***Sold***
1950s Gretsch 3-ply (Very Faded) Peacock Sparkle 3-piece
Sizes are:
14x22 Bass Drum
9x13 Rack Tom
5x14 Snare
The Peacock color has faded significantly on this kit to a ginger ale / champagne color. The snare still has a fair amount of red sparkle remaining. All three shells are Jasper 3-ply with no reinforcement rings. I don't know if Gretsch ever had nickel plated lug casings, but the lugs on the bass and tom look like they are missing plating. I've never seen this before. I received feedback on a Gretsch Facebook group that suggested during he 50s Gretsch had some quality control issues with their plating. I do not have Rob Cook's Gretsch Book, but I was told he mentions this in the book. This could explain the condition of the lugs on the 22" and 13".
22" - Shell is in round and modern heads fit well. Badge is present but a little loose. All correct hardware. Hardware is in average condition. I polished it as best I could, but there is apparent plating loss on the lugs. The inner ply of the shell has some splits that a previous owner tried to glue, but they do not affect the sound in any way. Interior is clear (no silver sealer). No paper tag. Edges are original. Hoops are pretty gnarled up and one of them is a little out of round but still works. Matching inlay is intact and tight. The wrap on the bass drum is in fair condition and is tight to the drum. There is full Peacock Sparkle coloring on the bottom (ground side) of the shell. Something interesting about this drum is that it never had a factory Pratt muffler. The rail consolette is functional. There are a few replacement bolts and nuts on the consolette. There are two Gretsch cymbal L-arm mounts on the drum. One of them looks to be original, the other one appears to have been added later (see pics). New Remo PS3 batter head is included. The resonant head is a coated white Remo Ambassador that has had a beater put to it. This drum thunders (makes it hard to part with).
13" - Shell is in round and modern heads fit well. Please note...there are two very small holes that are only visible from the interior of the shell. A previous owner decided to repair the original spade receiver on the tom mount by drilling two thin screws threw the spade mount and shell. I've replace the entire tom mount with a period correct part. The only holes you see are the two small holes on the inside plate. As with the bass drum the lugs have chrome loss. Something unique about this drum is the large lugs on the 13". These are factory original. The "stick chopper" hoops are very nice! New Evans head G1 heads. Both mufflers are present. badge is present and tight. Wrap is tight. Wrap has even fade. Interior is clear (no silver sealer). No paper tag. There is a very faint date stamp inside this drum. It's hard to tell, but I think it says 1951. This drum sounds awesome, especially tuned up high!
Snare - 5 1/2x14 with 8 double sided lugs. Unlike the the 22 and 13, this shell does have silver sealer interior but there is no paper tag. Badge is present. There is still a fair amount of red sparkle visible in the wrap. Wrap is tight and in great shape other than the fade. The chrome hardware on this drum is nice and shiny. I believe the hoops are correct and original, but I'm no expert on Gretsch. Feel free to correct me. The hoops are rough on the snare, especially the resonant hoop. The microsensitive strainer and butt are fully functional. I did make a repair to the interior ring of the strainer that is apparently a common weak spot. All original parts in the microsensitive, except the ring/sleeve that was broken and replaced. New Evans Power Center Reverse Dot batter and Remo Hazy heads.
This kit has some very cool mojo. I detailed the kit in my normal fashion (no steel wool was used) so you won't have the fun of doing it yourself. I DID polish the badges
I am happy to answer any questions. I believe any champagne or faded gold sparkle floor tom will match it pretty well. I have a photo gallery below. The last photo shows a very faded SILVER SPARKLE floor next to the kit for comparison. ***The floor tom is not included as I no longer own it***
I prefer to ship to Continental USA only because of my lack of knowledge filling out customs forms and not wanting make false declarations. Feedback welcomed.
$950 + shipping
Photo Gallery: https://debrajeans.smugmug.com/Music/Gretsch-Peacok-Sparkle/