You were all I thought about from the time I started taking drum lessons the year prior. When the time had come to get you, you were not at all what I had pictured in my head as my 12 year old mind was set on finding a nice shiny Ludwig set that would stand out. The choice that fateful day back in June of 1983 was between you and the Ludwig Tivoli lighted set of Vista-lite drums set up in the window of Looney Tunes music that was at the southern end of Main Street in Concord NH
Read moreFrom editor George Lawrence
All my items I have listed on DrumSellers.com have been repriced with “or best offer”. This includes all snare drums, drum sets, cymbals of mine and of those consigned to me by Steve Johnson, Tom Boyle, John Dittrich, and Jason Cooper. Well over 300 cymbals, 50 snare drums and several drum sets. This
Read moreThe Rare 1930s Gretsch Heavy Brass Shell Snare Drum
In the 1930s, Gretsch was in the early stages of developing their metal brass shell snare. These models started off with a center beaded shell that was one piece, seamless in design and plated nickel over brass. The very first models came equipped with six tubular lugs, single flanged hoops and an outsourced strainers from a major drum competitor. It is important to note that catalogs referencing these early 30s model snare drums are very rare and hard to come by. Most
Read moreGretsch is looking for a home for an inventory of vintage 70s' Slingerland Timpani parts and pieces
The Gretsch company, which is headquartered in Pooler, GA, published a Request for Proposal to find a home for an inventory of vintage 70s' Slingerland Timpani parts and pieces
Read moreMid 1960s Gretsch Round Badge Drums without Silver Sealer
One of the many unexplained mysteries of vintage drums is the existence of vintage 1960s Gretsch Round Badge drums which lack the typical silver sealer interior paint. This was an era before clear drum heads, so few people saw the inside of their drums. However, Gretsch was marketing “The Great Gretsch Sound” and part of that sound was allegedly the silver sealer they applied to the interior of their drums starting in about 1954.
Read more1960s Gretsch Progressive Jazz Set
“I like the smaller bass drums, although I look better behind a larger one. It's all bout the look, you know. Ringo looked good behind a 20" bass drum, but Abe Laboriel Jr. would not look good behind a 20" bass drum.”
Read more1960s Gretsch Rock and Roll Set
Gretsch drums are some of my very favorite sets to collect and play. The first drum set I actually owned was a 1960s Gretsch kit. It was a beautiful Aqua Satin Flame double bass set. I have owned several Gretsch kits in my collection over the years and currently have a few beautiful Gretsch sets which I highly treasure
Read moreUpdate: New listings of drums, cymbals, etc. for sale at DrumSellers.com
When you sign up for DrumSellers.com you can choose to get daily or weekly updates in your email. If you haven’t signed up as a user, here are some of the latest listings you’ve been missing. Good Stuff!
Read moreAnnouncing the opening of Brad Bilhorn’s Homestead Vintage Drums
Brad Bilhorn opens new vintage drum shop
Read moreThe Story Behind the Creation of the Iconic Gretsch Drum Kit Logo
Wendy Lubbers doesn’t know exactly how the now-famous Gretsch drum logo originated. But she speculates that Fred Jr.—knowing how creative her dad was, and seeing the many logos he had designed for local small businesses and schools—approached Bob about creating a new Gretsch drum logo. “My dad was as big-hearted as he was talented,” says Wendy. “He did a lot of free artwork and logos for his friends. I’m sure he jumped at the chance to work on something that was music related—especially for Uncle Fred and for Gretsch drums.”
Read moreEveryone had a first set of drums... What was yours?
in the summer of 1982 my world changed when a group of kids that were 3-5 years older than me had a band and they played on the back of a trailer at the park. As I sat watching these guys play things I had never heard before like AC/DC, Aerosmith and Van Halen I was totally sucked in to each band member feeling connected to what was going on. I knew my small hands would never be comfortable with a guitar or bass and I also knew I would never have enough confidence to stand out front of a stage and sing. What really caught my attention were the drums! The drummer was only three years older than me and I will never forget seeing that 1973 maple cortex set of Ludwigs with the shiny hardware and hollow logo Zildjians. I wondered how this kid knew what to hit, where and when and how he knew how to make them sound the way they did.
Read moreReinventing the Wheel: Racks and Remote Hats From A Century Ago?
So you think that state-of-the-art rack system you emptied your bank account for firmly puts you among the pinnacle of 22nd Century Drummers, right? After all, it is equipped with a remote cable Hi Hat, so it's the “Latest and Greatest.” Would you believe your great grandfather, the guy you got those drummin' genes from, beat you to the punch by nearly a hundred years?
