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Gretsch was founded by Friedrich
Gretsch, a German immigrant who opened his own musical
instrument business in Brooklyn, New York in 1883. After
Friedrich's death in 1895 his son, Fred Gretsch Sr., took over
the business. He expanded the business in a new ten-storey
building on 60 Broadway Street.
Fred Gretsch Sr. handed over the
family business to his son, Fred Gretsch Jr., after retiring in
1942. Soon after taking over, Fred Jr. left to serve in WWII
leaving the business in the hands of his younger brother,
William "Bill" Gretsch. Bill Gretsch passed away in 1948 and the
company was again run by Fred Jr.
Fred Gretsch Jr. ran the company
until 1967 when Gretsch was sold to Baldwin Piano Co. In the
early 70's Baldwin moved drum production from Brooklyn, NY to a
plant in Arkansas. In 1982 the company was bought by Kustom
under the management of Charlie Roy. In 1983 the company
celebrated it's 100th anniversary with a line of limited edition
drums with a special finish and "centennial" badges signed by
Mr. Roy.
In 1985 The Gretsch company was
bought back by a member of the Gretsch family, Fred Gretsch III
(the son of the late William "Bill" Gretsch, and nephew of Fred
Jr.), who continues to own the company to this day (2008).
In the late 1980s Gretsch bought
the remnants of the Slingerland Drum company which was later
sold to Gibson (Gretsch retained the Leedy brand which had been
part of the Slingerland purchase). In 2000 Gretsch signed a
distribution deal with Kaman to distribute Gretsch drums and
this partnership has resulted in a much higher visibility of
Gretsch brand drums since that time.
In February of 2007, Kaman
purchased the right to manufacture Gretsch USA Custom and
Signature drums. They also purchased the majority of the
equipment used to make Gretsch drums. They now lease space from
Fred Gretsch in his Ridgeland building. The drums are being made
by the same people that have worked there for the last 10-15
years.
Fender purchased Kaman in 2008 and
now own the right to manufacture Gretsch guitars and drums.
[Source:
wikipedia]
http://www.scottymoore.net/gretschdrums.html
http://www.seven.tomaatnet.nl/
http://www.drumarchive.com/Gretsch/
http://www.vintagesnaredrums.com/gretsch.html
http://www.vintagesnaredrums.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-207.html
http://www.adrummerstradition.com/articles.html
http://www.drumsmith.com/archive/index.php/t-4875.html
http://www.maxwelldrums.com/index.php?cPath=134_135
http://www.vintagedrumguide.com/
Gretsh Drum
Catalogs
Gretsch web
site has a number of pdf catalogs
Gretsch drum
reference books
Gretsch Drums: The Legacy of That Great Gretsch Sound
Samples
http://www.simonvintagedrum.com/
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