Odd Gretch set ?

[glaze148]

Not mine but for sale in my local drum shop. Owner has not determined a selling price yet
Thought they were pretty interesting. Drop G badge. Looks like 10,12, 14, 18. 2 mounted toms have no bottom rim, and FT does have one. Owner says they are Jasper shells. He likes them, and is considering keeping them for himself? Are they special, or not so much ?

 

[little rock]

I have a Slingerland 3-ply set with 18" kick, 10X9, 13X9 both single head, and a 16" FT 14" deep double head. I think it was called The Working Man's Kit. I grew up saying 9X13 so 13X9 is hard for me to get used to.

 

[VintageUSA]

Concert toms with a drop-G badge would zero in on badge number five...………..1981.

 

[ThomasL]

The 14x18 and 14x14 are certainly desirable, but you'd probably have to make the 12" double-headed to sell it to a jazzer.

 

[paulwells73]

A couple of other peculiarities - it appears to be White Nitron wrap. This should have originally come with natural maple bass drum hoops. The ones on the kit are either replacements or were repainted.

Also, the toms have Gretsch Catalina suspension mounts. I’m not sure what the double tom holder is, but the tom bracket on the bass drum is odd - I can’t tell if it’s a 70s era Gretsch, or something else. The key thing to figure out is if the toms have the 70s style Monster tom brackets mounted, or 80s/90s style Techware brackets. The Drop-G badge era drums can have either, or a mixture of the two. The floor tom brackets and bass drum spurs here are Techware, but the rack toms could still possibly have Monsters.

 

[glaze148]

A couple of other peculiarities - it appears to be White Nitron wrap. This should have originally come with natural maple bass drum hoops. The ones on the kit are either replacements or were repainted.

Also, the toms have Gretsch Catalina suspension mounts. I’m not sure what the double tom holder is, but the tom bracket on the bass drum is odd - I can’t tell if it’s a 70s era Gretsch, or something else. The key thing to figure out is if the toms have the 70s style Monster tom brackets mounted, or 80s/90s style Techware brackets. The Drop-G badge era drums can have either, or a mixture of the two. The floor tom brackets and bass drum spurs here are Techware, but the rack toms could still possibly have Monsters.

So, apparently it has been modified in a few ways. It’s not all a factory issued kit ? The BD wrap has some checking, or tiny splits, so it looks like that was done a long time ago.
It sounds really good with old black heads of some kind. Any idea on a value?

 

[paulwells73]

So, apparently it has been modified in a few ways. It’s not all a factory issued kit ? The BD wrap has some checking, or tiny splits, so it looks like that was done a long time ago.
It sounds really good with old black heads of some kind. Any idea on a value?

Checking is something usually seen on lacquered drums, and especially common on lacquered Gretsch drums from this era. Are you sure it’s a wrap?

 

[paulwells73]

Hard to make a guess on value without knowing the exact extent of the modifications. A Drop-G 14x18 without mods might get $1000 or more. A Drop-G 14x14 might command $600 or a bit more. With mods, those numbers can drop by half or more, depending on the severity of the modifications.

 

[JDA]

It’s not all a factory issued kit

there was an outfit in the 81 (and 77) catalog 20 and 16 double head 12/13 concert;
"Recording" might have been a variant (long shot doubtful

http://www.vintagedrumguide.com/images/my_collection/literature/gretsch_flyer/gretsch_cat_pg7.jpg

 

[glaze148]

Y

Checking is something usually seen on lacquered drums, and especially common on lacquered Gretsch drums from this era. Are you sure it’s a wrap?

Yes it is a wrap. Guess the cosmetic issues are some small scattered cracks in the wrap, not checkering.

 

[glaze148]

Does the fact that the 2 mounted toms do not have lug holes mean that at least those were factory.
I’m now seeing that the BD hoops must be wrong somehow. I do like all the sizes.
Still kind of an odd ball deal

 

[paulwells73]

Sure, Gretsch made plenty of factory single headed toms in the 70s. They were less common in the 80s, but not unheard of. It seems a bit strange to us now, but this was probably someone’s dream kit in 1981.

 

[studrum]

Isn't it possible that the BD hoops originally were the metal ones, which would have white inlays to match the finish? Lots of folks (me included) would switch 'em out.

 

[glaze148]

Isn't it possible that the BD hoops originally were the metal ones, which would have white inlays to match the finish? Lots of folks (me included) would switch 'em out.

Could be

 

[ThomasL]

Does the fact that the 2 mounted toms do not have lug holes mean that at least those were factory.
I’m now seeing that the BD hoops must be wrong somehow. I do like all the sizes.
Still kind of an odd ball deal

I think the mounted toms should have some holes from mounting hardware?