Caddy's Gretsch Round Badge kit!

caddywumpus · Dec 24, 2011

Finally, after long last, the restoration process is finished. I'm just waiting on new heads right now, but I thought I'd share the story, in pictures, with you guys. Enjoy the pics!

1. rack tom, painted a very, very thick blue...
2. rack tom, with hardware removed. You can see how the inside AND bearing edges were painted too...ugh!
3. chemicals only removed *so much* of the paint, so I had to sand the rest off
4. the bass drum was originally white satin flame, in terrible condition
5. I was expecting to simply peel the wrap off, but apparently you can't do that with satin flame wrap. Here is the plastic wrap taken off to reveal the shiny gunk underneath
6. chemicals didn't remove ANY of the shiny stuff, so I had to sand AGAIN. Here are the 4 layers...shiny gunky stuff, a grey gunk under that, the glue, and the wood
7. floor tom was stained, so I had to sand that, too
8. sanding the hoops took a LOT longer than expected, as well. They were painted black, and even commercial-grade stripper didn't remove the 50+ year old paint
9. here are the shells, completely stripped and waiting stain and finishing. I used Howard's Restore-A-Finish, and HIGHLY recommend it. It brought the grain of the wood out beautifully!
10. Here's where we are now--awaiting heads. When the heads are here, and the kit is assembled, I'll post some more pics...

Bo Eder · Dec 24, 2011

Looks good! Can't wait to see the finished kit!
Question: is the kit finished? The photo makes them look like bare shells - does the finish you use make it look like that?

caddywumpus · Dec 24, 2011

Bo Eder said:
Question: is the kit finished? The photo makes them look like bare shells - does the finish you use make it look like that?

They ARE the bare shells! That's the original Gretsch maple, baby! After sanding it down, I rubbed the Restore-A-Finish on the bare shell, and it brought out the grain like nobody's business. After that, I rubbed it down with some wax, which brought out the grain some more, and gave it a little bit of a sheen. The kit is au natural...

Nodiggie · Dec 24, 2011

Very nice work Caddy..

I love working with wood, I had several years in school taking wood shop and although I'm no expert I have enough confidence to refinish about anything. I'd like to score a vintage kit too one day and see what beauty is hidden under that skin.

Andy · Dec 24, 2011

Huge props to you for the work you've put in on this Caddy. Man, that's a lot of effort to remove all that crap from the shells. I totally support your decision to keep them au natural, that way, you stand the best chance of wringing every last bit of resonance from those matured shells. Are you recutting the edges?

caddywumpus · Dec 24, 2011

Nodiggie said:
Very nice work Caddy..

I love working with wood, I had several years in school taking wood shop and although I'm no expert I have enough confidence to refinish about anything. I'd like to score a vintage kit too one day and see what beauty is hidden under that skin.

Nice! I sure hope you get the chance to someday. When I was stripping the shells, I was amazed at the wood when it was revealed. This is usually the kind of wood that drum builders save for the veneer, but it's what the shells are made out of. The floor tom has a high level of quilting going on. I should snap a detail shot of that...it looks as if the shell is wet and dripping! Very cool!

keep it simple said:
Huge props to you for the work you've put in on this Caddy. Man, that's a lot of effort to remove all that crap from the shells. I totally support your decision to keep them au natural, that way, you stand the best chance of wringing every last bit of resonance from those matured shells. Are you recutting the edges?

Yeah, it was a LOT of work. At my last tally, I spent a total of about 17 hours on sanding alone, and that doesn't count the hours spent trying to chemically strip the paint, gunk, glue, or stain.

I am not going to cut the edges at this point. I sanded the edges of the 12" tom to get the paint off, but kept them very close to original. The edges are all flat/true and original on the other two drums, so I'm leaving them as they are. They sounded great before the refinishing, so I'm sure they'll sound great now, especially with brand new heads...

mediocrefunkybeat · Dec 24, 2011

I remember asking you about this well over a year ago! Nice work there Caddy. Great to see those shells in working order. You know this means we're going to want recordings and the like too, right?

harryconway · Dec 24, 2011

Love those drums ! Welcome to the GRB club. looks like we have twins.

