Huh. That's odd.

Gretsch transitioned from 3-ply to 6-ply shells, and from clear to silver interiors, around '57 or '58. There were some anomalies during the transition period, but all things being equal, that date stamp probably says 1957 or 1951.

The weird thing, though, is that you've got diamond floor tom leg mounts. I thought they didn't start using those until the 60s, which would be after they moved to silver interiors and 6-ply shells.

Just to muddy things further: my 1950s RB floor tom has a silver interior, but has Gladstone-style leg mounts (which predate the diamond mounts). I didn't think it was possible to see a clear-interior drum (which should be older than my silver interior drum) with diamond leg mounts (which should be newer than my Gladstone mounts).

Possibilities:

1) We both have transition-era drums. Gretsch may have been using newer leg mounts on older shells when they made your drum because that's what they had in stock. (The more I look at it, the more the date on that stamp looks like "1961", which would validate the transition-era theory.)

2) I'm misinformed about the Gladstone-vs-diamond issue. Are there any Gretsch experts on here who can say whether Gretsch would have used diamond leg mounts in the 50s?

Either way--that's a beautiful drum you've got!

Oh, and: welcome to the forum! Glad to have you.

Is that the new "Shredded Wheat" batter head from Nabisco I see in the first pic?

Does it have that "fuzzy tone" like they advertise?

:) :)

Nice drum man,... welcome to the forum

I thought the stamp said 1961 as well. That is subject to debate, but I can't see how it could be a 5. Plus the point on the diamond leg mounts always makes me think late 50s forward, really the golden era of Gretsch drums to me.

Extra credit for Gretsch to me when it is pre labels, like this one which also fits squarely with the 1961 theory if the consensus that labels don't start trickling in until 62 or so.

And finally, just a mad thought, Gretsch guitar labels from this period had preprinted serial numbers, but the model number was always ink stamped in. I can't read the model numbers anymore on some of my labels, so maybe they stamped the drums more often they we have come to believe?

Thanks for the info everyone! This place is so cool I'm gonna set up my lazyboy over here and hang out for a bit!

Welcome! Glad to have you.

That is a very unusual drum, but with 50's Gretsch nothing surprises me. That muffler was out of use by the mid 50's. Many possibilities - the shell could have been sitting around for a while, or the brackets could have been added later.

I think of 50's Gretsch as one long transitional era, where you might find silver or clear interiors, Gladstone or diamond FT mounts, stick choppers, die-cast type stick choppers, or regular die-cast rims, faucet or torpedo T-rods, etc. Shells started getting silver paint in the mid 50's, followed by the gradual switch from 3 ply to 6 ply shells. It's normal to find kits with both 3 ply and 6 ply shells...I have a kit that was purchased by the original owner in '58, 3 ply bass and toms, 6 ply snare. Torpedo T-rods, earlier diamond FT mounts, stick chopper hoops, silver interiors.

And now it's for sale on ebay. There must be 6000 VDF members with 2 posts to their name. Too bad there isn't a way to raise funds and charge $5 for someone with less than 5 posts and whose first question is of a what is this and what's it worth nature.

http://cgi.ebay.com/50S-60s-GRETSCH-16-MIDNIGHT-BLUE-PEARL-FLOOR-TOM_W0QQitemZ220506364033QQcmdZViewItemQQptZVintgae_Drums_Percussion?hash=item3357341881

That's an interesting idea, actually.

I don't begrudge anyone the time it takes to answer questions like this, even if they're just researching for sale purposes -- I think that's a perfectly fair use of the forum -- but it does seem fair for people to volunteer a small donation to help pay for site maintenance if they're using the expertise of the forum to help them make a sale. Perhaps our friendly Webmaster might want to post a request along those lines in some obvious spot?