Interesting story ...
My 13 year old son is currently in the percussion section of Middle School band and he was telling me the two drum sets they have to use are in terrible shape. One set has a broken mounted tom and the other is missing a tom. :D
I told him I would take a look at both sets and determine which set was the better of the two. As a donation to the school's music department, we would fix any broken parts, clean the drums and replace all of the heads. The school was ready to purchase a new set to replace both existing sets.
I stopped at the school the other day to talk to the music director, tell her about our offer and examine the drum sets. Well this is what I found, 60's Round Badge Gretsch Progressive Jazz In Burgandy Sparkle (20/12/14/14-snare). Picture attached.
The band director accepted our offer and we started looking for the remaining parts to make the set complete. We were very lucky, because we found the original hi-hat stand, bass drum pedal and snare stand in another building's storage closet. We think we also found the original set's Zildjian hi-hat cymbals and Zildjian ride, but they are in use on another drum set at the High School. The only two minor original pieces we're still looking for are the bass drum cymbal arm and one of the bass drum spurs. Other than that the set is complete, even a set of original Gretsch snare wires (I think 40's) currently on the snare.
The drums are in good condition. The wraps on the drums looks to be in very good condition too. The inlay wrap on the bass drum hoops are loose, so we'll use some 3M adhesive to re-attach. We'll also clean up all the chrome and get a good coat of wax on the wraps.
After some additional research, I told the band director these drums are very good, only need some minor attention and that they are very lucky to have such a quality instrument. As we take apart the drums, we'll photograph and document the process. I'll post more pictures as we complete each step too.
My son is singing a different tune now that he knows what he will be playing on at the upcoming band concert. :D BTW, the other set is a Rogers R-380.
Any tips to help us along would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Tim H.