Read moreGretsch Name Band Outfit in Tangerine Sparkle finish.
This is my very first Gretsch set and I finally own a kit made in NYC - Brooklyn, as a matter of fact, during the heyday of round badge Gretsch drum manufacturing. This is one of the most beautiful drum sets I have ever seen. The kit can look yellow, gold, red and orange depending on the lighting. I personally think it looks best in plain daylight.
Read moreFred Gretsch Receives Honorary Degree from Elmhurst College
Fred Gretsch Receives Honarary Degree from Elmhurst College
Read moreThe Gretsch Building Turns 100
I sometimes wonder if the people currently living on what used to be the seventh floor of the Gretsch Building are aware of all the musical history that happened there (and all of the stars and legends that walked those floors when they visited the factory).
Read moreDorado by Gretsch - Made in Japan
This was sent to me by my drum nerd buddy Jay in Knoxville TN. He is the administrator of the Facebook group "Knoxville Drummers Union". He goes by the code name Jay Options over there. I think he is hiding from someone. You have to know the secret password to join that group and they are a shifty bunch :-) . Dorado Drums were added to the Gretsch Dorado catalog in 1973. They were cheap Japanese stencil sets; imports and didn't hang around too long. That's about all I know about them. I would put that particular set of Jay's in the $200 category just because they are in good shape. If the floor tom and snare drum were there they might be worth $300 to $350 - George Lawrence
Here is a quote from author Mike Jones about Dorado guitars. Some of this may be applicable to Dorado Drums.
" I love the Dorado myself and have the same model 12 string as you. I also have 2- Model 5985 solid-body electrics. They are extremely well made and very playable. I am including information about them in a chapter of my book "Gretsch's Lost Weekend; The Guitars of Booneville and The Hagner Musical Instrument Company, 1970-1981" I am not going to be devoting much to the acoustic models but here's what I can tell you.
The Dorado guitars were made by Matsumoko of Japan between 1971 and 1973. The most intersting thing is, other than minor cosmetic differences, Matsumoko made the exact same guitar for Epiphone, Aria, Conrad, Granada and Lyle, though less so, their acoustic guitars. The ones that were marketed by the other companies were manufactured between 1970 and 1976. The Headstock design seem to be the only real variable on all of the models. As to why they were distributed by Gretsch, there was a long standing rumor that the Dorado was imported by Gretsch/Baldwin to make up for the lack of inventory after the Booneville factory fire in January 1973 destroyed the Gretsch production facility. While a plausable theory, It doesn't work with the time line. It appears to be more of a deal worked out by Fred Gretsch (still on the Gretsch/Baldwin Board of Directors) and Bill Hagner to work with Japanese suppliers. Gene Haugh told me that the decision to import was made in the spring of 1972 by Baldwin and Fred Gretsch. The first catalogs with Gretsch's name appeared in the fall of the same year and offered only acoustic models. In the 1973 catalog they offered an electric 6 string solid-body as well as a solid-body 4 string bass. Your 12 string model was one of two 12 string models offered in the 1973 catalog. Interstingly they also offered drums that year. A little known fact that you might enjoy. Gene told me that Fred brought a Dorado acoustic to Booneville one day in early 1972. According to Gene, Fred had put some masking tape over the logo, came into Gene's office and asked him to try it out. Gene played around with it for a few minutes then Fred asked him how he thought it played and what he thought it was. Gene said it played great and thought it was a Gibson. Fred peeled the tape off to expose the Dorado logo and said "That's what I thought too. Were gonna start distributing these." Gene told me he didn't care much for the electric solid body model's finish but the acoustics were as good as anything anyone was making during those days. Dorado had 3 logos. Plain Gold screen in fat block letters, Gold silk screen normal block letters in 1971-72 and in 1973 they introduced a Stylish in-laid mother of pearl logo. Yours is a 1973. I'll see if I can find some acoustic pics of the Aria, Epiphone, Conrad, Lyle acoustics so you can see they are all the same. For now, here's how the Dorado solid-body electric compares with all the other Matsumoko solid-body electric guitars. I hope this helps.
Mike Jones
Jasper Wood - Gretsch's standard 6 ply shells and Centennial shells
The company Jasper Wood closed down in 2003. Because they had been primarily an office-furniture manufacturer they were forced out of business by the importation of cheap products… we’re all guilty here!
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