Good question and I have no idea!!! What I can say is that Ludwig, Slingerland and Rogers also started using serial numbers in the 60's because it became mandatory for that product by Insurance companies. ( I can't remember exactly but I think it had something to do with that)

So with that said I would think Gretsch would have done the same thing as everyone else. Otherwise they would have been way ahead of their time.

I vote for the 60's on the paper tag. The one Gretsch set I owned was a 50's set and it did not have paper tags. I wish I never sold it!!

So my answer is purely speculation based on other drum companies of that time and only a guess!!

Group Hug

David

Webmaster

Thanks for the comments....makes sense. I have today sent off a email to Gretsch requesting any info that the Company might provide....don't know why I waited so long to just ask!! Some months ago I had requested info from the Company about serial numbers and they explained that serial # records were destroyed in past years due to two factory fires, but did offer some help with info about the history of the Gretsch badges (3 page reply!!). They have already responded explaining that those who might be able to help are presently at the PASIC in Nashville and will respond as soon as they return!! Will followup with their response as soon as available.

I have been asked about this several times in the past. Here are some dating tips for you:

1. The Gretsch book that Chet Falzerano authored does give a good estimation of when the silver sealer paint and paper tags were used. Bottom line is that this process started somewhere in the mid to late 50s right around the time they switched from the 3 ply to 6 ply shells.

2. In terms of dating a kit the serial numbers on the paper tags are irrelevant since they were not placed on the drums in any sort of numerical order. They just grabbed a tag and glued it on the inside of the drum. Remember, they weren't building "collector's items" back then. They were just building drums and the whole issue of doing things in strict serial number order just didn't exist. It was not important to the process of building drums.

3. Dating a kit can be done a few different ways, but the bottom line is that you can pinpoint a range of years during which the kit was made, but probably won't be able to ever pinpoint it doen to the exact year it was built. Examples:

- 3 ply shells were in use til around 1957-58, after which they went to 6 ply shells.

- 3 ply shell kits have no silver paint on the inside and no paper tags on the earlier sets. Somewhere towards 57-58 some 3 ply sets might have the silver paint and paper tags since Gretsch would not have thrown away good 3 ply shells when they decided to switch to 6 ply. They'd just use up the existing stock.

- 3 ply era kits with the cymbal arm mounted on the BD often had the cymbal mount right on top of the BD. You might find some early 6 ply kits done the same way. Later on the cymbal arm was moved to the more traditional spot over to the players right, rather than top-and-center on the BD. If you have a 6 ply kit with the cymbal mount top and center on the BD it may have been built early into the 6 ply era.

- The rail mount tom holder on the 3 ply kits was usually so far to the left that it made playing difficult. This was moved up to the more traditional spot on the 6 ply kits. If you have a 6 ply kit with the rail mount far to the left it may have been built earlier into the 6 ply era.

- Dating can also be done by examining the finishes on the set. The 6 ply kits were built from circa 57-58 up til around 69-70 when they switched away from the round badges. That's more than 10 years of time. So, some finishes were not avalable for that entire period of time. Example: The satin flame finishes were not available til about 1965, so if you have a satin flame round badge kit it was probably built somewhere between 65-69 or so. Rob Cook published a great little book called "Drum Colors". I think it is out of print now, which is too bad, because that book gave you a date range for the various finish colors for Ludwig, Gretsch, Slingerland, Rogers over the course of many, many years. It is a great reference tool if you can get one.

So, bottom line: 3 ply kits lasted til around 57-58 and usually had no paper tags and no silver paint. 6 ply kits ran from 57-58 til about 69-70 and typically have silver paint and paper tags.

Look at it this way: You really don't need to be too specific about the date. For players and collectors the round badge era Gretsch drums are terrific, and the exact date they were built isn't really an important issue. What is most important is originality and condition of the set, and how they sound.

Steve

I have never seen a 3 ply Gretsch BD with a date stamp past 1953 inside,and I have seen many,so I feel in 1954 they started painting them grey inside.

Not real sure when the switch was from 3 to 6 ply,but 1957-58 sounds about right.

I think the paper tags came in around the same time Ludwig/Slingerland/Rogers had to start putting serial numbers on their drums.