Not much help, but I have seen streamline bass drums before, too, now that you mention it. I think they were just older (?)

The double ended lugs were used on bass drums and toms as well....it was their cheaper lines that used them and some were used gutted, meaning that the lugs were used as a passthrough for the loooong tension rods. Harder to tune as well.....

Check out the Gretsch catalog pages on the main website page.....

Yeah, I did. And, I searched many other websites, too. There seems to be no definitive answer that I could find, so I thought I'd ask the good folks here.

I found out today that there WAS indeed a "student line" of Gretsch round badges. Same thing as Club Dates to Downbeats...less hardware=cheaper price. Just thought I'd pass that bit of info along...

I've got a set of these...they're great drums, a bit more open than regular Gretsch:

[IMG]http://www.classicvintagedrums.com/gretsch_natural.jpg[/IMG]

More open than standard Gretsch drums? hmmm.....trying to picture that.....you mean more of a full sound or???

Nice!

Hey, I've got a quick question for you mlvibes, if you wouldn't mind...does the part of the tom mount that's on the tom itself say "made in Japan" on it? I thought that maybe this was an after-market part added on to the 12" tom, but it looks like the same part that is on your drum as well...

Ludwig-dude - I just meant more resonant, longer sustain, etc. Full is right. Less hardware to muffle the sound...standard Gretsch drums are pretty dry compared to the other brands. I find this to be true of all the club date style drums, regardless of brand...they are more open and resonant than their top of the line counterparts because they have much less hardware on the shells.

caddywumpus - no, nothing on these drums is Japanese made. The mount, including the diamond plate on the tom, were made by Walberg and Auge out of Mass. However, there were very close Japanese look-a-likes made...these are known as stencil brand drums, and were sold as low budget options to compete with the big American companies. Unfortunately the wood used in 60's Japanese shells was very cheap luan. But I've seen vintage Asian drums that were clones of all the brands...Rogers, Slingerland, etc. Some look so close to the real thing that they can easily trick a beginner to vintage drums. The diamond plates on Japanese drums might even be the same exact shape as the Gretsch ones, so the only difference would be the "Made in Japan."

Did they make clones of the Gretsch round badge as well? The tom I have has the Gretsch sticker on the inside and a round badge. Looks like other round badges I've seen, just the mount is suspect, but the shell has no extra holes.

About the resonance...in your experience/opinion, you're saying that the less hardware there is on a shell, the more resonant the shell will be? What are your thoughts on the LOCATION of the hardware. If there is less hardware, but it is right smack-dab in the middle of the shell, wouldn't that stifle the resonance more than there being more hardware closer to the edge of the shell near the nodal points? I have conflicting thoughts about this myself, and would love to hear your thoughts about it...