Let's see your Gretsch kits (saved the best for last!)
- Thread starter JohnnyG
- Start date
jda
Diamond Member
Lloyd Ryan?
or is that Stevie Winwood..
" Gretsch drums have so much soul it's like going to confession"
---Jda
vintage 3 ply set there looks like 20/12/14/ can't tell snare/ maybe cob tightened up
en.wikipedia.org
"Lloyd Ryan is English drummer and educator. He has been described as "a specialist in the big band style of drumming". He was also a support act to Buddy ...best known for his work as a session musician and for having taught Phil Collins,"
The man has a lot to say on the drums. And the drums look and sound fantastic don't they.
or is that Stevie Winwood..
" Gretsch drums have so much soul it's like going to confession"
---Jda
vintage 3 ply set there looks like 20/12/14/ can't tell snare/ maybe cob tightened up
Lloyd Ryan - Wikipedia
The man has a lot to say on the drums. And the drums look and sound fantastic don't they.
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rungeflash
Well-known Member
Nice! Ya that 146 works very well on the 10”…sings great
I’ve been using the tune bot for about 3 years now and I like it. I mean, you still need to use the human ear to make the final call…but it gets you in the ballpark fast and is good at “evening out” different tuning rods…which can be tricky with these 5 lug gretsch rack toms
DrummerJustLikeDad
Active Member
From Phil Collins autobiography, Not Dead Yet, pages 35-36.
Nine years after taking receipt of my first kit from Uncle Reg and Uncle Len, I finally decide to take some drum lessons. When I start attending Barbara Speake’s, my route to school from Acton town station from Churchfield Road takes me past a drum shop owned by Maurice Plaquet. This place is a Mecca for players from all over London, while Maurice himself is an in-demand session guy, quite a big name in the drummers’ world of which I am desperate to be a part. He’s too big a fish to school me, so I approach one of his lieutenants, Lloyd Ryan, who teaches out of Maurice’s basement.
Lloyd is a flash young guy. He tries to teach me to read music, but again my ears get in the way. Five years hence, in 1971, I’ll go back to him for a few top-up lessons after joining Genesis. We are already doing gigs but I figure I’ll have another crack at trying to read music. Lloyd attends one of the band’s now-famous (amongst hardcore fans, at least) lunchtime shows at the Lyceum Theatre, just off the Strand. On stage I have a Dexion frame supporting hanging bits and bobs: percussion, bells, whistles. A sophisticated but cheap array of noisy stuff. At my next lesson I notice that Lloyd now has the exact same set-up. This is the tail wagging the dog. I don’t go to him again.
jda
Diamond Member
wonder his age; find his age @DrummerJustLikeDad
he played that 3 ply Gretsch kit - last week---like a 20 year old ; I believe he's (has to be?) in his 80s
he played that 3 ply Gretsch kit - last week---like a 20 year old ; I believe he's (has to be?) in his 80s
plaid sabbath
Active Member
Just acquired a Cat Club kit recently. 20/12/14/16. Much better after replacing the stock heads with Emperors.
DrummerJustLikeDad
Active Member
Phil is 72. Wikipedia says Lloyd Ryan has been active since 1960, the year Phil turned 9.
That’s the closest I can find, so you’re right; we’re looking at 80 or more.
I provided a Phil quote about Lloyd. In fairness, here’s a Lloyd quote about Phil.
From MikeDolbear.com
In tandem with his acting (Phil) studied the basic rudiments of drumming as a teenager, first with a chap called Lloyd Ryan and later with Frank King, who fortuitously happened to be left-handed too. Collins recalled that rudiments were very helpful to him and that this was because they were used all the time. In any kind of funk or jazz drumming, the rudiments were always there.
It seems he never learned to read and write conventional music and instead, like others I’ve come across, used a system he devised himself. He regretted this later saying: “I never really came to grips with the music. I should have stuck with it. I’ve always felt that if I could hum it, I could play it. For me, that was good enough, but that attitude is bad.”
His first teacher Lloyd Ryan had this to say on the subject: “Phil always had a problem with reading. That was always a big problem for him. That’s a shame because reading drum music isn’t that difficult.”
Auspicious
Silver Member
jda
Diamond Member
:that's Maxwell's)
I've never been in the 'same state' as something like that : )
Oh I'd bet G would make a Cannon bass for some endorser or special request- haven't seen a Price List since everything went digital but I wonder if they are still not in the 'parts book's-list's
~
(I have the satin bKs and two RB sets.
Art had an "extended Tom like mine (must be a Pittsburgh thing)
when he was with Billy Eckstine 
it's only a 10x12 (not elephantiasis
altho I do have that too kidding (somewhat
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jda
Diamond Member
you see that little black mark in-between the top two lugs (on the top rim) of that 9 X 10?
That's the only mark (from the factory) on those drums ; a little finger print it looks like.
Don't believe everything you read about the gunmetal era of Gretsch USA (USA was still in the badge) BK's.
That they/were the last of US sourced parts (is my belief) The very last
they are mint Stradivarius level quality. The gunmetal- besides that one blemish - perfect..
going on 16 years old; nothing's changed since new. I bought them NOS discontinued directly from the factory in 2010 thru a dealer.. I'm assuming they were built either 2006 or 2007. Sat in the warehouse until a franchised dealer came along visited the factory purchased them - left them there- took pictures and advertised them *as all singles) on Ebay. I picked the four of what was available (hence the power tom) those were the "sizes" left; and they shipped direct to me from Gretsch.
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Square
El Conquistador
A few months ago I bought my Gretsch USAC (2022) It was a 22" 16" 13" kit.
I like one up two down and I figured I would "someday" find an 18" to add to it.
Well that day came. It is a Stop Sign Badge, anyone know the year? Supposed to be about 1973ish
Picked it up on reverb for about $1k all said and done...
Not shown is that it has mufflers/Tone knobs on both the reso and the batter. The legs and leg brackets have been updated; no new holes.
The bonus here is that the color match is almost perfect! Shown below with the 16" from my kit.
I like one up two down and I figured I would "someday" find an 18" to add to it.
Well that day came. It is a Stop Sign Badge, anyone know the year? Supposed to be about 1973ish
Picked it up on reverb for about $1k all said and done...
Not shown is that it has mufflers/Tone knobs on both the reso and the batter. The legs and leg brackets have been updated; no new holes.
The bonus here is that the color match is almost perfect! Shown below with the 16" from my kit.
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yammyfan
Senior Member
Drop dead gorgeous kit. Seriously beautiful.
Drumdame
Silver Member
Oh yeah!
Justinhub2003
Silver Member
My Gretsch Brooklyn 3 piece in Silver Mist Duco20x14
12x8
14x14
Incredible sounding kit.
yammyfan
Senior Member
Gorgeous!
How does the cockeyed bass drum reso head not drive you crazy, lol?
Seriously though... nice set!
rungeflash
Well-known Member
Little spooky shot of the renowns glowing from side lighting
