Gretsch RB aqua satin flame drums - project kit

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Tama CW

Tama CW

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360 mile road trip today to pick up these RB's. 14,16,20. A number of parts will be needed - bass hoop, 1 die cast hoop 16", a few tension rods, legs, BD badge, etc.....will keep me busy for a while.
There's a 13" wmp Gretsch SSB rack tom hiding in the background between MIJ 16" and 12" Kent wmp. That's going to be the mounted tom until I run into a matching Aqua Flame.


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Tama CW said:
360 mile road trip today to pick up these RB's. 14,16,20. A number of parts will be needed - hoops, inlays, tension rods, legs, badge, etc.....will keep me busy for a while.
Even with the bottom floor tom heads trashed and not tightening up properly, I was pretty happy with how they tuned up.


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Looks like the floor tom leg was mistaken for a spur!.....Good luck with your resto.....Love restoring and playing vintage Gretsch drums. Please share your progress with these babies!
 
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JDA said:
'she's got a ft leg going thru a spur socket!"... : D
that set going to look good with no inlay blonde hoops..
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Yeah, don't you love that ingenuity. After all, there are no bass drum legs with it. Not sure yet if it came with single stem legs or those double foot ones.
I almost left without that single "bass drum" leg as the seller didn't have it out and I didn't remember until I almost drove away. So I came back and knocked on the door again.
When he went looking in his pile of parts he found it....as well as a 2nd 20" floor tom leg! I think I'll buy a 3rd oem leg for the 14" but also go with an "inexpensive" repro set on the 16".
Though it seems like there are no inexpensive straight style repro's out there. Maxwell sells a nice set....though around $90 + shipping.

Blonde BD hoops? I don't know about that JDA. I could be a sucker for 3/4" aqua inlays on black hoops. I wonder which hoops would cost more? What about Cadillac Green solid hoops?

I already did the cursory Reverb, EBay search for missing parts and drums. Will order up some items tomorrow.
 
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BTW, if you need to get some aqua satin wrap, buy it from Canal plastics. It's cheaper than buying from a wrap company, and it comes in rolls so you're not limited to a 54" sheet.

Rowlux Illusion Films

Rowlux plastic films are created with unique three-dimensional patterns that give an illusion of depth and motion. Available in a variety of colors and great for lighting, creative and decorative projects.
www.canalplastic.com www.canalplastic.com
 
Tama CW said:
360 mile road trip today to pick up these RB's. 14,16,20. A number of parts will be needed - hoops, inlays, tension rods, legs, badge, cymbal arm, etc.....will keep me busy for a while.
Even with the bottom floor tom heads wrinkled up and trashed and not tightening well, I was pretty happy with how the toms sounded. They should sound really nice once complete.
There's a 13" wmp Gretsch rack tom in the middle of the back three......was hoping for a 12". 1970's stop sign badge. A ratty MIJ 16" and 12" Kent wmp rack tom rounded out the group.


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Don’t you love road trips! I do!!!! Congrats on the snag!
 
Road trips aren't what they used to be....lol. I enjoyed them from the 1970's to 1990's....not so much the past 20 yrs.

These drums were originally listed for sale back in August at WAY too low price. And I let seller know what a better price would be. I never expected them to get back to me....and certainly not after 6 months.
An RB kit was one of the remaining kits I wanted to try. So here's that chance w/o breaking the bank. And they are definitely player's quality with the expected warts of satin flame finish.
On the plus side is that the wraps are tight - no lifting or hunks breaking away. And no chance I would consider re-wrapping these as such. They are ok as is. Based on serial numbers the aqua's date to late '67 / early '68.
No one is making anything close to this type of wrap any more.

After investigating bass drum hoops and inlays decided to go with vintage used hoops. The issue with the "turquoise" or "blue" satin wraps currently offered, none are close to the original finish. So I'm considering alternatives in flat light blue/silver or even
sparkle finishes that will blend in with the bass drum finish. Another option are industrial or fine arts reflective strips or tape. Anyone ever try that route? I could even tape off the hoops, and respray the channels in a highly reflective pattern of light silver/blue/green....
sort of like an anodizing finish. Photo below of another aqua kit that used a newer wrap on one hoop. That's as close as anyone offers.



Gretsch aqua wrap bass drum hoop - darker 1.jpg
 
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retrosonic said:
Tama: BEAUTIFUL set!!!!
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Hope you're not confusing that photo right above your post as my kit. That's someone else's which I posted to show what the current closest wrap finish looks like. It's on one of the bass hoop inlays.
My "kit" is still missing a matching 12/13" (original thread). I've cleaned all the drums. Now waiting on some final parts to set them up. The inlay wraps for bass drum? I'm still thinking about what to do.....and I don't like the current repro-offerings.

