Here is another rare one out of the collection: a 60’s Gracy snare drum. The term “rare” can be a bit subjective, but in the world of vintage MIJ stencils, you could say that all Gracy made drums are somewhat rare, being they were one of the smaller producers of drums. This drum in particular has a unique combination of hardware that further separates it from a common stencil.
The shells of most MIJ drums in this era were generally the same in design, a 3-ply Luan shell with reinforcement rings, possibly of Maple. To this day we don’t know what company started the trend of the 3-ply Luan (V-H-V), but everyone but Sakae followed it through most of the 60’s. (Notice that all of the original screws were flatheads.)
One of the biggest identifiers of Gracy drums is the use of the Gretsch style lugs, Gracy was the only manufacturer that chased after the Gretsch styling so closely. Now with Gracy, they had at least two variations of their snare drum lugs: the thinner lug which looks most like Gretsch and the wider one where the curved lines on the sides protrude by almost an 1/8”. This drum has the latter, which is likely the earlier of the two, and this one is loaded with six of these heavy-duty buggers.
Gracy over the years made at least three different hoop types: the triple-flange, the stick-save, and the very rare die-cast. Again the trend for most MIJ drums through the early to mid 60’s was the use of Slingerland style stick-savers, but each manufacturer had their own variation. The hoops from Gracy make a sharp roll inward and then goes in a straight line, kind of pointing across the drum head.
Most Gracy drums are seen with the Slingerland clamshell style strainer (Usually with a broken handle), but this one has a 3-point strainer, which is far more adjustable and durable. Note that Sakae also made one almost exactly the same with the only difference being the tab on the handle being on the opposite side.
The Tone control is nicely designed and well made, it has a pivot point between the knob adjustment and a tension spring. Because of this there is no bending of thin metal like most Japanese tone controls.
The Butt Plate is very common looking and resembles Pearl in styling. Not much to say here, it’s a butt.
The official name of the wrap is unknown, Star’s name for it is “Red Agate Pearl”, Slingerland called it “Red Tiger Pearl”, and Rogers called it Red Onyx Pearl. I personally like Red Onyx Pearl, and because it’s my drum, it’s Red Onyx Pearl.
The drum was at one point badged with a round badge, so it may have been a Gracy name brand or a stencil, but it doesn’t matter, it sounds the same either way. This picture is purely for your drum badge enjoyment!
For me this drum is a keeper, it has so many of the things I look for in a snare drum, thin shell, solid lugs, stick-saver hoops, a reliable strainer, and a stunning wrap. If you find a Gracy like this one out there, I highly recommend! This picture was from week 24 of 2023 in my Instagram series “Stencil Snare Saturday”. They are all still there at: https://www.instagram.com/marcpatchdrums !