Official Gretsch Drums Thread

[Gretsch>All&Everythang]

Switched it up recently from this:

View attachment 607079

To this:
View attachment 607080

And had enough left over for this:

View attachment 607081
View attachment 607082

Was going to go vintage Gretsch, but my initial attempt didn’t work out, and Maxwell’s had basically exactly what I would order if I ordered a new USA Custom (progressive jazz sizes, no snare, millennium maple satin finish, no mounting hardware on anything) and they gave me a sweetheart deal. Stoked!

Congrats on the new Gretsch!

Deets on the old stamp?!

Curious, did you trade in your old Gretsch to Maxwells? I’ve been thinking of trading my Brooklyns in for a Broadkaster bop kit but figured I would get lowballed.

 

[dingaling]

The Gretsch holy grail kit.
(Interesting he thinks the older Gretsch kits are more responsive than new ones. I don’t find that to be the case myself but maybe it varies by kit)

 

[Acidwash]

Congrats on the new Gretsch!

Deets on the old stamp?!

Curious, did you trade in your old Gretsch to Maxwells? I’ve been thinking of trading my Brooklyns in for a Broadkaster bop kit but figured I would get lowballed.

Thanks! Sold the old kit on Reverb. Man, packing that five piece and the beato bags was an undertaking! The fella that bought it actually tried to take it to Maxwell’s after the sale, but he wouldn’t touch it because the bass drum is 16” deep. No cannons in Jazz I guess. From a purely buying standpoint, Maxwell’s always does pretty right by me. They must not be too bad on trade ins, because they get quite a few nice used kits in.

 

[dustjacket]

Maxwells is taking preorders…

 

[GretschMan61]

Maxwells is taking preorders… View attachment 607545

I would never buy a USA Custom without the diecast hoops . It would not sound like a Gretsch kit without them .

 

[dustjacket]

I would never buy a USA Custom without the diecast hoops . It would not sound like a Gretsch kit without them .

I would if it came with die cast hoops as well. 2 kits in one.

 

[bigbonzo]

I would never buy a USA Custom without the diecast hoops . It would not sound like a Gretsch kit without them .

Gretsch has a new tremendous sound...one could say!

 

[Mcjnic]

And here it is.
My first “Real” Gretsch.

It‘s an early 80s Gretsch kit in Red RoseWood.
22, 13, 16
I paired it with a neato old Tama King Beat snare … one of my all-time faves.
I swapped out the tom bracket for an INDE and the tom pole for an old Tama.
Add in a set of Tama’s Classic hardware and some warm cymbals … well, it plays very nice.
Very satisfying deep resonant punch and great feel.
Thank you to a wonderful member here for working with me on this deal.
It is a sweet kit.


For the curious …
15 Paiste Formula 602 Modern Essential Hats
22 Meinl Byzance Traditional Medium Ride
17 Meinl Byzance Traditional Thin Crash
20 Paiste Formula 602 Modern Essential Crash
14 Stagg Splash
19 Meinl Byzance Traditional Medium Thin Crash
20 Meinl Byzance Traditional Medium Crash

 

[dingaling]

And here it is.
My first “Real” Gretsch.

It‘s an early 80s Gretsch kit in Red RoseWood.
22, 13, 16
I paired it with a neato old Tama King Beat snare … one of my all-time faves.
I swapped out the tom bracket for an INDE and the tom pole for an old Tama.
Add in a set of Tama’s Classic hardware and some warm cymbals … well, it plays very nice.
Very satisfying deep resonant punch and great feel.
Thank you to a wonderful member here for working with me on this deal.
It is a sweet kit.


For the curious …
15 Paiste Formula 602 Modern Essential Hats
22 Meinl Byzance Traditional Medium Ride
17 Meinl Byzance Traditional Thin Crash
20 Paiste Formula 602 Modern Essential Crash
14 Stagg Splash
19 Meinl Byzance Traditional Medium Thin Crash
20 Meinl Byzance Traditional Medium Crash



View attachment 608132 View attachment 608134

Can’t go wrong with the square badge. Vinnie C has several square badge kits, Gary Novak has one in rosewood, Bill Stewart’s bop kit, and several studio drummers swear by them. Hip to be square.

 

[Gretsch>All&Everythang]

Can’t go wrong with the square badge. Vinnie C has several square badge kits, Gary Novak has one in rosewood, Bill Stewart’s bop kit, and several studio drummers swear by them. Hip to be square.

Congrats on the kit @Mcjnic! That’s a beauty

I am getting ready to pick up an 18/12/14 square badge in blue glass glitter. Along with 2 other Gretsch Pics soon!

 

[Mapex Always]

And here it is.
My first “Real” Gretsch.

It‘s an early 80s Gretsch kit in Red RoseWood.
22, 13, 16
I paired it with a neato old Tama King Beat snare … one of my all-time faves.
I swapped out the tom bracket for an INDE and the tom pole for an old Tama.
Add in a set of Tama’s Classic hardware and some warm cymbals … well, it plays very nice.
Very satisfying deep resonant punch and great feel.
Thank you to a wonderful member here for working with me on this deal.
It is a sweet kit.