14 ft 25.JPG
16 ft 18.JPG
 
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TAMA: Gotya. Hey, I love your drums a ton! More than anything, I LOVE when drummers bring neglected sets back to good condition. People say that for those satin flame wraps, that 'Scrubbing Bubbles" does a good job.
 
Is that type of wrap thicker than a pearl wrap? Either way looks great.
 
Pink69 said:
Is that type of wrap thicker than a pearl wrap? Either way looks great.
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It's actually a very thin wrap (about business card thickness)......the next best thing to having a natural wood finish. And you'll get a better head fit as well vs. the sparkle/pearl wraps. Some say the satin wrapped drums sound a little "warmer" because of that.

Thanks Retrosonic. A LOT of work is going into the 16 floor tom. Yet the 14" tom required almost nothing except a cleaning. The 16 reso bearing edge was a bit ratty and needed re-gluing at 6 spots to remove gaps on the 2 inner plies.
I know these drums were left with bottom hoops off for at least 10 yrs, and hence some "boinking" to those bottom edges. This is my first Gretsch. The Scrubbing Bubbles gave them a little more pop once cleaned with soap and water.
And the final wipe with windex added a little more brilliance. I could have spent a lot more time trying brushes of various sorts. But they look fine now to me. And more brushing might mean more hairlines in the finish. All I used were micro-fiber hand towels.

it seems to me the 1st (soft) gum inner pliy likes to contract or slowly crumble away near the top.....leaving no strength behind the innermost maple ply. As such, the top 3/16" of the inner maple ply can easily be sheared off when left unprotected like that.
So I wanted to strengthen all those spots. And you can't even tell those glue repairs were done....it blends in real well with the gum.

For just the 3 aqua drums, a lot time (and thinking, and part searching) has gone into them......30-40 hrs so far....and they still are just player's drums with lots of scuffs and scratches. I'm up to $450 in parts as well. My time is "FREE." I'm just a novice
"restorer" doing what I can to make the drums acceptable again......well, acceptable to me knowing I addressed what I felt was important.

In looking at numerous on-line photos of these kits the past week, I noticed some come with the big stacked swirls, loops and "bunched dots" in the finish. Those are very cool....as if someone planned them like that. Yet, some others have a much more "sedate" wrap
where the patterns look more random and less "fun house mirrors" (or map contours, or ocean currents). See the kit above I posted where the finish looks like squiggly fish and snakes sort of evenly spaced. I prefer the "fun house mirror" wrap style.
Today's aftermarket satin flame patterns are just sharp angles and twists. The patterns look almost "too busy" - with no space to "breathe." Just my thoughts. They don't make the old style flames any more - and never will. So what we have left are the old wraps
to save....no matter how scuffy and cracked they become. There are no replacements.
 
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Tama: Great job. And youre right, theres no replacement for the 60s flame wrap.
 
retrosonic said:
Tama: Great job. And youre right, theres no replacement for the 60s flame wrap.
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Thanks Retrosonic.

Today I had planned on putting the 16 floor tom bottom hoop on.....then found out that the lug inserts from DfD that I needed didn't have the matching thread. So now I'm just going to buy 8 Gretsch large lugs from a forum member.
They also have the factory bass drum legs which is a plus. The 20" Remo Classic fit heads just came in.....and even though Remo specs them at 20.13" they were over sized to 20.25" at one spot.....and that was enough to cover the
widest dimension I have. So all good there. I had to pivot the head to the 10:00 position for that fit....and that puts the Remo logo out of place. So I'll just cover it with the Gretsch decal. The needed bass drum RB hoop is on its way too.
So hopefully, I get all parts in hand within the week for final assembly and photo shoot of the gang all together. The search for an appropriate, original 12/13" Aqua RB tom could take a long while.

Still have to figure out what to do with the no-inlay look on the bass drum hoops, which is not attractive at all. It won't be a repro-flame inlay. But, maybe some other "solid" color that might better match any of the silver/light blue colors in the finish.
I could get some blank wrap and ask an art student to come up with something close.....or just spray paint something myself. Even a chrome paint might give a better look than repro-flame wraps. Silver sparkle might be an option.
 
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A handsome set of drums you have there.
With the Stain Flame/Moire wraps, sometimes the farther back you stand, the better they look.
 
JDA said:
how about aquamarine sparkle/or glass/ too much?.. (too much aqua? ;
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Do you have a supplier where I could take a look? Jammin Sam doesn't offer that particular one. They have a turquoise sparkle which is a bit deep.

The floor toms have a lot more green in them than the kick drum, which is has more subdued in light sky blue and silvery white colorations.....any green is drawn into the blue. So it's really the top of the bass drum that requires the match....not the toms as much.
Here's some BD photos. 1st one is the top reso side of the kick where your eye first goes to.

bass 28.JPG
bass 12.jpg
 
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