Gretsch Drums

Friedrich Gretsch-1883 That's the sound, the anthem that began when Friedrich Gretsch, an immigrant from Mannheim Germany, founded a small shop in Brooklyn in 1883. He was to create a dynasty lasting to this day. Yet Friedrich Gretsch died unexpectedly in 1895 before he could see it bloom. Fred Gretsch- Energetic as he was enterprising, Fred Gretsch, Sr. built the business on a reputation for precision and quality. Two decades after he had assumed direction as the boy in knickers, he had moved the operation to a mammoth 10 story building at 60 Broadway in Brooklyn, where it remained until the company moved to Cincinnati, Ohio in 1972. From these headquarters he responding to the growing demand for more and more spacialized guitars: The first acoustics becoming popular with country western performers, the age of electronics.In 1935 Duke Kramer, joined the company. Today Duke Kramer is still a valued counsel to the company, the string that ties the generations together. He says, "That distinctive sound was our product, the sound that energized the market for decades."Fred Gretsch, Sr. retired from the company in 1942, his attire now the pressed suits of a successful businessman. His sons, Fred, Jr. and William "Bill" were well prepared to assume leadership. Both had been active in the business since 1927. Fred Gretsch, Jr. Command was again passed to Fred Gretsch, Jr. and the Navy veteran led the company into a new age of prosperity. The age of rock. It was the explosion of the music market begun by Elvis Presley and continued by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and many artists of the day. in 1967, the Gretsch Manufacturing Company was sold to Baldwin and a then, enterprising young Fred Gretsch vowed to return the company to the family. Eighteen years later, Gretsch became family owned once again. The great-grandson of Friedrich Gretsch made good on his vow and still leads the Gretsch company today.