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Thread: My USA Customs Were Assembled Here

  1. #1

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    Default My USA Customs Were Assembled Here

    On the third attempt to find the place where my Gretsch USA shells were built, I finally got it done.
    I was a music student in my sophomore year and walked into the music store one day like I used to do almost every weekend...............Arnold & Morgan Music, Dallas, Texas...............February, 1977.

    My sales rep told me he had something special come into the store.
    I followed him until he pointed out two new sets of Gretsch USA Customs set up on the sales floor.
    He told me he could order any sizes I wanted and they would be custom built and delivered in under 6 months............but, they were pricey.

    While they were gorgeous, I was turned off by the price tag.
    That was, until I did a bit of research and asked about these drums to all the players at music school.
    After a few weeks, I decided I'd look into the possibility of owning these gems.
    I haggled a deal out of the sales rep to trade in a terrific 8-pc. set of Ludwigs (the old Quadraplus DB kit.............'73 vintage, mahogany finish............comparable to today's Legacy model) and to add too much cash in order to get these drums.

    Sure enough, 6 months later, I get a call from the music store..............."Your drums are here...........bring a pick-up...........these boxes are big".
    The shipping labels gave me the following info.............BALDWIN PIANO COMPANY, GRETSCH DRUM DIVISION, BOONEVILLE, ARKANSAS".

    WTH is Booneville ?
    I had never been to Arkansas in my life...............I had no idea.
    Oddly, in 1982, I would take a job in Little Rock............also the year Baldwin goes bankrupt and sells off the Gretsch division.
    I would be sent to Booneville for business purposes twice over the next two decades and asking all around (a small) town, nobody could tell me where the drums were built in the '70s.

    So last week I had the need for another business trip and I was determined to find the place where my drums would have been built in 1977.
    I had learned that Gretsch had suffered two disastrous fires in the early '70s in Arkansas and thus built a new facility in 1976..............so in '77 it would have been in it's full glory and in optimal operation.
    After some research, I get an address..............bingo !

    Once I got there I found out that street name had changed a few years back.
    Anyway.................I found it............run down.............abandoned............39 years after she was born.
    No longer glorious................it is what it is...............


    Last edited by Ricardo; 01-13-2016 at 01:36 PM.
    Gretsch USA & Zildjian
    (What Else Would I Ever Need ?)


  2. #2

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    Default Re: My USA Customs Were Assembled Here

    Great bit of history. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

  3. #3

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    Default Re: My USA Customs Were Assembled Here

    If you ever give up on drums, you may have a moonlighting career waiting as a PI .......
    Percussion Investigator.
    -Brian

    "Too many crappy used drum stuff to list"

    Play the SONG......not the DRUMS!!!

    "I think that feeling is a lot more important than technique. It's all very well doing a triple paradiddle - but who's going to know you've done it? If you play technically you sound like everybody else. It's being original that counts." ~ John Bonham

  4. #4

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    that is awesome the amount of research and time you did! And to be able to travel to the original destination and factory is exciting. Even if closed and rundown it was the adventure in finding it that made the thrill! Way to go super sleuth

  5. #5

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    Default Re: My USA Customs Were Assembled Here

    Quote Originally Posted by late8 View Post
    Great bit of history. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
    Quote Originally Posted by N2Bluz View Post
    If you ever give up on drums, you may have a moonlighting career waiting as a PI .......
    Percussion Investigator.
    Quote Originally Posted by SpazApproved View Post
    that is awesome the amount of research and time you did! And to be able to travel to the original destination and factory is exciting. Even if closed and rundown it was the adventure in finding it that made the thrill! Way to go super sleuth
    LOL !
    Thank you all...............

    There is an odd connection..............this coming August I will have had those drums for 39 years...........(my wife thinks she has the record at 30 years ! HA !)

    These Gretsch assembly facilities are not palatial.
    Below is a photo of where I was told to park and enter the SC factory I visited last summer............same place late8's USA Customs were built.................

    Gretsch USA & Zildjian
    (What Else Would I Ever Need ?)


  6. #6

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    Default Re: My USA Customs Were Assembled Here

    Wow.

    Amazing

    Could you tell me where they were making them around 1983?

    I was sure that at one time they did a brief stint in Nashville TN as well, but I may be mistaken.

    all the best...

  7. #7

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    Default Re: My USA Customs Were Assembled Here

    Great story. Great shots. The last one is especially surprising. I guess it discourages crime if you look like you're a beat up company. Nobody would guess Gretsch drums are assembled there.
    Proudly playing:
    Doc Sweeney Drums
    A bunch of snares
    A bunch of cymbals

    Off-Set double pedals

    I think I love to play the drums simply because you get to hit 'em!!!

  8. #8

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    Default Re: My USA Customs Were Assembled Here

    Quote Originally Posted by kay-gee View Post
    Wow.

    Amazing

    Could you tell me where they were making them around 1983?

    I was sure that at one time they did a brief stint in Nashville TN as well, but I may be mistaken.

    all the best...
    You may be correct..............I remember a short time when Duke Kramer took it from Baldwin until the Gretsch family took back ownership in 1985 and established the SC facility.
    Kramer may have kept operation in Arkansas until 1985.

    Quote Originally Posted by Johnny G View Post
    Great story. Great shots. The last one is especially surprising. I guess it discourages crime if you look like you're a beat up company. Nobody would guess Gretsch drums are assembled there.
    When I went to take the tour at the SC facility, I drove past the place twice because you are exactly correct. In fact, it was predominantly a residential neighborhood with an elementary school down the street.

    I pulled up into a dirt driveway and saw a guy taking some trash out to the bin..............he asked me if he could help and I told him I was looking for the Gretsch facility............he informed me that is where we were.
    It looked like it might be empty except for 10 or 12 cars parked out front.

    When I got inside it was a different story....................
    Keller shells stacked everywhere and the different stations reflecting the stages of assembly..............it was a great tour.
    All of the employees are highly skilled and friendly.
    The entire operation is one plant manager and 13 employees.
    They build all the USA Customs and all the Brooklyns.
    Gretsch USA & Zildjian
    (What Else Would I Ever Need ?)


  9. #9

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    There has to be a stray badge hiding in a floor board or under a tile somewhere. I think some inside late night recon is required : )
    Ludwig Classic Maple 22x16,10x8,12x9,16x16
    7" Moon Gel Practice Pad
    Sabian HHX Legacy

    Decide whether this is love for the craft or simply an ego thing

    http://www.redskymary.com/ NOT MY BAND, JUST A GREAT LOCAL BAND WHO SHOULD BE SOOO MUCH BIGGER IMO

  10. #10

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    Default Re: My USA Customs Were Assembled Here

    Cool story!

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