Let me start by saying I’ve been looking forward to this review for a very, very long time. I never thought I would get to be the first person to receive set number one in this configuration made to my specifications.
I present to you the Oxnard Era Slingerland Radio King drum set in white marine pearl.
The sizes on the drum set for this review are as follows:
14” x 18” Bass Drum
14” x 14” Floor Tom
8” x 12” Tom-Tom
All three drums are three ply mahogany/poplar/mahogany with maple re-rings.
All drums have a 30° rounded bearing edge and steam bent solid maple re-rings.
All drums are wrapped in a beautiful vintage style, big-chip white marine pearl.
All drums are adorned with gorgeous nickel plate hardware.
All drums have the new heavy-duty vintage style Radio King beaver-tail lugs.
All Radio King drums have the anodized aluminum brass-look finish cloud badges with laser engraving that read; Slingerland U.S.A. Quality Drums.
All toms are equipped with “Stick-Saver” rims/hoops.
All Toms, Floor Toms included, have the nineteen seventy’s style Slingerland logo stamped into both metal rims/hoops top and bottom.
All drums have the Slingerland logo stamped washers inside for the lug mount screws.
All drums come with a Slingerland Radio King cloud shaped label inside the shell with a unique serial number for each set.
All drums come equipped with Remo heads sporting the 1970s style Slingerland logo.
I will run through each drum individually for this review followed by the entire set collectively.
Let’s start with the 8” x 12” Tom-Tom. It comes equipped with a Remo Coated Ambassador batter head and a Remo Clear Ambassador resonant head.
It has the vintage style Radio King small-knob, dual tone control (muffler) which functions as intended.
I don’t find the occasion to use a muffler on my toms often but it’s nice to have when I do. This drum has the diamond shaped tom-mount that is compatible to use on the original vintage toms that come equipped with the same. The difference is that this new tom mount only has two points of intrusion into the new shell with a rubber gasket between the mount and the shell. The bracket on the mount plate is a solid beast with a 1/2” mounting hole to be used with modern stands. The bracket also incorporates an internal pressure-grip and does not rely on the wing screw digging into the side of the mounting pole to stay in place, it’s a much better and more reliable option. It also comes with a matching memory lock that blends perfectly into the mount for a smooth one-piece appearance. This Tom mount is also a two-piece unit, meaning that the diamond plate and the mount itself separate (it’s the same mount used for the floor tom legs). Interchangeable, pretty cool!
I also understand that, since the release, there has been some pushback on this mount. I for one am not riding that train. For me, the new mount represents a heavier duty option to perform flawlessly in real world touring and playing situations and all the abuse that entails. As far as sound goes, this tom delivers a beautiful resonant tone, in high or low tuning, to my ears.
The 14” x 14” Floor Tom.
The floor tom comes equipped with everything that the tom-tom does including dual tone control, Remo heads, stamped rims/hoops, badge and label…
It comes with three 22” long heavy duty 1/2” thick legs with pressure grip mounts, the same mount used on the tom-tom which means two things, the legs are a lot taller than the vintage straight-legged models and these babies aren’t gonna slip, come undone or go anywhere.
The leg mounts also come with the memory locks that incorporate right into the mount for a smooth one-piece appearance. These memory locks are also the non-marring pressure-grip type. Side note: all wing nuts on all drums are stamped with the Slingerland “S”.
The 14” x 18” Bass Drum.
The bass comes equipped with the same accoutrements as the toms.
It’s comes with a Remo Ambassador batter and what looks to be a Remo Powerstroke batter with the built in muffler ring. It has the half-moon muffler pillows, batter and resonant, inside attached via Velcro so you can adjust them to your liking or remove them all together, your choice. It has the vintage style t-rods with cast hooks lined with felt to protect the wood hoops. Speaking of the wood hoops, these are pretty cool with what they did and how they did it. The white marine pearl wrap covers the entire outer face of the hoop, it is then sanded down on the front curved edge and everywhere till the wrap and the wood look like a one piece unit. The white marine pearl is taped off on the center and the entire hoop is painted black. The center tape is removed and the entire hoop is coated in clear. This gives the hoop a fantastic look and feel and no worries about the inlay popping off like it did in the old days. The spurs are certainly a nice upgrade in my opinion as well, very heavy duty and adjustable at the bottom of the spur. It also has options for a spiked end or a rubber mount end, which is also embossed with the Slingerland “S”.
I chose to get my bass drum configured as a virgin bass with no mounts. I will be adding another smaller 10” tom later and prefer to have my toms on a stand.
Even as an 18” bass drum this beauty projects a very nice tone which compliments the other two drums, it has a sound that I prefer out of my smaller bass drums.
The set I received for review at the very beginning of this year, 2025, had to be sent back to Slingerland because it was THE first set, hand-made, and they like to keep those in their archive. I totally understand that. Right after I sent that set back after having it for months (I’m not going to lie, it was difficult for me to ship it out of my clutches) I received the exact same set in the same sizes, configuration and finish, which coincidentally was the first production set, for my personal collection.
When I received the second set, my set, it came with a few extra things the first one did not. It was packed in radio King stamped boxes. It arrived with a nice little welcome pack that included some extra parts, a stamped Slingerland-logo drum key (which I insisted to Slingerland that the key should be stamped after reviewing the snares), a little Slingerland flag, Slingerland rag and a couple other goodies.
My take away from this is that the overall sound, which is most important to me, is absolutely outstanding and I would place these drums up there with some of the finest sounding instruments ever made. These drums would be a compliment in any genre, style or type of music.
Speaking of any genre of music, the new Radio King drums offers twelve shell pack choices, featuring bass drums in sizes 18” to 24” and toms from 10” to 18” to enhance whatever style of music you perform.
The sets are available in four finishes, two wraps:
White Marine Pearl and Black Diamond Pearl, and two lacquers:
Black & Gold and Blue & Silver.
Slingerland will also be offering a huge variety of parts for separate sale that not only fit these new sets but will retro fit the vintage sets as well.
After reviewing this set and the snare drums earlier this year, I like to think that this is what the trajectory of the Slingerland brand would be had the Slingerland family continuously owned it from the 1960s till now, without all the ups and downs and poor quality it experienced. I also like think they would approve of the advancements and new technology now incorporated into their legacy of fine instruments.
This review is my opinion and I am basing this review solely on my opinion and my opinion only, I really dig these new Radio Kings and I wish Slingerland drums a long and fruitful future for many decades to come!
I look forward to reviewing the new Studio King sets, snares and all the new hardware that will eventually come to market in the near future.
Thank you to everyone at Slingerland who helped make my little part in this happen.
And to my readers, thank you for reading my words, and I do love and appreciate all the feedback and comments!
Stay tuned…
Edward Tucker
Studio 3T
2025 Oxnard Era Slingerland Radio King Set Review
