed to be pretty good.

Let us know if you get one!

John

[fw]

I guess Slingerland is back to making high-end drums. What a crazy company. Through the mid-eighties to early nineties, they were import drums with the Slingerland name only, then they started making high end drums in America again until about the turn of the century, then they went back to being imports with just the Slingerland name, and now they are high end again. But the low end stuff, including the expresso set, is still basically imported by musicyo.com. I'm guessing the wood is luan.

Even though I'm not a big luan fan, I wonder if it's not a fitting material for a cocktail set or jazz set. The tonality isn't amazing, but then the wood is quieter, which is great for low volumes. I grew up playing a 70's CB 700 set in 12/13/16/20 jazz sizes, and even though the set drove me nuts when it wasn't mic'd up for a loud set, it wasn't bad for quiet gigs.

Also, my 1962 Slingerland set is the 3 ply mahogany/poplar/mahogany with maple reinforcement rings configuration, and it makes me think mahogany is under-rated. I think if it's high grade mahogany like Slingerland used to use, not Phillipine luan like cheap sets use, it has a nice warm tone, good response at low volumes, and enough volume if you need it. Sure, it's not birch or maple, but then birch has way more focus than mahogany and not much of the warmth. Thin maple shells seem to give the warm, multi-dimensional sound of mahogany only with more volume and maybe a bit more ease of tuning.

[Ben Snow]

I'd definetly agree that the marketing label cocktail is inaccurate but I love this little kit. I built myself a 18x20 remote bass drum for punchier songs but I really love the open and suprisingly lound sound you can achieve with the 16x16. I replaced the snare with a 7x12 brass Slingerland snare I also picked up through musicyo for $150 and it's also great, besides the through-off action. I'm in the process of building a 14x14 floor tom as well to go where a floor tom would traditionally be. I just really love the feel of this setup, there's no bass drum to get in the way. One last thing, the 5x10 tom sounds great too. Hope some owner feed back helped you guys out, this is a pretty cool forum.

-Ben Snow

[jmettam]

Hi Ben,

Thanks for the feedback!

I don't know if you saw my other post but I am looking for info about the Expresso drums. Could you posssibly do me a favor and look at the badges on your kit, on the inside shell, hardware, etc. I am trying to find out where they werer manufactured. I'm assuming somewhere in asia. Maybe there was some documentation that came with the kit?

Really, any little snippet of info would be helpful.

Thanks,

John

[jmettam]

For anytone interested. There is a Slingerland Espresso kit for sale on eBay until November 9, 2006

http://cgi.ebay.com/Slingerland-Express ... dZViewItem

Good Luck!

- John

[imradioboy]

I've been playing my expresso kit for almost three years now. I love it! When miced up, it can push a four piece blues rock band with no problem. It's also great to show up with a drum kit packed in a plastic milk crate and a large Rubbermaid container. While I wouldn't call it a true cocktail kit, it covers all the same positive aspects: small, quick set up, versitle and it gets other drummers asking questions.

[jmettam]

Thanks for the update Radio Boy,

You are one of the lucky ones to actually have one of these. I never could find out why Slingerland stopped selling them. It seemed like they sold pretty well. I ams till kicking myself for not getting one...

- John