Music Trade Shows 1994-2024
Gretsch
The Music City Drum Show was my first attendance to a music trade event in 30 years, since the 1994 Namm Show in Los Angeles.
The Music City Drum Show was like a compact Namm for drummers. Without stopping for conversation. You could navigate the Nashville Show floor in 20 minutes.
The Nashville Fairgrounds venue was fantastic with easy load in and parking. I’ve exhibited at shows, waiting in my vehicle to get my turn to unload.
There are several things I observed in 2024 that’s different from 30 years ago. Pertaining to: (Manufacturers, vendors of drum and percussion equipment.
The years I was a manufacturers representative (1986-1994) the popularity of product lines was always a contest. In drum brands, Tama, Pearl and Yamaha were strong sellers. Ludwig, Premier and Sonor had their percentage. The boutique drum manufacturers at the time were Noble and Cooley and a couple Orchestra snare drum builders.
Zildjian, Sabian and Paiste were the cymbal brands. In 2024, alternative effect cymbals are very popular. Crazy bent cymbals with holes are everywhere.
Cymbals from Turkey, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and the USA) I recently watched a very interesting video of cymbals made in Brazil.
In the 90s, Istanbul had a booth at Namm, where I met Mel Lewis.
Sticks, mallets and brushes were by Regal Tip, Pro Mark and Vic Firth. Vader and a few others were options. In 2024 there a many stick makers.
I used Trueline sticks before I discovered Joe Porcaro’s “Diamond Tip” sticks, which I loved. Not to mention he was a great person, drummer and percussionist. I loved hearing Joe with Emil Richards in the Paiste sound booth. I also heard Joe’s son Jeff.
Several of the drum companies I mentioned are still dominant.
Rogers had a booth at the Nashville show with a beautiful choice of snare drums and kits. Premier, Dixon and WFL-III were in attendance. George Way had a booth.
Vintage drum supply shops are a welcome resource for parts. Plastic drumhead alternatives are available.
In 2024, there are many custom snare drums, kits and cymbal makers to drool over.
After discovering Elvin and Tony in the early 70s, I traded in my oversize Rogers red sparkle for a custom ordered Gretsch 4-piece Walnut kit. (I failed to order it with bass drum spurs. They were an option)
I began practicing hand to foot triplets I thought Elvin and Tony were playing. What happened to 4 on the floor solos? Wipe Out, Teen Beat and Caravan? Tony’s Ego and Emergency records dominated my turntable.
My smaller drums with 2 heads and that Gretsch metal snare drum sounded great, when I was “In The Shed”
(But, I was still employed as a backbeat Top 40 drummer with zero technique.
I spent all of my gig money on drumheads (Evans Hydraulic) trying to get a sound that pleased me, and the Top 40 bandleaders I was working for.
They began to question what happened to the drum sound they were comfortable with. The dampened bass drum, bigger drums with and without bottom heads. A snare drum that popped the 2 and 4 like the record)
Was I becoming a “jazz” person? From 1967 to 1973, I had no problem identifying as a back beat commercial drummer.
If I would have been more in tune with Charlie Watts, how he played and tuned his Ludwig and Gretsch kits, I would have been ok. But, I was shifting my listening playlist to abstract free players, Alphonse Mouzon, Eric Gravatt, Tony Oxley, Don Moye, Barry Altschul, Sirone, Horace Arnold.
I was playing in St. Petersburg and heard Majid Shabazz. He had moved to St. Pete from NYC. He was on several Pharoh Sanders records. He was the first drummer I ever heard that had that tight open sound. He was playing a Round Badge 4-piece set of Gretsch with what were probably authentic Zildjian K’s.
In 2024, there are many players that have returned to a simple 4-piece sound. They tune their drums higher and occasionally have a front “bass drum” head without a hole in it.
(Keith Carlock – Mark Guiliana are 2 of my favorites)
Steve Jordan has done a great job replicating Charlie’s sound and feel.
