1. It's hard to specify the exact year the kit was built, but there are a few clues. The sliver sealer inside the shells suggests late 1950's. I can't see any paper tags either, which would point to the same era, unless the tags were removed.

How many plies in the shells? Three or six?

I'm especially curious about the tom without sealer - i.e. if it is three-ply or not. Also, the small muffler doesn't look like Gretsch from the pictures. Notice the other tom has the familiar (huge) Gretsch muffler/tone control. The muffler looks like Ludwig from here. I also can't see the lugs on that tom, so it's hard to identify the drum as Gretsch or not. Do they match the rest of the kit? Is there a badge on the shell? Does the wrap closely match the other drums in pattern and colour?

The faucet style t-rods and claws on the bass drum suggest it's from the 50's.

2. If you want the kit to match, you'll have to re-wrap all the drums. The wrap shows a lot of yellowing, and it would be impossible to match with new materials.

3. See my question about the mufflers above. As for the rims, it would only matter to a collector looking for originality. Non-original parts reduce the value of the kit overall, but not necessarily its playability.

4. I'd have to have a look at the holes that have been drilled to know what options you have. I wonder if the holes were drilled to accommodate the addition of the sealer-less tom with what looks to be a Ludwig muffler?

5. Who knows!?! It depends on how much of the kit stays original, how well you restore them, and the going market value (which is hard to pin down) on any given day. Check out eBay and other places where vintage drums are sold and you'll notice that the value for vintage drums sold by auction is not predictable or static. It seems to depend on how you hold your head and the phases of the moon...

It looks like the kit has been altered significantly and that you would have to put in a fair amount of work to get them looking nice. They might be of more value to you as a player's kit than a project for restoration and resale.

Hi and thanks for responding.

Plys -

There are definitely six plys (maybe 5?) on the three silver sealed drums. the odd ball 12? with no sealer and circular mufflers is three ply I think. That one is hard to tell, but there is a thick dark ply in the center of two lighter plys, I?m pretty sure. I couldn?t get a picture of it.

Muffler ?

The odd ball muffler is definitely not a gretsch? what about how the mufflers are mounted. note the aluminum angle-iron (see pic).

Wraps ?

I can?t see any difference in the pearl wrapper on the three with wraps. How hard is this going to be to remove?

Lugs -

the lugs all appear to be the same, on all drums (see new photos with badges).

Badge ?

the round badges on the three toms are not all the same. the one on the 12? non-sealed lacks the flowered center and has a brad pin of sorts pressed through a smooth center badge (see photo).

Drilled Holes ?

the holes are in the photo now. Any suggestions as to alternative mounts other than gretsch? or where I can find the gretsch mounts?

I wasn?t necessarily going to resale them, though this would be one more drum kit in my collection and my second vintage gretsch kit (see photo). but I would like to get them in playable condition. The wraps concern me and I was wondering how important it is to keep the originals or not. I?ve never had to repair a kit so . . .

Thanks again Boomka.

JOHn

Now that I can see the badge and the lugs, the one without the sealer and 3-plys looks like it's just an older drum than the rest. Or just made with leftover 3-ply shell when they went to the 6-plys in the late 50's. Like I said, the t-rods and claws on the bass drum suggest mid-50's as well, so maybe you've got a mismatched kit. (I've got one, too). Gretsch shells (made by a company called Jasper) were alternating gumwood and maple. The darker, more porous wood sandwiched in the middle is the gumwood.

Well, I'm not sure about the round muffler. I seem to recall that Gretsch used small mufflers prior to the mid-1950's, which would help to further date the drum. Most of my experience is with 60's and later Gretsch drums.

That's not that odd. The badges were nailed on with upholstery tacks and weren't always the same throughout the RB period according to Gretsch' own website. It seems they settled on the flowered ones eventually, but I've seen other drums with a flat brad tack before.

I don't can't tell what kind of mounts were in there, but they weren't original, obviously. Shame someone would drill those shells like that. By the number of holes and the size of the mount, it was something far more modern and as you can see from the bass drum, something with a single down post.

Well, like the hardware, it's only important from a collector's perspective. As far as playability and sound are concerned, it's not a huge factor. There are lots of tips and advice online on how to remove old wrap and put new wrap on. It can be tough to get it just right the first time, but it's not impossible. Lots of people do it. Try googling "drum wrap" and check out some of the retail sites for drum wrap. They often have tips and testimonials from people who've done re-wraps. Forums like this one are also a good source. Post a topic about drum re-wrapping and you're bound to get some hits.

Anyway, keep this one open and see if you get some more advice. You can also try contacting established Gretsch experts (which I am not). Steve Maxwell at Maxwell's Drums is very helpful as are many others in the industry. They're just guys who like vintage drums so much they've made their careers out of 'em... ;)

The floor is a 14"? I would seriously re-consider re-wrapping! Especially just to make a 13" tom match. I would sell the 13 and play the rest as-is. Since most of the drums are a little swiss-cheesed, the value is in the floor tom. If you're truly concerned about the looks, sell the drums individually (no real sin with all the extra holes) and buy a nicer looking kit. If you want to hot-rod players drums, sell the floor tom and find a hole-y floor tom to re-wrap with the others. But please don't re-wrap a solid, complete 14" Gretsch floor tom - many vintage collectors (and your wallet) will thank you!

Just my opinion,

Herb