Brand
Used Gretsch drums
Friedrich Gretsch, a 27-year-old German immigrant, opened a shop in Brooklyn in 1883 making banjos, tambourines and drums, and his son Fred grew it into a ten-story factory at 60 Broadway by 1916. In the 1930s Gretsch worked with Billy Gladstone on drums with a three-way tuning system. The years collectors chase came in the 1950s and 1960s, when the Broadkaster outfits filled the catalogs and Birdland's manager said most of the club's drummers played Gretsch anyway, from Art Blakey and Max Roach to Mel Lewis. Baldwin bought the company in 1967 and moved production to De Queen, Arkansas in 1969. The round badge was retired in 1971, the octagonal stop sign badge carried the drums through the 1970s, and a square badge followed in the early 1980s. Fred W. Gretsch bought the company back in 1985 and moved drum making to Ridgeland, South Carolina, where it still is. Gretsch says fires destroyed its serial records, so a vintage Gretsch gets dated by its badge, its interior and its hardware.
6 drums we cover.
Gretsch · Round Badge
KitGretsch Round Badge Bop Kit
round badge bop kit
- Years made
- 1961–1971
- Era
- 1960s
Specs and what to check →
Gretsch · Name Band
KitGretsch Name Band Kit
Name Band
- Years made
- 1954–1971
- Era
- 1950s
$2,875–$2,875 typical ask
1 on eBay
Gretsch · Progressive Jazz
KitGretsch Progressive Jazz Kit
Progressive Jazz
- Years made
- 1958–1977
- Era
- 1950s
Specs and what to check →
Gretsch · Stop Sign
KitGretsch Stop Sign Badge Kit
stop sign badge
- Years made
- 1972–1980
- Era
- 1970s
$1,500–$1,500 typical ask
1 on eBay
Gretsch · 4160
SnareGretsch 4160 COB Snare
Gretsch 4160
- Years made
- 1961–1977 (in the catalogs we checked)
- Era
- 1960s
$1,175–$1,200 typical ask
1 on eBay
Gretsch · Name Band
SnareGretsch Name Band Snare
Name Band snare
- Years made
- 1954–1977
- Era
- 1950s
$500–$1,550 typical ask
18 on eBay