TommyP!!
Long time no hear on the forum. I found this cruising aroung other "areas". I'm not a Gretsch guy, but I wish I had one! Hope this might clear some things.
Originally Posted by mlvbs
Well, it's really hard to tell with Gretsch - they had so many overlapping characteristics during the changeover from 3 ply to 6 ply.
Are your drums 3 ply? Do they have the silver interior paint? That started during 1957, but there are drums made after that that didn't get painted. The paper tags started around 1962 or 1963.
I had a 3 ply bass drum with the earlier faucet handles and silver interior, so my guess was that it was around 1958.
I'd say the earliest a bass drum with the newer T-rods could be is 1958 or 1959, but no, I'm not 100% on that.
For what it's worth,
Backbeatkeeper