Need help dating and getting a general appraisal

[jack Winters]

Hello All,

I am new to the forum. Thank you all for the hospitality I have been shown thus far. Here is my story:

I grew up playing Gretsch, had a 60s era gold sparkle kit that I learned on, ended up donating it to a church........ I miss it.

Anyway, in 1993 a colleague of mine needed money and wanted to sell his kit. I was surprised to hear the Gretsch name, because at that time the industry seemed to be dominated by the Pearls, and Tamas.. I agreed, bought it and still play teh kit today. The issue I am having is tyring to accurately date and appraise the kit. From what I have read about I think it is an 80s kit. No idea early or late. I want to know how to identify how many plys the shell is. I assume it is a wrapper because I can see the seam in the drums, but they are a beautiful maple color. I have attached a few pics. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Jack

[Webmaster]

We have a Gretsch dealer on board, Steve Maxwell and he is probably the best person to answer the question since he handles vintage and new Gretsch.

I'm not sure about this era Gretsch since it is not vintage and not new but probably in his knowledge base.

I will contact him to see if he can help out.

David
Webmaster

[Steve Maxwell]

I specialize mostly in vintage Gretsch and brand new Gretsch, but, from what I can tell the kit looks like an 80s/90s set. To determine the number of plies all you need to do is count them in the area of the bearing edge on any of the drums. Since Gretsch drums do not have reinforcement rings it makes it easy to count the plies in the shell. Gretsch took a hit to their reputation in the 80s and through a lot of the 90s as they had many changes in ownership and management, but there were still a lot of nice drums that came through Gretsch during that time. Hope this helps some.

Steve

[jack Winters]

Thank you,

As I mentioned, it was purchased in 93 from a person that said he bought it in the 80s. So I am sure it is an 8o's kit, I wasjust hoping to be able to narrow it more than that. Would counting the plys help in this? Also, how can I get more information about the shells, material, wrapper, construction, etc...

Thanks all

[Webmaster]

I have a brochure at home from Gretsch that shows this kit as the Fusion 12 - 9571

The serial number you show is for one of the toms based on the brochure???

Unfortunately I do not have the book in front of me, but once I track it down this evening I will give you the details in regards to the shells etc..

As stated by Steve 80's is not the best years, but I have no idea how that translates into sound?

Let me come up with a price after I find out more about the shells. It was after Steve's post that I realized I have the brochure on the web site, but not the complete brochure. Price would probably be the retail at that time less a certain percentage like 30 or 40%. based on age and condition.

http://www.vintagesnaredrums.com/reference_catalogs.html

David

[jack Winters]

Thank you so much. I appreciate the help.

By the way, I can't find it on the catalog page?

Jack

[Webmaster]

That actually is a large poster and not an "official" catalog, so I made an error with that. The good news is I have the original price list from 1987 for that flyer.

The drum sizes will determine which model #set you have. From the look of it the set is the Fusion set that was a 7 piece set.

It had three ordering options. Here is the page from the price sheet. I also added the inside cover explaining how it works.

Click on the images for the super large version.

http://www.vintagesnaredrums.com/images/forum_images/gretsch_drum_flyer1_th.jpg (http://www.vintagesnaredrums.com/images/forum_images/gretsch_drum_flyer1.jpg)

http://www.vintagesnaredrums.com/images/forum_images/gretsch_drum_flyer2_th.jpg (http://www.vintagesnaredrums.com/images/forum_images/gretsch_drum_flyer2.jpg)

[jack Winters]

Thank you so much.

I will look at teh sizes today, but from what I remember, I have 8, 10, 12, 14 and a 16" Bass drum, that doesn't seem to match anything there. I will measure and check.

[jack Winters]

OK,

I measured the drums and here is what I found:

toms:

8" x 8"
10" x 8"
12" x 10"
14" x 11 1/2"

floor tom
16" x 16"

Bass Drum
22" x 16"

I measred it twice and I still get 14" x 11 1/2" I don't see that on the price list anywhere. (this mystery drum also has 8 lugs vs teh five on all teh other tom toms) I also noticed that the illustration of the fusion sets in the price guide show that the toms are not mounted on teh bass drum. Mine are, does that mean that they are not a fusion set? There also seems to be a color and wood pattern difference between the 8, 10, 12 and the 14, floor tom and bass drum. Thanks , I hate to be a pain..... but.... does the catalog you have have color pictures odf the set? I would love to be able to se the whole catalog somehow. Let me know if this is posible.

