Im aGretsch player and can only say for me its the sound of the drums,kick and toms especially.In my head i hear what i consider the sound i want and need.Its as simple as that.

I've also heard that the old-growth woods he used were from slower growth-period forests. Due to some of the climatic changes during the dark ages (Think of the "Black Plague"), which caused lesser amounts of sunlight and precipitation, the trees grew more slowly, yielding tighter ring-patterns. Sounds good (no pun intended).

B

The question of Jasper shells and their distinctive qualities came up the other day on the Gretsch Woodshed, and after a brief search I found this information - which, while not 100% pertinent to the original thread, is nonetheless interesting:

Jasper Wood closed down in 2003. Primarily an office furniture manufacturer, they were forced out of business by the importation of cheap products… we’re all guilty here! They used a combination of Maple and Gum wood in a six ply construction: M-G-M-G-G-M; the Gum ply thickness varied according to the drum e.g. toms 1/32, snare and bass 1/16; the Maple was always 1/32. They also varied the grain orientation (where H = horizontal and V = vertical): toms and snare = HVHVVH; bass = HHHVVH. The perspicacious amongst you, who were paying attention, will appreciate that the snare and kick are predominantly Gum not Maple. A footnote is that DW copied this design for their Jazz series. I've asked an ex employee how they reached this formula... I'm waiting for an answer as we speak. John Sherridan talks about the drums that came from Gretsch during the DeQueen period and their superior tonal qualities; just what they did to the Jasper shells to enhance their sound is another question that begs for an answer... anyone know?

Well ... speaking as one who is living in AR ... I can pretty much nail this one for you.

Pig Fat! If you know anything about this state, you know that Arkansans live and breath the pig. Pork is in literally everything they cook or manufacture. DeQueen is a tough little town of even tougher men and very scary women. Every meal is infused to overflowing with "the other white meat". As it turns out, Arkansans are not the neatest of eaters. This causes a relatively thick coating of pork fat to accumulate over time on the affected areas ... fingers, hands, forearms, cheeks, chin, the bottom portion of the nose ... Anyway, as these assemblers were assembling the Gretsch drums, the wood inadvertently received a wonderful coating of pork fat which was sealed in during these procedures. That new coat added a sonic variable that was heretofore missing in previous builds and post DeQueen drums. Amazing little animals, those pigs.

And, there you go.

So they used the silver paint to mask the smell !! Not so dumb after all!!LOL

Cheers,BigE

To each his own on these Gretsch drums. Bottom line is they get big money because people spend it on them. I would rather buy three kits than one of those overrated kits anyday, but that is me. I also believe that given a blind taste test similair to the old Pepsi commercials, most of the die hard Gretsch guys couldn't pick one of those drums from a Hayman with any regularity. Along with the eccentricity of being a collector comes super human senses it seems, with all things, and I believe this to be the case with drums, cymbals, guitars, choo choo trains, beeanie babies, and baseball cards. All the same. They can see, smell, hear or feel the difference somehow and that makes it worth triple everything else. Hopefully I never ascend to this ultra-elite level and just keep to liking things that go boom or crash or have a picture of Willie Stargell on it.........

toodles

drumhack Clapping Happy2:2Cents:guitar2guitar3Sumo Dude

I'm with Wayne here, having played Gretsch.. I owned a RB Aqua satin flame set from the 60s for about a year and an early 60s RB champagne sparkle 20/13/16 set for several months, both were sold with great ease. My go-to snare is a RB 4160 COB.. I disagree with the notion that their snare drums don't sound good. I think they sound better than most snare drums except some of the Ludwig snares. This is all opinion, though. Does opinion matter? Only when you're talking about people paying money to support that opinion. They perceive the Gretsch RB to be worth paying more so that happens.

Some say they have a more limited tuning range but that's debatable. The optimal tone tuned up a bit provides an excellent projection, and a consistent sound. Gretsch punch through the mix. Seriously vintage drums for the most part still are under-priced compared to vintage guitars, which may be worth more than a brand new guitar of the same model. Usually a brand new set of drums otherwise comparable (Made in USA, pro-line, etc.) will cost more than a vintage set. Gretsch new are higher than many other brands new, but some vintage Gretsch has approached the price level of new Gretsch meaning it is more collectible and it has a collectible value above a utilitarian value. The question has to do with "What makes Gretsch Round Badges So Desirable?" and it is both the image of the RB Gretsch drums (which is a byproduct of their sound) and their rarity and the number of people who choose to play them. They're in limited quantities, and there are still more people out there looking for them than there are selling them (or it appears to be so.)

The answer to the original question is simple business. Supply and demand.

Why are Piccaso's worth so much more ..........Why is a used Corvette worth more than BMW Z3 thats cost the same new? Why is a 57 chevy worth more than a 57 olds or pontiac?

Invested heavily in Pork Bellies have you? Ooops!

I think supply and demand is a big part of the reason why. But why is that?

Because Gretsch did not produce/sell as many kits as the other 3. Why is that? Because their kits cost more primarily. Why is that? Because they were made with higher quality materials and it shows when you compare a Gretsch drum to any of the other's. You can just feel it, see it, hear it.

They are built like tanks. They were built American, built to last.