Larry · Dec 24, 2011

Ah nice Caddy! You assembled this kit drum by drum? Care to share total money spent? Would love to hear your take on this kit as compared to your Luds as compared to your DW's. And yes we need soundfiles of you playing all 3 kits, mandatory. Bernhard said so. (evil-ey twirls moustasche, as Caddy has never posted his playing AFAIK) There is one hitch though. It's in the 2nd to last photo.

Based on your photos, I now know your true identity lol.

You're right, that is veneer quality wood that they wrapped/painted over. Very nice. Harry's drums have mufflers top and bottom. I don't see them on yours. Am I missing them? Also, I see 3 horizontal holes near the bearing edge. What the heck are they for? I'm surprised you didn't go with the blue. It's so beautiful lol.

Harry your kit looks new, I am assuming you restored it? And what is the deal w/ the new avatar, explanation please?

Pocket-full-of-gold · Dec 24, 2011

This gonna be so cool mate. Can't wait to see the finished product.

That blue drum looks like it was a major PITA to square away. All that paint.....AND on the bearing edges.......man, nightmare!!

Looking forward to seeing it done.

Great job mate.

harryconway · Dec 24, 2011

larryace said:
Also, I see 3 horizontal holes near the bearing edge. What the heck are they for?

Three holes is for the Jimmy Pratt muffler. I pulled mine off, as I don't care much for 'em.

larryace said:
Harry your kit looks new, I am assuming you restored it? And what is the deal w/ the new avatar, explanation please?

Restored yes, but not by me. I bought it this way. The avatar, Zach Anner ... google the man, he's quite an awesome cat.

bobdadruma · Dec 24, 2011

Nice, Nice, Very Nice!

caddywumpus · Dec 25, 2011

mediocrefunkybeat said:
I remember asking you about this well over a year ago! Nice work there Caddy. Great to see those shells in working order. You know this means we're going to want recordings and the like too, right?

Yep. I'll have to figure out how to make and post videos now.

harryconway said:
Love those drums ! Welcome to the GRB club. looks like we have twins.

Yes.

Yours looks to be 13/16/20...is that correct? I just realized I failed to list sizes on mine. Gonna go edit that now...

larryace said:
Ah nice Caddy! You assembled this kit drum by drum? Care to share total money spent? Would love to hear your take on this kit as compared to your Luds as compared to your DW's. And yes we need soundfiles of you playing all 3 kits, mandatory. Bernhard said so. (evil-ey twirls moustasche, as Caddy has never posted his playing AFAIK) There is one hitch though. It's in the 2nd to last photo. Based on your photos, I now know your true identity lol. You're right, that is veneer quality wood that they wrapped/painted over. Very nice. Harry's drums have mufflers top and bottom. I don't see them on yours. Am I missing them? Also, I see 3 horizontal holes near the bearing edge. What the heck are they for? I'm surprised you didn't go with the blue. It's so beautiful lol.

I didn't actually assemble the kit drum by drum. I bought it as a cobbled together orphan kit that someone I know sold when he left town. As for the amount I paid, you'll NEVER get it out of me!

Hmm...I'd love to post some playing on my 3 main kits, to compare them. Great idea! My kit has all of the mufflers, but I'm going to leave them off. Yes, that means there will be some extra holes in the drums, as well as extra holes from the tom mount on the rack tom and extra holes from the rail consolette on the bass drum. However, I DID reinstall the Pratt muffler on the bass drum, because those freakin' RULE!

You'll never know my identity, though. That 2nd to last picture was taken at a friend's house. Mwa-ha-ha! Well, okay, not really, but there's nothing in that pic to give away my identity. I had my people scour the picture for incriminating details before posting.

Pocket-full-of-gold said:
This gonna be so cool mate. Can't wait to see the finished product.

That blue drum looks like it was a major PITA to square away. All that paint.....AND on the bearing edges.......man, nightmare!!

Looking forward to seeing it done.

Great job mate.

Thanks! The blue was a HUGE PITA to remove! The kit is going to look and sound great once I get the heads on, though. It's just a matter of waiting for new heads now...

harryconway said:
Three holes is for the Jimmy Pratt muffler. I pulled mine off, as I don't care much for 'em.

Oh, man...the Pratt muffler is one of the coolest things about Round Badge kits! An adjustable felt strip on the bass drum--yes please! Modern kits need to offer them, or Gibraltar needs to sell them or something...

