Did they make a switch, or did they make both all along - COB being the higher line?

Where my Gretsch RB's are scraped you can see what looks like brass underneath all of the hardware - lugs, rims, tom mount, everything.

I've wondered if all Gretsch drums (not the cheapos) are like that.

my 67's are all COB

I think you're right, the switch was sometime in the 60's, but I don't know when (my 70's drums are all steel, the 40's and 50's are brass, but I don't have any 60's drums). Hopefully others can report to further pin it down.

Neither Slingerland nor Gretsch sold both at the same time as "higher quality", I think the change was simply driven by economics.

As for the Gretsch stuff, their early to mid 50's hoops (stick choppers) clearly seem to be brass, but the 50's and 60's die cast hoops are not (I have a broken cast hoop and it is not brass). I don't know about the lugs - I'de be surprised if they were brass since cast brass isn't very strong and the lugs are thin but I've never seen a Gretsch lug break. And check your tom mount with a magnet - if you have a clip mount these were made in steel for Gretsch and other drum companies.

[COLOR="DarkRed"]I am gonna guess the 70's, that's when they started cheapening their brand, overall...I would say anything in the 60's was still better quality stuff. However if anyone has a COS piece which they know to be pre-1970, that't answer that.

[COLOR="Silver"]4MY...Change is coming...it's inevitable...so, relax....[/COLOR][/COLOR]

I just tried a magnet against the lugs, strainer, tone control knobs and hoops of both my RB sets and no sticky.

I think the sets are both late 50's (no interior labels painted silver).

The magnet would not stick at all to the hoops.

I have a late 40's WFL tom and the lugs are steel but the rim isn't.

When you buy faucets for your kitchen the cheap ones are steel and usually the better $100 and up ones are COB, so I always associate steel rims with cheaper drums. I can't believe it doesn't have an impact on the sound, even the lugs being COB I think would be better sonically, 'cause it works like radio where waves "piggyback" on bigger waves.

The '69 catalog is still advertising COB hoops with a dramatic rust accelerated photo of their COB hoops vs. the competition's COS ones. The following catalog ('71 IIRC) the brass hoops are gone. Found it kind of funny that COB was so much better than steel and then with no explanation COS was good enough. Of course, I'm sure the change in ownership and corporate bean counters had nothing to do with that decision...

Lots of metals, and cast metals, besides brass are non-magnetic. (Just think about the Ludwig Supraphonic - you can't tell which ones are brass with a magnet since none of them are - the later ones aren't brass but they aren't magnetic either.) For that reason although it's true that the 50's RB lugs, strainer, tone control knobs and hoops are not magnetic, it doesn't necessarily follow that they must be brass. I'm certain the 50's die-cast hoops are not cast brass since I have a 50's die-cast hoop with a chunk out of it, and it is definitely not brass under the chrome, but a white "pot-metal" color. I'm not sure about the other parts since I don't have broken examples of them.

Ive certainly noticed with mine, the chrome seems to be somewhat thin on the insides of the hoops. because of this there tends to be quite a brassy tinge - so from that perspective it can be a bit easier to tell.

According to the Mr. Cook book, it happened around the early early part of the 70's. I know that my 71 kit had stock COS hoops. I have since "rectified" that. A lot of the ebay 60 and 70 Slingy kits sold have COS hoops on them so that the seller can make a few more bucks selling the COB hoops on a different auction. It's getting to the point where one honestly doesn't know what's stock on the used kit they are purchasing.