WOW - That's a great deal, regardless of condition, as these are very desireable sizes! Were the original cymbals K Zildjians?

Incredible deal on an a really cool set! Welcome to the board Matt, stick around theres tons of great info here!

Thanks for the warm welcome guys :)

Rocketman, no they are stamped Avedis Zildjian. They were purchased by the owner at the time he bought the kit in the 60's.

His muse was Philly Joe Jones, so basically he ordered this kit to match the sizes he was using back then.

[img]http://www.matt-allison.com/gretsch/cymbals.jpg[/img]

As you can see from the pic they have aged well, and I mean well, I know it is sacrilegious to 'clean' cymbals, but maybe just a damp cloth with light soapy water to get rid of the surface grime is called for?

The 20" Crash had rivets at some point, I guess a sizzle, which were removed. The Ride is a 22", both are quite dark, more K sounding than A range. It also came with a Series 400 Paiste which has a much brighter A sound, but not as much sustain to my ears. Lastly, which aren't in the pic were the included 13" K/Z Special HiHat Pair, which complement my existing 13" K Mastersound HiHats Pair nicely.

I've already been able to remove the sticky residue from the shells as shown above on the kit and the sticker off the floor tom and cleaned off the mess with goo gone, looking good.

Any thoughts on the chrome? Just buff with a cloth or strip them all down and clean easy piece separately?

Nobody does wrapping this end of the world that I know off, and I can't justify the expense right now, so I'm going to leave the shells as they are.

Cheers

Matt

Howzit Matta,

I'm not a Soffa (yank) but was down there quite a bit back in the go-go 2000s. I still have a lot of mates in CT and Thelema may be just the most beautifully situated winery I've ever seen in the new world.

Anyhow, that is one helluva find for SA. My brother has the same sort of set but in bigger rock and roll sizes. (13/16/22).

1) Do not strip and refinish. No matter what. That is a very classic Gretsch finish.

2) As far as cleaning chrome, I've done it with my own Gretsch set. I took the whole thing apart and then let them sit in a bath for a day or so of Dawn dishwasher detergent (washing up liquid). It works brilliantly, esp if you take an old toothbrush and clean everything periodically during the process. Takes off all surface rust and gunky crap.

But, you don't have Dawn in SA (I had to go at lengths to get it to Italy myself).

3) I don't like all this gibraltar stuff, but that's me. If you have the patience you can piece together a lot of that stuff from ebay over time. The claws and tension rods for sure. Even the legs for the floor tom as those don't seem to be around in you pictures. And the bass drum spur (or spike as you say), although you might need to buy a set.

4) The harder stuff will be the hoop (ring) on the front. You'll find a 20" one eventually assuming a seller will send to SA. But the wrap to match is a long wait. I managed to find my brother a missing tom for his set in your colour only after about 18 months of diligent search.

It's a sweet set china. Take care.

I agree,....thats a pretty rare finish, and if it were me, I'd keep it and just patch where needed. Search around for vinyl or fabric thats a close match for that finish and patch with that. Do it carefully and no one will be able to tell.

As the above poster said, all the t-rods and claws, and rims can be found on the bay over time. I'd do that and keep it authentic Gretsch.

I was a Gretsch owner for some 30 years and I can tell you that with the one exception of 1940s Slingerland Radio Kings, Gretsch were the best sounding drums ever made.

Hi Knavel,

For a non Saffa, you've been here long enough to know about of the lingo. I have to a agree in Thelema, I take all my foreign mates there to soak it in.

Yeah, wasn't planning on it, will try patch/repair where needed as per Retrosonic's suggestions.

Ah, yes, the good old Dawn, I remember it well, along with Fairy Liquid from my stint in the UK. A couple expats around these parts so I'll try and see if I can locate a bit and follow your suggestions.

The gibraltar is a LAST resort! I actually won an auction and have just paid for these.

[img]http://www.matt-allison.com/gretsch/bd_claws.jpg[/img]

RE the tom legs, I have them, the reason they are not in the pic is that I had no way of attaching them as the 3 wing nuts that go into the mounts are missing.

I've seen sets of spurs on-line as well, I just need to check the sizes and fittings. They say RB, but my RB one is different, it has this push lock system, not a nut system the other seem to have.

Yes, I'm thinking this will be the hardest to find. As shared I think here, at least for now, I'll use a pair of maple retrofits, keeping the existing stock one and then when/if i find a replacement hoop, I'll swap back to the originals.

Overall a very exciting find and project for me, and looking forward to restoring and playing her.

Retrosonic, thanks for the advice and kind words, I'll need to investigate 'patching' the shell a bit more I think as I wouldn't know where to start.

Thanks again guys for the support and advice Keep on Pl

Cheers

Matt

I did a quick audit, and outside of the hoops I need to locate the following:

A pair of bass drum spurs. The one I have measures 9.6 inches in length and has a diameter of +- 11/32 on an inch.

3 x rubber tips for the 60's flared floor tom legs.

3 x wing nuts for the the floor tom mounting hardware (which tighten the legs into the mounts).

1 x micro sensitive strainer 'ball-bat' arm for a 60's era 5 1/2 inch snare drum, my mechanism seems to work, but the arm has been sheared off, need to get a machine shop to remove the bass thread stuck inside.

Outside of those I should be good to go, let the search begin :D

Hey Matta and welcome to the forum. Great score in that kit and bits. I'm confident you'll find everything you need on ebay; I think there's currently a pair of RB BD legs on ebay (US).

Have fun restoring and hope your son (and you) enjoys playing on very desirable, vintage kit.

B

Matta,

Thanks for the feedback. Ironically the guys I used to work with in SA were in London today and I just had lunch with them.

Real quick: When my brother got his kit in the finish you have, there was no mounted tom. My other brother created one on a stripped tom we found by using standard black and then some sort of lacquer that he dropped sparkles on to and then they dried. It was pretty darn close, no one could tell unless they looked closely.

I can send a pic if you like when I get back home.

Maybe that's a way to patch. The greatest adhesive for wrap is 3M 30NF, I just used it for my own peeling Gretsch wrap. I had to really struggle to get this from USA so here again might be a problem.

Leg tips I bought at my local hardware store. I just took the legs in and got ones that fit. Not rubber as much as that plasticy vinyl but looked good at the end of the day.

However you fix that snare just be sure that you don't add any holes--as if you need me to tell ou this..... I'm pretty sure you can find those strainers on ebay if you don't mind the wait and surely you can rig up something in the meantime.

OK gotta run but let me know. The saddest day was when I finished my last bottle of Thelema estate wine a few years ago from the time before they had all those different variations. You should go there that drum set gives you a reason to celebrate. I've talked about doing the cape argus bike ride and when I do maybe I can get my fix of drumming :)