From the 1920s through the 1950s, the Gretsch flagship drum set was the legendary Broadkaster Series.

It featured a thin, three-ply shell and produced what was to be, “That Great Gretsch Sound.” Today, in the Gretsch Drum Factory in Ridgeland, South Carolina, USA, the Broadkaster has returned, bringing with it all of the sonic brilliance of its namesake.

Broadkaster shells are made with our North American maple/poplar/maple formula. Each shell includes an interior-ply scarf joint that supplies added structural integrity to thin, musical shells. Like all USA-made Gretsch drums, shell interiors are finished with classic Gretsch Silver Sealer. The shell is hand finished with a roundover bearing edge, which allows greater surface contact between the bearing edge and drumhead. The result is tone that is incredibly deep, rich and warm.

Broadkaster toms and snare drums are outfitted with Gretsch’s “302” 3mm, double flanged steel hoops. These hoops are similar to “Stick Chopper” hoops used in the 1950s, but are constructed from a heavier gauge steel to stand up to today’s more assertive playing styles. The 302 hoop helps create a more open tone than a die-cast hoop and add ambient overtones to the overall tonal characteristic.

Broadkaster kits are available with two different hardware packages, standard and vintage. The Standard package includes heavy-duty Gretsch lugs, spurs, and straight-sided GTS tom suspension typical to Gretsch USA Custom and Brooklyn models. The Vintage hardware package features hardware component styles used on 1950s-era Gretsch kits, including drum mufflers, floor tom leg brackets, our re-designed Rail Consolette tom holder, Retractable spurs, bass drum T-rods, throw-off, key holder and Remo® Fiberskyn bass drum logo heads.

Like its legendary predecessors from the 1950s, today’s Broadkaster faithfully produces warm, dense and balanced tones. Thanks to the modern manufacturing advancements and finishing technology, today’s Broadkaster has even greater dynamic response and sonic presence than the originals.