Gretsch 18/12/12/14/5.5x14" 60's Round Badge Bop Drum Set - White Satin Flame

VIDEO IS UP! CHECK IT OUT. Bebop heaven, and in Elvin’s color! And, from the family of the original owner!

Here's a sharp set of vintage 60's Gretsch drums in a rare two-up, one-down configuration! 14x18", two 8x12"'s, 14x14", and a matching 5x14" snare drum - the 18" utilizes a Ludwig center post mount with a slotted double tom post. It's not unheard of for drum manufactures of the 60's to add non-factory mounts at the factory upon request, but we'd have no way of knowing that without this sets complete history, but it is a factory issued double rack tom set.

The interiors and bearing edges on this set are very clean with all interior tags present, noted below! Brand new Remo Ambassador heads throughout the set; some are a bit of a tight fit, but all of them seat under tension that can be backed off to discover the set's lower range. Original tone controls are all present and functional. The felt in the 18's Pratt muffler has a small split in the original felt near one of its fastening points, still hanging on and functioning nicely for now. I'll include an extra felt strip to keep on hand just in case it ever goes.

New Microsensitive throw-off, but plate, and snap in key holder. The 14x14" has a brand new set of a repro 50's/60's Gretsch style legs. New die-cast hoops nearly throughout the set since the originals had a lot of wear after 60 years! The only original diecast hoop not replaced is the snare drum's resonant side hoop. The rest of the original hardware exhibits minor pitting wear compared to the aforementioned hoops, and is in nicely polished functional condition. The missing section of bass drum hoop inlay in our bass drum's individual photos has nicely matching Delmar inlay en route to us to fill the space; it will have its photos replaced as soon as fitted.

Throughout this set, the wrap has a some of the expected cosmetic wear that was quite common for satin flame finishes, but this set is significantly cleaner that the majority of what we're used to seeing in satin flames from this era. Barring a few instances, the cosmetic “spider-webbing” is primarily located underneath the hoops and head collars. The 14x14" carries the most of the notable cosmetic wrap wear and has a couple small gouges and scuffs, but nothing that jeopardizes the wrap with lifts or splits. There is some minor age-related discoloration near the seams of each drum. And, this set is free from the significant scratches that are common on the satin flame finishes.

Steve’s notes: Wow. Hard to get better than this for classic Gretsch 60s bebop sound. The set came to me from the family of the original owner, and I was happy to take it in. As mentioned above, this set has far less of the scratches and spider-webbing than is typical for the satin flame finishes. And, this set is priced well given the fact that this is an original 12/12/14/18/5.5x14 round badge era set. 14x18 bass drums alone can bring $4k+, and 14x14 floor toms can bring $1500-$2000. Use the set with one of the 12s on a snare stand and you have the classic bebop 4 pc 12/14/18/5.5. Elvin played a white satin flame finish 12/14/18/5.5 and you can see it on the cover of his album “Dear John C”. Don’t miss this one.

Model/Serial Numbers:

14x18" - Model: 4244 || Serial: 72163

8x12" - Model: 4415 || Serial: 73289

8x12" - Model: 4415 || Serial: 72120

14x14" - Model: 4417 || Serial: 73259

5.5x14" - Model: 4157 || Serial: 71779

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