Advice needed; Gretsch vs. Yamaha

[Randy walker]

John appears here and there on drums on many sessions. Is on Jason Scheff's solo cd, Lauren Scheffs new cd, he did Steve Lukather's first solo cd.

[chrisbrady]

Hello Danny,
If it wasn't for my freakish obsession or fear of having my only copy damaged, I would gladly pass along a copy to you. It sounds like you are pretty big Jeff fan. You might try calling Mark at Audiophile Imports. I picked up my copies from him. Randy actually went to school with the guy that wrote the book so he can tell you a lot of stories. I first became aware that "the book" existed when I was invited to go to one of the sessions for the Jeff Porcaro tribute CD. I got to go watch Gregg cut the tune "Big Bone" at Mad Hatter studios. During one of the breaks I noticed Gregg and Garfield checking out this book. When they finished looking at it I picked it up and flipped out. I wrote down all the info and the next day I called Mark at Audiophile to see if he could get it. He was able to import them and the rest it history.
Good luck on your search,
Chris
(Don't give up, you'll find a copy)

[Plaid]

Good God! The Gretsch Custom kit on massmusic.net is $3,921.60 for 10,12,14,16, and 22x18 sans snare!! That's unbelievable. (and massmusic's prices are great!)

[PencilZ]

Thers a white vinnie Sig kit in the uk price $6750 for a 10,12,14,16,22 & 14 snare.

That custom kit which, is what vinnies basically is... looks pretty cheap, as expensive as it is.

[five eight]

LOL, those white Gretsch drums do look cheap. I've seen Vinnie playing at least three other Gretsch kits: a natural finish set in the A Custom video; a red laquer kit; and one stained a brown so light it's almost orange. All of them look better, but I can't fault the way it sounds though, Vinnie did the live Karizma and Jing Chi records with the white set. Probably others.

[Randy walker]

The orange kit is indeed orange. I have seen it at The Spud and over at Drum Paradise.
The white signature kit is made no different than any other kit, just that it's a white laquer with black powder coated hardware.

[Plaid]

Guys, I'm not at all familiar with Gretsch's series of drums, and wanted to find out which ones are the ones that sound the best. In particular, I wanted to know what series Vinnie is using on his A Customs promo video for Zildjian. I love the way his toms sound. (it's not the white w/black hardware set). I'm assuming USA's and Customs are the best Gretsch sets? Help!

[Randy walker]

The kit in the Zildjian video is an older Gretsch. The customs would be the ay to go but just not sure anymore. I hear way to many mixed reviews of the newer Gretsch. Plus the new stuff is WAY over priced.

[XNavyDrummer]

Update:

Thanks again to everyone who gave their feedback on Gretsch and Yamaha drums. Last Tuesday, I picked up the 1980 Gretsch kit that LADanny referred to in his post. I carefully measured all of the shells to ensure that each shell was round (within a 32nd of an inch between several measurements of the diameter around the rim). The seller and I put the heads back on and I set them up and played them. The sound just jumped out at me. I did a session this evening and was totally pleased with the way the kit sounded and responded to my playing. The toms are very articulate with a smooth sound and the kick has an amazing low frequency resonance and punch that I've never head before. A few NAMM's ago, I played on the "Vinnie black and white kit" at the Gretsch booth. I was not impressed. But, the kit I just picked up is better than anything I expected (and I was expecting a lot!!).

Thanks again for all of your input,

Andy

[PencilZ]

Congrats on your purchase Andy. [img]smile.gif[/img]