When I started my independent music representative business in 1986, Rickenbacker, Furman, Rocktron, Renkus-Heinz and Gretsch were my first legitimate product lines.
Upon getting the Gretsch sales rep gig, I immediately began to examine my sales potential of product to dealers.
Mr. Fred Gretsch had recently purchased and opened the Gretsch facility in Ridgeland, S.C.
What I discovered was, there were only a couple authorized drum dealers in Florida. (Thoroughbred Music in Tampa, Resurrection Drums and Modern Music in Fort Lauderdale.
Young, hungry, energetic and ready to get going and make some money, I visited the Ridgeland plant. (This is what I remember) The company was basically Mr. Gretsch, (Lowell) the sales manager that hired me, and an accountant. There were a few employees in the drum making area)
My introduction to that 1986 Gretsch product line included Gretsch Guitars, Gretsch Drums and Sho-Bud pedal steel guitars. Bacon Banjos may have also been on the to-do list.
There was also the import Blackhawk acoustic and electronic drums.
I remember lugging my heavy suitcase with Gretsch Blackhawk electronic brain and pads through the Orlando International and Los Angeles airports on my way to Namm. Even in my 30s it was brutal.
The 1986 Gretsch drum inventory included stacks of plain and stained shells. There was a skeleton crew on a few machines. They seemed to be learning the process. I noticed a wall with a poster size sheet, numbered color codes for the various finishes.
In boxes, scattered about the plant were actual drums. I’m sure those came from the previous location in DeQueen, Arkansas. (The Charlie Roy period?)
From that 1986 stock, I began assembling complete drum sets for sales to dealers.
That 1986 inventory, in 2024, would be the most valuable vintage Gretsch collection in the world.
During my 1986 tour with Lowell, the sales manager, I noticed something in a dark corner. I was told it was the Slingerland machinery. That product line is still a mystery to me. Especially if it was the classic steam bent Radio King brand)
I shared some of this story at the Gretsch booth, Music City Drum Show with Terry Bissette.
When I met Terry in the 80s, he was managing the Modern Music Drum Shop in Fort Lauderdale. Terry’s skills led him to executive positions with Tama and Ludwig. Terry is now Vice-President of sales (Gretsch Drums-percussion) at GEWA Music USA.
I also met Paul Cooper at the Gretsch booth. I’d recently watched a great YouTube video where Paul gives a fantastic tour of the Gretsch drum making process.
It’s amazing how the company has risen to the top. Much different from my first visit 30+ years ago)
In the 80s, vintage drums weren’t much of a brand. Guitars were collectable and prices continue to climb.
I bought my nephews 1965 Ludwig Super Classic, Super-Sensitive snare, two floor toms, in a Florida music store for a few hundred dollars.
Today, anything Gretsch, Rogers, Ludwig, Leedy, Fibes, Camco, Slingerland, Leedy Ludwig, Corder, Conn and others are high on buyers and sellers radar.
I believe the vintage market has increased Drummers knowledge of the production process. 3 Ply, 6 Ply, Radio King, COB, Jasper Shells, Keller Shells, Steam Bent etc.
In my opinion, the history of Gretsch, Round Badge or Stop Sign Badge has added to the mystic of the brand.
That Great Gretsch Sound from the past has become more recognizable and welcome in modern drum recording.
(Tuning may be different (lower) than the Blue Note recordings of Max, Art, Elvin and Tony. But, smaller sized 4-piece kits are more present than I experienced through the 80s and 90s) (With Exceptions)
I jokingly ask Paul Cooper about current inventory, if there were any 1983 Centennial kits. I knew the answer, absolutely not. He told me he had few personal snare drums from those 3 finishes. (Birdseye Maple-Dark Walnut-Carpathian Elm)
I wish I still owned the Carpathian Elm kit I purchased for a “ridiculous” price back then. They had a unique version of “That Great Gretsch Sound”
BaDaBoo
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