From that angle I cant tell if its the same or not but yours appears to have a slight round over on the inside, is that correct?

Also, I see the grain running horizontal, mine is vertical. No one has commented on the vertical grain so I'm still a little puzzled. But to be honest, it wont matter, my teacher just wants me to stain and finish the drum so it will match his kit. Then we will install a new mount, badge and tone controls that also match his kit.

I do think the edge profile should match though, but its his call.

Yes I have notice that as well and have not worried to much about it.

I did put the shell on the table saw and checked them with a framing square and you are correct, they are crooked. One of the small holes will need to be moved 1/16" in order for the control to work properly.

Thanks for the good eye!

PS, I would have to dig out the speed square. I have not done too much framing for a while, but when I do its the tool of choice. I was sure happy when those came about!

Hey Jeff! So what's the config of the rest of this Gretsch kit? Is it a 3 up 2 down setup? Back in the horse and buggy days I looked at a nice new 70's SSB Gretsch kit in mahogany stain. I think Gretsch had some of the best quality stain finishes back then. Finish looked miles deep and soooooo glossy. They were also quite a bit more money than the Slingerland kit I got that day. Good deal doing some work for your drum teach! Keep those lessons going. Wish I could afford some too. :)

Thanks Glenn, I did see the kit but did not pay a whole lot of attention to it. I think it has a 22 " bass drum and Tom's are 10, 12, 13, 14,16, I think.

Ya, I'm lucky to have found such a good person to teach me. He actually offered to keep the lessons going for free but I felt like I needed to do something, so this is a good trade.

"No one has commented on the vertical grain so I'm still a little puzzled"

Not uncommon for Jasper to patch together smaller pieces to fill out a ply sheet. Generally were placed on interior of shell but when they ended up on the exterior the shells were wrapped.Coffee Break2

The drop G badge is actually pretty hard to find. It was only available for just over a year or so.

I have a Grand Prix in "rosewood" stain and have been looking for a 10" tom to match.

And yes I was just as perplexed at the 5 lug 12" tom, dual tone control, and the messy stain-meets-fence-paint reversed bearing edges.

Gretsch drums are so different from the other American drum companies that it's almost like they're from Europe or something.

Update, my drum instructor finally gave me his drum to match. First thing I did was compare it to my Ludwigs that I did last winter. I matched the finish for my Ludwigs by looking at pics of a Gretsch kit on the internet. That was the color I was going for and I came pretty close.

Anyway, I am sending the drum to my color studio to have that stain developed. The way I did it was several steps, I want a one step stain to use on this drum and for projects down the road.

Also, still need the badge and two tone control knobs with the threaded rod.

Got the shell stained today with the new stain, I would call it an excellent match. Fun to see the before, during and after pics. The shell still needs a gloss clear coat at this point.

I agree. It is an excellent match. You sure do fantastic work.

Wow Jeff, well done,.....again....