Gretsch Renown and Catalina Club

Any opinions on these drums? How do the Renown sound in comparison to the USA Maple or Pearl MMX series?

What about these lil' Catalina Club kits? Anyone using them for recording?

Thanks,
ray

Personally,I love the Renown series. I've played on quite a few of them and I've never been disappointed. The same goes for the Catalina's. I haven't recorded with the Catalina's but I have used them live. Keller had a booth at NAMM with a mahogany kit and the drums sounded amazing. Just about any drum will sound good with the right head combination and tuning. I would suggest checking them out for yourself. Only you can decide if they are right for you.
Good luck!

I have the Catalina Club kit (12", 14", 18", 22") and have recorded with them. The main thing I had to do was remove all the lugs and stuff the springs with foam to reduce the noise. The actual drum sound is great. Very happy with this kit, especially at such a low price. I changed the heads to Remo coated Ambassadors right away though.

They sound great tuned as a bebop kit, or tuned low for a pop/rock sound. The snare is VERY warm and sounds best tuned up as high as possible just before choking.

I would SERIOUSLY look at the current Pacific kits too. GREAT price for a LOT of drum.

Hope this helps.

Danny

Thanks guys.

Catalinas: I'm not sure what you mean by "stuff the springs with foam". Do the drums have a buzz from the rims?

Renowns: I was thinking of getting a set of these to use for recording. The only other kit I own is an old Ludwig vistalite kit.

i just got the renowns myself about a week ago and used it playing live this past sunday. they are marvelous. the drum sound was huge even though i didn't even use mics. i'm very glad i got them. they are pretty much identical to the usa maple kits but for a lot less money. the snare isn't that great though. i'm not that big on wood snares for backbeat music anyway. i suggest, like ladanny did, changing your heads with coated remos. i dunno why but to me gretsch drums sound the best with coated batter heads. can't wait to record with them.

i've never heard a good sounding dw kit before.

By stuffing the lugs, I mean taking them off the drums, removing the internal spring, and stuff the spring so it doesn't rattle. This was VERY common in the early days. Yes, I found that the drums resonated so much, the springs inside the lugs buzzed.

Good luck!