Big news has hit the drum world, with the recent announcement that Drum Workshop has acquired Slingerland Drum Company from Gibson.
The news was announced on Slingerland's YouTube channel, with a sentimental video that sees DW CEO Chris Lombardi "gifting" the classic brand to his father, DW founder Don Lombardi, at his birthday party earlier this month. As you can see from the video below, this is something the elder Lombardi—a long-time Slingerland fan and player—has been hoping for for quite some time.
Breaking the news of Lombardi's new ownership via video message was Gibson's CEO and President James "JC" Curleigh. Gibson has owned Slingerland since 1994, when it purchased the brand from Gretsch (which DW also acquired back in 2016), but stopped production of the drums some time ago. And speculation as to what would happen to the classic brand only intensified when Gibson filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year.
But wonder no more: With this acquisition, Slingerland is joining a strong family of brands that (in addition to DW Drums and Gretsch Drums) also includes Latin Percussion, Pacific Drums and Percussion, and Ovation Guitars. The announcement also promised that "a new generation of Slingerland instruments" is coming next year, so be sure to check back for more news as we have it.