I recently discovered that Evans heads will fit wrapped RB Gretsch toms when only Aquarians had previously. Good Luck!

Remo heads worked for me in a similar situation.

I tried both Remo and Evans heads, and even a DW head made my Remo. and they are all too small. They all measured exactly 8 1/16" and the shells both measured exactly 8 1/8". I've even considered carefully reaming the inside edge of the metal hoops, but that doesn't seem practical. Any other ideas?

Don

If you can find an old Evans with an epoxy hoop, an old trick is to carefully break said hoop in 3 or 4 spots equally spaced around the perimeter. Go for clean breaks, ninja style. That gives you some give.

Metal hooped heads can be similarly coerced with a saw.

the drum is most likely 7 & 15/16ths which was Gretsch's specs for Jasper and Keller shells, though the modern ones are easier to fit heads on. If it is covered there is a way to cut a 1/2" of the wrap off at the top and bottom that will give you some more room. That's what gretsch does now. I have a special knife/jig to do that with. if your drum is not covered and you are having that problem, then you want to solve this problem before you recover it. I have an 8" Gretsch in rosewood stain that I will take apart to check this out. What color is yours and which badge? The shell could be a Jasper or a Keller because Gretsch did not have Jasper molds for the largest and smallest drums, so they would buy them from keller. depends on what year yours was made. you might have to resort to the old "Gretsch head mounting tool package" which is a two by four block and a hammer. I kid you not. I use it on several of my old Gretsch Round Badge drums. it's SOP for old Gretsches

Your suggestion to cut 1/2 inch of wrap from the edge might help, because the wrap starts to pucker when the head is forced over the wrap. But the drum originally was a natural finish without a wrap, and the shell actually measures 8 1/16. I have one Gretsch Permatone head that just barely goes on the wrapped shell, but it is really tight fitting. So for the time being, I am using the drum concert style with only one head on it. The drum has a stop sign badge, and is painted silver gray on the inside. The model number on the paper tag is 4448w and the serial number is 87422.

Maybe the drum is a rare and valuable Gretsch vintage, and if so, perhaps I should sell it and get a "normal" drum for my playing kit.

I just noticed the sawing suggestion. What happens to the head when there is a break in the hoop? Wouldn't it tear? I'll have to get an old head that I don't mind "losing" and try it out. Thanks.

Take a hack saw and cut the collar almost all the WAY thru. Then "Snap" the last bit by bending the collar. I've done this a few times with good results.

It's worth a try. Thanks.