For the curious …
15 Paiste Formula 602 Modern Essential Hats
22 Meinl Byzance Traditional Medium Ride
17 Meinl Byzance Traditional Thin Crash
20 Paiste Formula 602 Modern Essential Crash
14 Stagg Splash
19 Meinl Byzance Traditional Medium Thin Crash
20 Meinl Byzance Traditional Medium Crash



View attachment 608132 View attachment 608134

I just LOVE that purple color with those gold lugs!! Beautiful drum set!!

Wow!

















Oh yea , the one in the middle is nice too

 

[Mcjnic]

I just LOVE that purple color with those gold lugs!! Beautiful drum set!!

Wow!


Oh yea , the one in the middle is nice too

Very cool.
And appropriate.
You put a smile on my face with that deep appreciation for Mapex.
The Orion's are a very nice kit.
They play well and I love the sound.
And it doesn't hurt that they are easy on the eyes.

 

[GiveMeYourSmallestSticks!]

Not to cannibalize the latest drum purchase thread, but I figured this belonged here as well. Just sold my Gretsch Brooklyn kit today, and used the cash to replace it with this USA Custom kit (13, 16, 18, 24). This came with the signed paperwork from Steve Maxwell, and apparently this was the first set in these sizes to be made using his espresso burst wrap. More importantly, it's in mint condition and tricked out with all the vintage hardware I could hope for. It also fulfills my long quest to attain "that great Gretsch sound"!

 

[Skeet6]

Even though I posted one in post #518, (my silver glass 1963) can I post two more kits?
Here's my Broadkaster 7x10/8x12/14x14/14x18/5.5x14 (matching snare not shown)
Mike B

 

[Skeet6]

And one more... recently picked up this fully restored orphan kit, restored by Bonzo Drums. New addition since getting this kit as a 3 piece was the 16x18 floor tom bought as rosewood, torn down and painstakingly cleaned each piece... and recovered by Precision to match. BTW the 16x18 4 legged thing is a BEAST. 13/16/18/22
BD is round badge, 13 and 18 are Drop G, and 16 is SSB.

Mike B

 

[Klyde]

I’m just here for the beer…I mean beautiful pics.

 

[Gretsch>All&Everythang]

Not to cannibalize the latest drum purchase thread, but I figured this belonged here as well. Just sold my Gretsch Brooklyn kit today, and used the cash to replace it with this USA Custom kit (13, 16, 18, 24). This came with the signed paperwork from Steve Maxwell, and apparently this was the first set in these sizes to be made using his espresso burst wrap. More importantly, it's in mint condition and tricked out with all the vintage hardware I could hope for. It also fulfills my long quest to attain "that great Gretsch sound"!

View attachment 608659 View attachment 608660

That’s a beauty. I’ve never played a 24, how do you like it?

 

[dingaling]

Even though I posted one in post #518, (my silver glass 1963) can I post two more kits?
Here's my Broadkaster 7x10/8x12/14x14/14x18/5.5x14 (snare not shown)
Mike B
View attachment 608684
View attachment 608681

That finish with that hardware looks sharp. Plus you have the 10” tom, nice!

 

[GiveMeYourSmallestSticks!]

That’s a beauty. I’ve never played a 24, how do you like it?

I switched because I much prefer the feel of a 24" to 18"s and 20"s, especially in a 14" depth. With dynamics and tuning I can control it and get it sounding smaller, but the depth, resonance, tuning range and feel (to me) are preferable. I like all the bigger sizes I got because I like to tune pretty high at times, but would like to retain the lower pitch and body of a low tuned drum. The drums have the best rebound and feel of any drum I've played, and I can keep the batters tuned a bit tighter for response without losing body and low end. The bass drum goes as open and beautifully boomy as you're likely to want, but the felt strip (Pratt?) adjustable mufflers and porting can get the sound as focussed as you'd want. I prefer not to fill my bass drum, but it's always an option I guess.

I have two kits now, a Ludwig Classic maple 13", 15" and 24", as well as this Gretsch kit. They're completely different beasts, but I'm personally sold on the benefits of the 24". Truth be told though, I've also considered what it might take to use my 18" x 16" as a bass drum without having to permanently modify it. Not feeling any rush to do so though, and don't really have the need for such a thing at the moment.

Anyhow, clearly I'm sold on 24s, I'd recommend trying one if you can.

 

[GretschMan61]

Not to cannibalize the latest drum purchase thread, but I figured this belonged here as well. Just sold my Gretsch Brooklyn kit today, and used the cash to replace it with this USA Custom kit (13, 16, 18, 24). This came with the signed paperwork from Steve Maxwell, and apparently this was the first set in these sizes to be made using his espresso burst wrap. More importantly, it's in mint condition and tricked out with all the vintage hardware I could hope for. It also fulfills my long quest to attain "that great Gretsch sound"!

View attachment 608659 View attachment 608660

I had a 20/12/14 kit on that finish back in 2014 - it is one of the coolest wraps .