Crack(s) in finish - new Gretsch USA Custom

[Mcdonap]

UPDATE:

I decided to go ahead and request a replacement. I know this may happen again due to the nature of the nitrocellulose lacquer, but I guess I just wanted the set to start out perfect...

I contacted the store to get the ball rolling, and they just let me know that Gretsch says I can hold on to the tom for now since the lead time is so long.

 

[Jhouse86]

UPDATE:

I decided to go ahead and request a replacement. I know this may happen again due to the nature of the nitrocellulose lacquer, but I guess I just wanted the set to start out perfect...

I contacted the store to get the ball rolling, and they just let me know that Gretsch says I can hold on to the tom for now since the lead time is so long.

Thats great! I'm glad it was resolved to your liking, which is the main concern as the customer. Good on the dealer and good on Gretsch.

 

[Mcdonap]

Thats great! I'm glad it was resolved to your liking, which is the main concern as the customer. Good on the dealer and good on Gretsch.

Thanks! Yes, I'm really happy with how the seller handled it. Gretsch too - I didn't expect to be able to hold on to the tom.

 

[pedro navahas]

Good on Gretsch!!
Here’s my Gretsch story.
Bought my round badge set that came with a 1940’s 16” floor tom.
Sold it and used the proceeds to buy a new 14x14 Broadkaster because I wanted the edge to match the rest of the kit.
Drum arrives, quickly I might add, and it’s a six ply.
My sales guy says “no problem, gretsch’s mistake, keep the drum until they make a new one. Get the new one and have it for about a year, packing it up for a gig and notice the wrap is lifting at the seam, again, keep it and they will send another.
Get the new one and it’s a six ply!!
Gretsch-keep it and we’ll send a new one.
Get the new one, not happy that the wrap is cut back at the edge but decide to just keep it.
Fast forward a few months and same thing happens, lifting at the seam.
My guy at Gretsch says “sorry for all of this, we’re just going to replace the whole kit in a Piano black lacquer!!”
After a couple days I call him back and say that I can’t except such an offer as the kit was a 60’s round badge and I bought the floor tom to go with it.
He goes “what can I do to make it right”, I said I’ll fix it and maybe send me a snare or something.
I had my pick of whatever snare I wanted!
Personally, I think Gretsch is a great company and after this experience I am a Gretsch guy for life!

 

[Mcdonap]

Good on Gretsch!!
Here’s my Gretsch story.
Bought my round badge set that came with a 1940’s 16” floor tom.
Sold it and used the proceeds to buy a new 14x14 Broadkaster because I wanted the edge to match the rest of the kit.
Drum arrives, quickly I might add, and it’s a six ply.
My sales guy says “no problem, gretsch’s mistake, keep the drum until they make a new one. Get the new one and have it for about a year, packing it up for a gig and notice the wrap is lifting at the seam, again, keep it and they will send another.
Get the new one and it’s a six ply!!
Gretsch-keep it and we’ll send a new one.
Get the new one, not happy that the wrap is cut back at the edge but decide to just keep it.
Fast forward a few months and same thing happens, lifting at the seam.
My guy at Gretsch says “sorry for all of this, we’re just going to replace the whole kit in a Piano black lacquer!!”
After a couple days I call him back and say that I can’t except such an offer as the kit was a 60’s round badge and I bought the floor tom to go with it.
He goes “what can I do to make it right”, I said I’ll fix it and maybe send me a snare or something.
I had my pick of whatever snare I wanted!
Personally, I think Gretsch is a great company and after this experience I am a Gretsch guy for life!

That's an adventure!

At least they kept trying to make it right.

 

[Mcdonap]

Here's a pic of the kit:

 

[bellbrass]

Reviving this thread...because, unfortunately, this has happened to me. My 13" tom from my Gretsch USA Custom Mystic Blue kit has developed 2 cracks in the nitro finish. I'm well past the 1-year warranty period. Oh well. As they say, "Welcome to the club."

 

[1988fxlr]

Reviving this thread...because, unfortunately, this has happened to me. My 13" tom from my Gretsch USA Custom Mystic Blue kit has developed 2 cracks in the nitro finish. I'm well past the 1-year warranty period. Oh well. As they say, "Welcome to the club."

