Slingerland · Artist Model snare · 1963–1978
The Artist Model is a wood snare. Every Slingerland catalog page we found lists it with a maple or 5-ply wood shell, and none describes a chrome-over-brass Artist. The 1963 catalog sold it as the Artist Model Snare Drum with a Solid Maple Shell, fitted with the new Zoomatic strainer, Rim Shot hoops, tone control and twenty-wire snares, in 5½ x 14 with eight or ten lugs or 7 x 14 with eight, as Nos. 153, 155 and 156, in a choice of pearl finishes. The catalogs kept that description into the early 1970s, but Slingerland historian Carl Wenk found that almost no solid maple snares were actually made from 1965 to 1970, so a late-1960s Artist sold as solid maple needs a shell photo to back it up. By the 1977–78 catalog it had a 5-ply wood shell in any finish. Today's Radio King Artist, built by DW in Oxnard, California, is a different drum with a 3-ply mahogany and poplar shell and a reworked Zoomatic. Find out which shell you're getting from the edge and the badge before you buy, and pick one whose Zoomatic still holds.
Inside the shellArtist Model snare
Read the badge first. Black and brass Niles badges with a serial number ran from October 1962 into 1970, black and silver ovals followed, and the football-shaped badge runs from 1973. Inside, a beige milk-chocolate interior dates a shell to October 1966 through 1970. A ring-less 5-ply shell is 1972 or later.
Zoomatic strainers wear and lose their adjustment, and wraps can lift at the seam. Late-1960s drums get listed as solid maple when the catalog said so, even though few were built that way.
Buying guide
The one we'd consider is the 1960s silver sparkle 14x5.5 from a UK drum shop at $645 delivered, though it's titled 3-ply, while the 1960s catalogs list the Artist with a solid maple shell and today's DW-built Radio King Artist is the 3-ply one. Only two Artist snares are for sale, so the $725–975 delivered band is two asks, not a market read. Ask for photos of the badge and inside the shell before you offer, and check that the Zoomatic strainer holds. We'd skip the white marine pearl drum titled solid shell 1960 at $1,055 delivered, since the seller has no feedback and the Artist first appears in the 1963 catalog.
$644.85est. delivered
The lower delivered of the two, a 1960s silver sparkle 14x5.5 at $645 delivered from the UK. It's titled 3-ply, which doesn't match the 1960s solid maple Artist, so ask for the badge and an inside-shell photo.
1960's Slingerland "Artist Series", 3 Ply, Silver Sparkle 14x5.5 Snare Drum
Delivered prices include shipping as eBay quoted it to a US address on Oct 12, 2026. Many sellers charge by distance, so your total may differ. eBay shows yours before you pay.
Snapshot
Checked . Some may have sold.
Delivered prices include shipping as eBay quoted it to a US address on Oct 12, 2026. Many sellers charge by distance, so your total may differ. eBay shows yours before you pay.
Used$644.85est. delivered
$529.36 + $115.49 shipping
Buy It Now$529.36
This seller takes offers, and many sellers accept less than the asking price.
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Good buy
Titled 1960s 3-ply silver sparkle 14x5.5. Ships from the UK.
Seller: london_drum_company
99.4% positive
Used$1,055.00est. delivered
$1,030.00 + $25.00 shipping
Buy It Now$1,030.00
This seller takes offers, and many sellers accept less than the asking price.
Fine if you might miss it? Send an offer first. Someone else can still buy it while you wait for a reply.
Want it for sure? Use Buy It Now.
Check the seller
Zero-feedback seller in Poland. Titled 1960, before the 1963 catalog Artist.
Seller: 6941katarzyna
No feedback yet
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