hey all -
i'm the guy who bought this drum. i found the auction late and while i did the see mention of this controversy in the eBay posting, i didn't actually find this thread until i'd made an offer. i've been looking for a 14x14 silver glass glitter for several years (albeit not religiously) and hadn't seen them go for less that $700 or $800 on ebay. my offer was $500. in retrospect i probably should have offered even lower, but it was accepted so that was that.
i thought i'd weigh in now that i have the drum in my possession.
the back story is that i bought a set of round badges from ebay back in 2007. it was a funny configuration, basically exactly as pictured in the attached catalog image from 1969. 20x14 bass drum, dual 12x8 toms, 16x16 floor tom. i think i paid about $1200. all the drums are all original so far as i can tell, have tags, etc.
i've almost never used the 16", it's just too big for my taste, and i only ever use one 12" at a time.
while i'm as baffled as anyone by the extra hole, if this 14" is a fake it's an extraordinarily convincing one. comparing it to my 16", the wrap is identical, the layout lines on the inside are identical, silver sealer interior paint, etc etc. that black line on what's left of the tag is just a remnant of the black border around the words 'that great gretsch sound'.
the bearing edges are also identical to the 16". i don't think the cocktail drum theory holds up - the edges look old, the paint is uniform, nothing looks altered.
the leg mounts are definitely not original, or at least two of them aren't - those t-bolts are modern and the the threads aren't the same as the old ones. my theory was that maybe only the t-bolts had been lost and replaced, but i tried using one from the 16" and it doesn't thread.
tension rods are also mismatched, as noted by seller. and legs not original.
the other slightly suspicious thing is that the badge itself is a little loose - i can spin with my fingers. i know that happens to plenty of them though, so not necessarily an indication of fraudulence.
isn't it generally a rule of thumb that no two gretsch drums from this era were exactly alike anyway? maybe the extra hole is somehow original but made it out of the factory that way? i don't know, seems crazy.
anyway, i guess i feel like i did ok all things considered because the drum sounds great, absolutely fits with my others, i finally have a floor tom that matches my set, and it was still cheaper than i generally see 14"s going for.
here's my dilemma: i was considering selling the 16" and the additional 12" since i don't use them and since i just sunk $500 in this drum.
how feasible is it for me to figure out if the set i bought in 2007 is factory matched, and if it is, is it morally/economically reprehensible for me to split it up and sell off pieces?
it's such a weird configuration, i don't know if i'd get more for them selling them together or not. they're not museum quality - no major issues, but they're definitely a player's set, probably not a collector's set.
at the same time, if they've been together for 50+ years is it kind of criminal to split up the family just to make a few hundred bucks? i know they're inanimate objects. even so.
any thoughts are welcome.