Nice score. You should be able to do some cool things with that kit at that price point.

Unfortunately it is JUST the snare. Didn't get the rest of the kit. :(

The auction was for the kit AND the snare. What happened?

No it says in the description pretty clearly it is for the snare only, then he goes on to describe the kit in hopes that he can negotiate some side deal I suppose. He also posted pics of the entire kit which is a little misleading I suppose but he did write in the very first line in caps that the auction is for the snare only.

I am not saying it is a GREAT deal for the snare but I've been watching jazz fests on ebay for a few weeks now and they just don't come up for under $500 in any condition so this is the best i can do.

It's either that or have a kit I can't even play. My ultimate goal is to have blue oyster pearl jazz fest to match my kit but that is just going to have to wait for lightning to strike or some other miracle to take place.

If I DID purchase the entire set. anyone want to venture a guess at what i should offer?

I mean I only wanted the snare but now that I am paying him for it, and having it shipped... I might as well try and secure the entire deal. ugh, this is an expensive disease.

my feeling is that silver sparkle isn't as highly prized as some of the other wraps. That is my biggest hesitation here. Although I personally do like how it looks when it is all cleaned up.

Are WFL's in the exact same snare also considered Jazz Festivals? It's what

I have in BDP, I think the badge is a 58 or something, late 50's before

Ludwig bought his name back. Anyway, picked it up sight unseen from

used Guitar Center web site for 300 something, and it's the sweetest

snare I have. Guess I can check my Rob Cook book :) Nice job on that

snare dude!

the ludwig transition badge models were called jazz festivals. the snares prior to that were not...

mike

Cool, thanks Mike.

I did not see the listing when it went up, but was reading this thread and clicked the link. I was quite shocked by the last paragraph:

"This drum kit's date and condition as listed above was verified by Richard Gier one of the world's foremost experts on vintage drums (especially Gretch's). He lives here locally and happen to be purchasing some hardware from me and looked this kit over and gave me all of the info on it as listed above. You can find out more about Richard on the internet. Thanks for looking."

I did see the kit and talked with the Seller - once, sometime in the Spring. I did not know he had used my name in his listing. To say he has oversold my status is a massive understatement. All I can say is that he must have thought that an expert is someone who knows more about something than he does. I research about one aspect of Gretsch drums and now I'm one of the world's foremost experts? You have got to be kidding. Woe to anyone who thinks my assessment of his drums adds any value.

That said, the snare and the floor tom are the best parts of the set. The wrap on most of the drums was cloudy and faded. The top snare hoop and throw were switched out. It should clean up ok, but the wrap will never look new. It seemed structurally sound. I actually bought a box of nickel parts from him, including the rail mount, which I needed for my Galaxy Sparkle set. Had I known he would sell just the snare, I would have bought it for that price. If I recall correctly, the Floor tom is 16x16 and from 1968, while the other drums were not date stamped but had serial numbers in the 72000 - 74000 range. Clearly the floor tom was a later addition.

Gmaki - you did fine with it. Unless you really want a project, and have gotten some additional pictures to know what you are really getting, I would be careful before trying to buy the remainder of the set. He had the whole thing listed on cragslist recently for $650. http://kansascity.craigslist.org/msg/3174261271.html

Rick