With nitro its very much repairable. True lacquer works by the evaporation of solvent as opposed to more modern catalyzed finishes where an actual chemical reaction hardens the finish. The reintroduction of solvents will soften the lacquer. A good luthier/guitar repair shop in your area should be able to seemlessly repair your finish

 

[GretschMan61]

Seppo at TRS Custom Drums is the authorized Gretsch repair Depot for Canada and he is 5 minutes drive from my house . I have seen him repair far worse issues with finishes on Gretsch kits than the OP has experienced.
Recently he had a walnut lacquer kit come in that looked like the person had it stirring in a puddle in the sun for a year . It was all faded and had water stains on the bottom of the bass drum . He did his magic and that drum set looked brand new .

 

[bellbrass]

With nitro its very much repairable. True lacquer works by the evaporation of solvent as opposed to more modern catalyzed finishes where an actual chemical reaction hardens the finish. The reintroduction of solvents will soften the lacquer. A good luthier/guitar repair shop in your area should be able to seemlessly repair your finish

Thanks for the tip...but, so far, I have called 2 guitar repair shops and 2 drum repair shops, and nobody will do the repair. Apparently, nitrocellulose lacquer is a tricky thing to refinish.

 

[lossforgain]

Thanks for the tip...but, so far, I have called 2 guitar repair shops and 2 drum repair shops, and nobody will do the repair. Apparently, nitrocellulose lacquer is a tricky thing to refinish.

Yeah...I agree that it COULD be done, but there aren't that many people doing nitro repairs anymore in my experience.

 

[bellbrass]

Yeah...I agree that it COULD be done, but there aren't that many people doing nitro repairs anymore in my experience.

Yes, and Gretsch has officially responded that the drum is no longer under warranty, and they won't repair it. So, now to find someone who will. I'm also tempted to sell the kit, out of fear that more cracks will appear.

 

[lossforgain]

Yes, and Gretsch has officially responded that the drum is no longer under warranty, and they won't repair it. So, now to find someone who will. I'm also tempted to sell the kit, out of fear that more cracks will appear.

It all comes down to your perception and how the finish condition impacts your feeling about the drums. Personally, I love a brand-new-condition drum as much as the next person, but I've also come to appreciate honest wear. If I really love an instrument, the way it sounds and feels to play, then I don't mind some imperfections. For example, I'd call nitro checking honest wear, as many vintage guitars are revered for their sound and the nitro checking is considered part of their charm. If I had a drum that I loved and it had some checking, that wouldn't keep me from loving it.

I've mentioned before about my "ugly duckling" ride cymbal. It's an A Zildjian with a 50s large stamp, which I paid very little for due to its condition -- someone had drilled it with (I think) 5 rivet holes, and it has a pretty keyholed center, and a couple of big edge dings (one is sharp) plus some general scrapes and wear. But this thing just sounds so good, and no one can see the imperfections unless they look closely at it. I even took it on a gig once where I was thankful to have it because there weren't enough cymbal felts on the house kit -- ended up playing it all night metal-to-metal. I would have cringed doing that to other cymbals but I don't have to worry about this one. And (as I often say), even though I didn't pay a lot for it, I wouldn't sell it for several times what I paid because it has beat out every other old A 20" ride I've had over the past many years.

 

[bellbrass]

It all comes down to your perception and how the finish condition impacts your feeling about the drums. Personally, I love a brand-new-condition drum as much as the next person, but I've also come to appreciate honest wear. If I really love an instrument, the way it sounds and feels to play, then I don't mind some imperfections. For example, I'd call nitro checking honest wear, as many vintage guitars are revered for their sound and the nitro checking is considered part of their charm. If I had a drum that I loved and it had some checking, that wouldn't keep me from loving it.

You make a very good point...and, being someone who is really a "shiny and new" type of guy, I am really thinking about moving away from that. If I keep them, I will have to adopt your way of thinking. Food for thought.

 

[WesChilton]

In looking at the OPs photo... I have to wonder if the floor tom bracket was put on after the finished was dry but not fully cured and in the process of tightening it down, perhaps too tight, it cracked the finish?

 

[Tommy D]

There are some complaints I see from people on this forum that I think warrant a sillt response to get their mind right about the build quality of certain low level kits. Then there are some where you say, yeah, that shouldn't happen to a new kit. This is the latter. It's really unfortunate you received your kit and the finish was cracked. Even if this is something that can happen over time to the kits, it shouldn't happen before you even have unboxed it, unless it is some sort of "relic" finish. So a replacement in this case, I feel is fully warranted.

Black and gold duco is one sexy finish and in 30 years if that kit has all sorts of cracks and peeling paint, OMG it's going to look even sexier. But that beauty comes with age, not at birth.