Gretsch 1962 Era Round Badge Progressive Jazz Bop Drum Set 18 Inch Bass Drum Tangerine Glass Glitter

This is a born together set of drums from 1962 or so that was recently professionally rewrapped at The Village Drum here in Rhode Island by the amazing Anthony Defusco.

The set was purchased from someone who wry briefly owned it after purchasing it from the original owner, a Jazz drummer from the Boston area who got it new when he was young and played it and loved it for his entire life. When I got it, the original Sky Blue Pearl wrap was long gone (it had cracked and was removed at some point by the original owner). I found remnants of the original wrap behind the adjustable butt on the snare and in a couple other spots. Those pieces will be included with the set. The original owner then pulled off the badges and refinished the shells in a sort of walnut stain to match the original mahogany outer ply of the 14x14 floor tom (if you know Gretsch you know that some drums during this era were thin ply 6 ply shells with mahogany outer plies, and the floor tom is one of these amazing sounding shells). The other drums look to have more typical Gretsch outer plies of maple. Hence the attempt to match the floor tom. At any rate, he put the badges back on and proceeded to play the crap out of the kit up until selling it due to advanced age and inability to continue playing.

When I got the set, it had all the parts complete and present, it just needed a little bit of love. For starters, a wrap job. I picked tangerine because it was available during the era these drums were made and honestly you see a lot of sky blue pearl, white marine, etc and so I thought this would be a little more fun. There was a little area on the reso side of the 14x14 where A little of the inner ply had peeled away up near the edge. I filled that with wood putty and sanded it to match the original edge by hand. Not a major ordeal but worth doing.
Similarly the 12 had one tiny little spot on the reso edge that had a little inner ply notch out that I puttied. I added a Maxwell long spade because that’s a lot cooler on a short bass drum than the original. The original short spade is also included. Thats it. I can obviously send pics of these areas to any serious buyers along with pics of the tags and any other info you want to see.

The 8x12, 14x14, and the 4x14 snare all have their original tags inside….all in the 19xxx range. The bass tag is missing because there was a pillow in the bottom of the bass drum for many years. You can clearly see an outline where the tag was, and if the provenance that the kit was purchased new by someone and enjoyed for his entire life isn’t enough, the production clues of the bass drum put it square in the 62 era. It’s without a doubt a factory grouping.

There are no extra holes in any of the drums except for the 4x14 snare which had two extra holes near the strainer where the original owner “upgraded” the strainer to the first version of the Gretsch lightning strainer sometime in the late 60s/early 70s. I had those two holes plugged when the rewrap was done. You’d never know they were there unless you were hunting for them. I installed a new Gretsch micro sensitive strainer because the original was missing and the new ones are just so much better than the old style. It obviously fits the original holes. The rest of the drums are all factory, no extra holes, no replaced pieces, etc etc. I had to source a few 60s Gretsch tension to washers, and I went ahead and replaced a few of the bass drum tension rods that were slightly bent….all with original era correct parts.

The parts have just been ultra-sonic cleaned and cleaned with tin foil, by hand and lightly polished, and put back on the drums. I also packed all the lugs with felt so as to make sure there was no spring rattles happening. The chrome is consistent with sorta how Gretsch chrome ages. I would call it much better than average overall. There are ofcourse spots of wear and putting, scratches, etc but with the brand new wrap it’s really hard to focus on any hardwear imperfections. Plus I feel like the hard wear condition tells a little bit about how much this kit was played and loved.

Like i said, all rods and washers are original/era correct along with hoops etc. The batter bass hoop has a little warping here and there between the claws from years of tension. The original owner had the front head off for a long time but luckily modern heads fit on both sides. The front hoop doesn’t have the same warping that the batter hoop has. Both seat fine, tune fine, work fine and you can’t notice it while on the drum. In Addition, both bass hoops were refinished by Anthony at Village drum when the kit was wrapped.

The set includes the original hardware. Bass pedal (new strap), two straight stands, cymbal L arm and hi hat stand. These pieces show some rust and wear in spots but again, everything works and is a cool testament to the history of the drums.

Toms and snare have new classic fit ambassador heads. Modern heads fit a bit tight on the snare and the 12 but less so on the 14 and 18. Snare has new 42 strand Gretsch wires. Bass has a front head from drum factory direct with a repro logo and an older standard Remo coated emperor bass drum batter head.

I’ve been playing the set the past few weeks just to get a feel for it and to make sure everything is working fine, and it is quite the gem. Especially the bass drum. I can see why people ask crazy money for these sets. When you find the right one, it’s magical. It’s going to be a hard one to let go…but at the end of the day I’m not a jazz drummer, and these should be in the hands of a professional who is looking to have the sound of a legit 60s Gretsch bop set. This is a killer one and should be played. If you are a serious buyer please message me and let’s talk. I have plenty more pics to share and am happy to answer any questions you have. I want to make sure you are happy with all aspects of the set and that you will enjoy being the next steward of this wonderful set of drums.