Gretsch Round Badge Drum Set, Anniversary Sparkle

Up for sale is this complete set of beautiful Gretsch “Round Badge”-era drums in a very rare Anniversary Sparkle Pearl finish!

There a few clues that I used to figure out the age of these drums:

1.      Anniversary Sparkle Pearl was a limited-edition finish created in 1958 to celebrate the company’s 75th anniversary. It was listed as an option in the 1961 catalog, but by ’63 it was gone for good. That means these drums had to have been made within a 6-year time span.

2.     The snare drum does not have a snap-in key holder; this feature was introduced later, in 1960 or ’61.

3.     The floor tom is the only drum that has a paper label inside the shell. Gretsch didn’t start labeling drums this way until 1962 or ’63.

 Although the drum sizes are the same as those in the “Name Band” outfit (13/16/22), the position of the bass drum cymbal arm (directly on top as opposed to the player’s right side of the drum) leads me to believe that this kit was originally purchased as a “One-Nighter Plus” outfit (13x9 tom, 14x5.5 snare drum, 22x14 bass drum), and the 16x16 floor tom was acquired later to match the rest of the drums. The previous owner must have realized that Anniversary Sparkle was being discontinued, and decided to get the add-on drum before it was too late.

Included in the sale are the following items (Where applicable, Gretsch model numbers are in parentheses):

-22x14 bass drum (4247)

-16x16 floor tom (4418)

-13x9 tom (4416)

-14x5.5 snare drum (4157)

-Bass drum cymbal arm (4805)

-WFL snare stand

-Gretsch hi-hat stand (4844)

-Cymbal stand (unknown make)

-Gretsch trap case (5083)

-Gretsch drum throne (4990)

-Wood block holder (4911)

13x9 tom Internal mufflers are fully functional (top and bottom). Original “diamond” mounting bracket. No extra holes. Fitted with a Remo coated Emperor batter head and clear Ambassador resonant.

16x16 floor tom Internal mufflers are fully functional (top and bottom). Original legs & brackets. No extra holes. Fitted with a Remo coated Emperor batter and clear Ambassador resonant.

22x14 bass drum  This is undoubtedly the crown jewel of the kit! All parts are original, and everything works great: Spurs, rail consolette, cymbal arm, & Pratt muffler. No extra holes. Original Remo coated Ambassador heads (batter and resonant)

14x5.5 snare drum Internal muffler is fully functional. Re-issue Micro-Sensitive throw-off installed. Single-point adjustable butt plate. Original 16-strand “Responso” snare wires. Some extra holes. Fitted with a Remo coated Ambassador batter and original Gretsch “Perma-Tone” snare-side head. 

 

**Despite being a great shape for their age, the drums do have a few minor flaws and blemishes, which I will list here in the interest of full disclosure:***

-Scratches on tom & snare drum hoops

-Pitting on chrome throughout

-Bass drum hoops have dents/dings/chips. Inlay strip has shrunk and lifted (Previous owner repaired with Scotch tape). Batter-side hoop has pedal rash.

-Wrap on 13x9 tom is lifting at the seam.

-Ply separation on batter side of 16x16 tom (See photos). Batter side hoop is slightly out-of-round.

-The snare drum has been slightly modified. Although it was originally equipped with a Micro-Sensitive throw-off and butt plate, the previous owner decided to drill extra holes for a single-point butt plate & a Renown throw-off, which subsequently broke. I have left the original butt plate installed and replaced the broken throw-off with a brand-new Micro-Sensitive reissue.