I am not a Gretsch guy, but that small bass drum has some suspicious-looking conversion traits. I've never heard of a stock Gretsch (or any other brand, for that matter) bass drum in those dimensions.

First of all, at the 9:00 o'clock position, between the lugs, there seems to be the presence of some covered holes. And I see some other peculiar-looking covered holes at the 1:00 o'clock position.

Secondly, there are no T-rods for that bass drum -just regular hex-head lug screws.

Also, that rail consolette would likely have been mounted on top of the drum and not offset -unless mmmmmaaaybe it was used in some kind of "Father and Son" act with a kid, because the offset positioning on that small of a bass drum is really going to put it out of reach of most adult-sized players. (Yes, that's reaching for a theory, but what the heck!)

Another point of interest, for me, is how that rail bar makes the tight arc of the 16" diameter shell.

I think many Gretsch drums had the silver paint on the interiors -unless they were older ones.

Beautiful looking drums!!

Are there any plugged holes showing in the bass drum? Something to indicate a set of leg mount holes plugged? ? Hard to tell. Could have been a custom order. Or just a great keller build. Looks awfully nice from the picts.

...and at about 7:00 o'clock, I barely can make out the third set of holes...which would coincide with the positioning of most floor tom leg brackets.

Cool drums, but I would bet against that 16" bass drum being a factory-issued bass drum.

-love the snare strainer!

Thanks for the comments,

I didn't see any holes that had been plugged in the mini bass drum. There certainly appear to be two hole at the 9:00 o'clock position. Unfortunately, the drum is in Danville, California, fifty miles away, and I can't look at it until next week.

Here is another picture of the share with a better view of the strainer. Does this help date the drum?

Any opinions as to a value for this set? Also, should I include cymbals, stands and pedals? There are several older A. Zildjians (a couple of 18" rides, three 20" rides, a 21" with rivets, an 18" swish and a 12" splash) plus two sets of hi-hat cymbals (one 13" and one 14'). There are also three 20" K. Zildjians in the collection.

As for accessories, there are two Floating Action Gretsch bass drum pedals and one Gretsch hi-hat stand in the collection.

Your suggestions and comments are greatly appreciated. Maybe someday I'll know something about Gretsch drums.

Peter V

Well, it sounds like the cymbals is where the money is. Probably $1000 worth of old A's, but I'd have to see each one individually. If the K's are old K Istanbuls, they are worth $800 to $1500 each depending on age, condition, and weight. If they are newer K's, it's tough to say, depends on age, model, etc.

Something seems odd about the drums...I have a feeling they were a project that someone did, and probably rewrapped several different drums in red sparkle. The floor tom looks shallow - maybe 12x14 or 10x14, perhaps a converted marching snare. The snare strainer looks too late to be accurate - either it's a reissue snare or the strainer was added later, meaning extra holes. The 16" bass drum is definitely a converted floor tom. An actual 16" round badge bass drum would be extremely desirable among the jazz crowd, and would fetch at least $2K by itself, but this is not an original bass drum. They look to have been professionally done, and I would venture to say $1200 to $1600 for just the drums. If they were all original, the floor tom was an actual 14x14, and the 16" bass drum was original, you'd be looking at $6K + just for the drums. Unfortunately with the plugged holes, mods, and conversions these just wouldn't get the same money.