Jack

[Webmaster]

O.k with the additional info about the drums I wonder if drums were added later to the set. It might not have a designated name. I will try and get a pic.

Thanks

David

[jack Winters]

Thanks David :)

looking solely by color, teh bass dru, 14" and 16" floor tom are all similar in color. The 8, 10, and 12 are similar.

The numbers in the drums seem to go up sequentially though :( Maybe why teh 80's got a bad rap?

Jack

[Webmaster]

Well, then it could be the main set was purchased then the person added the other toms, maybe not, but the numbers are based off of the drum sizes and not necessarily a serial number so they should run sequential.

Maybe also someone gigged on the smaller set and it has seen more light etc. The other toms could have just been for jamming at the house.

In any regard if you are planning on selling most of that will not make or break a sale, so I would value the drums between $800 and $1,800. Yes this is a high range (I'm just guessing), but they are not really in the market that much and it depends on what is included with the sale. (cymbals, hardware, snare etc..)

Plus many drummers are not playing larger sets that I know and if they are going to drop that kind of money they can buy a new or vintage set for $1,800.

I would not necessarily get my hopes up for big money and if you enjoy playing them then keep them.

Then again I could be totally off base and they are worth more, it is really if you have a buyer with the money then you know what they are truly worth. I have seen many sets not sell because they were priced way to high for what people are willing to pay.

I will still try and get you a picture

David

[jack Winters]

Thanks Dave,

No, these are not going anywhere. They mean alot to me. I just like to know what I have. I thought about selling and using teh money towards an electronic set to allow me to play all hours, but when I set them up I got a lump in my throat :( I ended up reskinning teh whole kit and getting a set of soundoffs to aid in the noise departmnt

I would truly love to get a picture of teh set from a catalogue so that i can put it in my info file, and maybe even put a picture behind the kit.

Thanks again,

Jack

[ambassador]

Hello,
I have a set of Vintage Vistalite (Clear) drums head sizes 6? to 16? in succession along w/snare and two bass drums. I?m trying to figure out the year these drums date back to individually, and what indicates how much these will sell for. Some are concert (6?,8?,10?, and 14? are all concerts).
Here are some numbers:
1108514
1108516
1108074
1107516
1110651
1121296
1622706
182707
1092147
308863
361292
3112142
any help would be great.

[O-Lugs]

Check here:

http://www.vintagesnaredrums.com/serial_numbers.html

[jack Winters]

Well, then it could be the main set was purchased then the person added the other toms, maybe not, but the numbers are based off of the drum sizes and not necessarily a serial number so they should run sequential.

Maybe also someone gigged on the smaller set and it has seen more light etc. The other toms could have just been for jamming at the house.

In any regard if you are planning on selling most of that will not make or break a sale, so I would value the drums between $800 and $1,800. Yes this is a high range (I'm just guessing), but they are not really in the market that much and it depends on what is included with the sale. (cymbals, hardware, snare etc..)

Plus many drummers are not playing larger sets that I know and if they are going to drop that kind of money they can buy a new or vintage set for $1,800.

I would not necessarily get my hopes up for big money and if you enjoy playing them then keep them.

Then again I could be totally off base and they are worth more, it is really if you have a buyer with the money then you know what they are truly worth. I have seen many sets not sell because they were priced way to high for what people are willing to pay.

I will still try and get you a picture

David

Have you had any luck getting a pic?

Jack

[Webmaster]

Here it is, it sure looks like your set. You can tell the toms are mounted on the bass drum so the price guide is just a graphic and not representative of the drums.

David

[jack Winters]

WOW,

That is great. Thank you so much. It sure looks liek the kit. crazy that it retailed for around 2k and it may be inly worth 800, but as I said..... I love it :)

I would be willing to pay you or send a prepaid mailer for a full size high quality image of that page. Or pay for an entire catalog if you have it. Do you ever see them on eBay?

Let m eknow if that is possible and thanks again. The informaiton has been invaluable.

Jack

[Webmaster]

Yes, this brochure/catalog does come up on Ebay. There are two versions of it and one is harder to find then the other. It has to do with the change of ownership I believe and who is pictured inside. Both have the same drum pictures.

Here is what the cover looks like. This folds out to a large poster.

http://www.vintagesnaredrums.com/images/my_collection/catalogs/gretsch_poster_large_th.jpg

If you can't find it on Ebay (be patient) then I will get you a high res scan of the set. Since it is a multi fold poster it is near impossible to get the entire document.

Thanks

and good luck

David
David

[jack Winters]

ok thanks

I will try my luck with ebay, what year is it BTW?

Jack