I guess my ignorance is showing :). In the 70s/80s, I know there are different badged types... does that indicate a different line? Like Catalina vs Renoun?

To be fair, I'm only interested in it if it's a round badge bop kit....and to be even more fair...if it is a round badge bop kit, then I can't afford it! A really nice RB bop kit can exceed $10K these days...easily.

In the 80s there was only one line. Top line.

Make sure they ARE from the 80s. Nobody "gives away" Bop wood finish USA G's for low amount or rarely/

No there's not a buyers guide/ you would have to come up/ thru the paper catalogs over the decades/

It's a long story- for every manufacturer- the 50s/60s onwards

Gretsch history can be explained (by many here, and elsewhere, by me..)

but it's about a 2 to 4 pots of coffee Conversation...

I've done some checking, I suspect my friend is wrong. I think these are Catalina Club Jazz drums.

...figured

Gretsch only made one line of drums until the early 2000s when they signed a distribution deal with Kaman who started putting the name on some imported lines to give them different pricing tiers. Since then the American made lines have expanded as well to encompass the Brooklyn series and the new Broadkaster line with 3 ply maple poplar shells.

Prior to the Kaman deal Gretsch only made one type of drums although near the turn of the century there were a couple variations on that theme, being the USA Maple (same basic drums in more limited color options) and a different line of Broadkasters which were basically the same as the other Gretsch drums but had gunmetal finish hardware. In the 80's there was a cheap import line of Gretsch Blackhawks but these were obviously Pearl style "stencil" sets with no real connection to the actual Gretsch drums.

Gretsch started making drums in 1883 but up until the 1920s or 30's all their production had other house brand names on them. At some point Gretsch started selling drums under their own name with the round badge on them. These drums were 3 ply Maple/Poplar/Maple. In the mid 1950's Gretsch contracted with Jasper wood products to supply them with shells and these were a 6 ply (maple/gum/gum/gum/gum/maple) layup that Gretsch has used ever since. These continued to wear the round badge up until around 1970 when they switched to a new badge design, commonly called the "stop sign" badge. The drums remained pretty much the same although production moved from Brooklyn to Arkansas at about the same time as the new badge was introduced. Things stayed the same until around 1980ish when the badge was changed again to what is called the "square badge" then they changed back to a slightly different version of the Stop Sign (called the "Drop G") then back to the Square badge which remained in use until the early 2000's when it was supplemented by the stop sign on some sets then ultimately replaced by a reintroduced round badge. The drums continued to evolve thru all these years but the basics (6 ply Jasper style maple/gum shell and die cast hoops) have remained the same the whole time and still are the same today. They are all a continuation of the same line. Production moved to South Carolina in the mid 1980s and the USA output has come from there ever since.

Kaman introduced several new imported lines which seem ever changing although I think the basics have remained with the Blackhawks as the lowest line, Catalinas next, and then the Renowns as the top line imports (very nice drums). There have been other variations tucked into the mix of those three at different price points but those three seem to be the main offerings. None of them are bad drums for the money but they aren't the traditional "classic" Gretsch drums (although Renowns can come very close to that level).

The Catalina club Jazz sets are neat little "bop" sized sets that have been available for 15 years or so now, always at around a $600-$700 price point. They are neat little sets for that money (and even less used) but are made of Luan (which Gretsch, and others, advertise as "mahogany" but it isn't the true mahogany that vintage drum makers often used) and are not really that similar to the original "bop" sets made by Gretsch in the 60's that now sell for really big dollars.

So that's sort of basically it in a nutshell, or maybe it by a nut in a shell.

That's GREAT information, thank you!

That’s 2 words!

Five more words... Hi Blair. How are ya?

There are still estate sets out there, still kicking myself for turning these down last month for 500 dollars. Wish this thread had been out before and I would have said yes and would be playing them now and learning first hand if I like that Gretsch sound. 3 rb and 1 ssb