Larry · Dec 25, 2011

Can someone shed some light on the Jimmy Pratt muffler thingy? You know how they say you learn something new every day? Little help? Is that a factory thing? If so do all GRB's have them?

Are you going to suspension mount that tom? Are you going to gig this kit? If so can I come? Pretty please?

brentcn · Dec 25, 2011

larryace said:
Can someone shed some light on the Jimmy Pratt muffler thingy? You know how they say you learn something new every day? Little help? Is that a factory thing? If so do all GRB's have them?

Yeah, all GRBs had them stock. Sometimes they'll rattle (mine doesn't, yet!). When they don't rattle, they actually work quite well, like a felt strip that doesn't touch the bearing edge, except that it will dampen the head quite a bit, it's not subtle. If you want a tight, funky kick, it can be very cool. Not so much for the wide-open jazzer sound of today.

Hey Conway, what's up with your upside down floor tom? I've seen a few floor toms on GRB kits this way, is there anything to it?

harryconway · Dec 25, 2011

brentcn said:
Hey Conway, what's up with your upside down floor tom? I've seen a few floor toms on GRB kits this way, is there anything to it?

For me, it justs gets the floor tom lower. I used to low ride behind my kits (can't do that anymore ... with my new titanium hip) ... so all my floor toms got flipped. Very few companies knurl their floor tom legs full length, so rather than try to clamp onto smooth metal rod, I flip my floors 180. Now that I have to sit a little higher, my floors might all wind up right side up, again. We shall see.

mediocrefunkybeat · Dec 25, 2011

harryconway said:
For me, it justs gets the floor tom lower. I used to low ride behind my kits (can't do that anymore ... with my new titanium hip) ... so all my floor toms got flipped. Very few companies knurl their floor tom legs full length, so rather than try to clamp onto smooth metal rod, I flip my floors 180. Now that I have to sit a little higher, my floors might all wind up right side up, again. We shall see.

I have the opposite problem. I wish my floor tom legs were longer! I've just raised all my toms and they're much better now they're higher but I cannot get the floor tom to a high enough level. It's not uncomfortable to play at all but it could do with another four inches of height.

Larry · Dec 25, 2011

brentcn said:
Yeah, all GRBs had them stock. Sometimes they'll rattle (mine doesn't, yet!). When they don't rattle, they actually work quite well, like a felt strip that doesn't touch the bearing edge, except that it will dampen the head quite a bit, it's not subtle. If you want a tight, funky kick, it can be very cool. Not so much for the wide-open jazzer sound of today.

Could you explain in more detail what it looks like installed, what it's made from, does it stretch across the head or just muffle the edge? Just one edge? All I know now is they may rattle, so OK that suggests metal. Is it a round pad? Rectangular pad? A strip? Is it adjustable or just on or off? What color is it? Who is Jimmy Pratt? Is he still alive? Am I annoying you enough yet?

bobdadruma · Dec 25, 2011

larryace said:
Could you explain in more detail what it looks like installed, what it's made from, does it stretch across the head or just muffle the edge? Just one edge? All I know now is they may rattle, so OK that suggests metal. Is it a round pad? Rectangular pad? A strip? Is it adjustable or just on or off? What color is it? Who is Jimmy Pratt? Is he still alive? Am I annoying you enough yet?

Chill out Larry, It is just a piece of felt that is anchored on one end inside of the bass drum and tensioned on the other end with a tuning knob.
My first Slingerland kit had one installed in the bass drum.
I did like caddy and I removed it because it was a pain in the ass to keep it from rattling.
I also removed the internal mufflers from all of my vintage toms and snare drums because they simply weren't that good.

Stixnergard2 · Dec 25, 2011

bobdadruma said:
Chill out Larry, It is just a piece of felt that is anchored on one end inside of the bass drum and tensioned on the other end with a tuning knob.
My first Slingerland kit had one installed in the bass drum.
I did like caddy and I removed it because it was a pain in the ass to keep it from rattling.
I also removed the internal mufflers from all of my vintage toms and snare drums because they simply weren't that good.

Great restoration project and labor of love. At least you will be able to fit heads on the kit's oversized shells with the wrap removed. Here is a picture of the Pratt muffler:

Caddy's Gretsch Round Badge kit!

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