SeriesGretsch Catalina

I'm 52 and have been playing drums off and on since I was 10. My first set was a Slingerland Radio King, and like a first love it holds a special place in my heart. In my career I have played rock jazz and country. I don't have a preferance except that the people I play with have to want to play, and not necessarily be great, but really enjoy making good authentic music. When my daughter experessed an interest in the drums we went shopping and found this Gretsch Catalina Birch shell pack in sunbusrt fade online at musicianfriend.com for $425. I never bought anything like that online before but I couldn't pass up a deal like that. Haven't seen it that low before or since. I like just about everything about this set. It looks great and sounds great. It seems cliche when I say it sounds like sets costing hundreds more, but it really does, and itas looks and feels like a much more expensive set than it is. There are only two things I don't like about this set: The 12 " tom has only 5 lugs each top and bottom instead of 6. This made tuning it a bit tricky, but it still sound great. The other is that the shells seem to be kind of soft and will dent if you bang your drums together, I would definitely recomend rim bumpers Although this set is made in Taiwan or somewhere over there, the quality is 1st rate. The hardware is very strong, easy to adjust, and stays where you set it, even under hard playing. Once the set is tuned it sounds great, but a little ringy. That was easlily fixed with a set of damper rings, and now sounds awesome. I would definately recommend this set for any level drummer. Even for beginners, It could very possibly be the only drum set you or your child would want to own. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I got this set at a local official Gretsch dealer, supposedly the number one dealer in new jersey or sumthing like that. I paid 828 dollars for the shell pack including two floor toms, mount tom, snare, and bass drum. the 26 inch bass drum, if uned correctly and hit hard, sounds very nice. A low, deep and resonant tone. The mount om too sounds very warm as the other floor toms. The snare is very loud and powerful The 18" floor tom is a little big, and i would have preferred a 16" and a 14". Also the evans head that come with the set dont sound very good with the set, i recommend the remo weatherking ebony pinstripe for the toms. And an aquarian superkick for the kick drum. I also recommend mini Emads for the toms and snare, these restrict the overtones. The construction is done very well, only problem is the wrap is a little loose on the bass, but everything is fine on the other drums. Great Set, Beautiful, Perfect but recommend different head. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Late spring in 2009 I bought the Gretsch Catalina Club Mod 4-piece kit off a friend when he upgraded to a Shine kit. The shells look amazing. I have the silver sparkle with black stripes and it's one of the most aesthetically pleasing kits I have used. The wrapping looks really nice and I cannot see any cosmetic flaws. The rings are black and they don't get marked up. I have no visible wear or discolouration at all. Really remarkable, as it's a very used drum kit. It holds it's tuning very well. I play with Evan's hydraulic heads on the toms and an Evan's power center head on the snare. The hi tom actually sounds really deep. The floor tom is the same. Really impressive. I have an Aquarian Super Kick I on the bass drum and that thing is just insane. Sounds really, really good. The kit overall is just really well built and mine sounds phenomenal. I have no real reason to upgrade from this kit, I just don't see justification unless I want something with fusion type toms, but for what I play it's perfect. I play a lot of R&B and hip hop on this kit and it does the job perfectly. It's also very good for rock and metal music. I've seen guys play hardcore punk on the same kit. I have absolutely no complaints about this drum kit. I'd probably go as far to say that if something were to happen to this one I will be buying another. It's not bad pricing, the quality is outstanding. I've had 4 or 5 other drum kits and I have played on more than I can count. This one feels just right though. For a 4-piece kit I don't know how it could get any better, just simply remarkable.

The Gretsch Catalina Club is an extremely fun kit to play. It is so small, but can produce considerable volumes with proper technique and tuning if necessary. I first played this at my friends house, and this was the first kit he ever owned. We had a lot of fun putting on new heads and tuning it up. Because it has such small sizes, and is primarily a jazz kit, we put fiberskyn drum heads on all the drums to produce a richer jazz sound. The result was perfection. The toms sounded super warm and ringy, in a good way of course. The bass drum had just the right amount of punch, and the snare cracked like it was 30 years old. The drums were so responsive to brushes and hot rods witht he fiberskyn heads that they were all I wanted to play. The hardware is reasonable stable, nothing amazing. One small issue I had with this setup is that because the drums are so small, if you are used to playing with a lot of space (like I am), the distances of the drums from eachother seem immense. This isn't a really big deal, especially if you like tighter set ups anyways. The kit that I played had the ebony crystal shells, and it was truly breathtaking. All the different shell variations have great, retro looking wraps. I am a huge fan of all Gretsch drums, from the beginning up. However, I think that this is my current favorite because of the affordability and uniqueness. For anyone looking to get into jazz, this is the kit for you. If you play this, it makes you feel like Joe Morello whether you like jazz or not. Truly one of the most entertaining kits I have ever played. It is also so small and convenient to travel with that it can serve the same purpose as other small gig kits. The Taye go kit is an excellent option for portability, but for a lower price and better jazz capability this is a great option.

(Originally written by Morrow/translated from Audiofanzine FR) - How long have you been using it? Since I started out about 3 months ago. - Which feature do you like the most / the least? Maple is good for you! ... and the depth of the drum shell to get a full and round tone. - Did you try any other models before buying it? Only toy snare drums ;-) - How do you rate the value for money ratio? I don't have a clue. I would say rather good considering it's made out of maple - Based on your experience, would you buy this product again?... Yes A more experienced drummer played my drum kit and said it sounded nice... Good sound projection...

I have been using the Gretsch Catalina Maple series for about 4 months and I am blown away. The finish on the drums is astounding, and the Maple hoops on the bass drum add another coat to it. The triple flange hoops and hideaway bass drum lugs make this seem like a fortress. I have used Pearl Exports, OCDP Newports and DW drum kits, and the configuration and tone of this kit was my favorite. The snare is an added treat, as it is very deep, giving it good resonance and attack. I changed to a Remo Black Suede head and a Puresound 30 strand snare wire, and I will never need or want a new snare. You can a tight, focused attack out of it, or I use it for the dark, deep resonance used in more melodic songs. The 10” tom was a little hard to get used to at first, but when transitioned off of it onto the 12” tom, the duo sound amazing. I use Evans EC2 coated heads on both of the toms, and they sound great. The 10” can be down tuned to get a deeper sound than what it starts off with. The 12” I keep tuned in a mid range and it sounds great for the style of music I play. The drum mounting system also takes some getting used to, as it is a ball hinge sort of deal. The dual floor toms make the set look like a beast. They add a dark clarity to the set if that’s what you use them for. The legs have yet to come loose on me, which on my earlier sets I had that problem. The 16” is very deep and melodic, while the 14” is more punchy. My absolute favorite part of the drum set is the Kick drum. The kick has an amazing tone and has a lot of deep growl, even with the stock heads. I use an Aquarian Superkick 2 on mine and it makes this the absolute must have drum. It sounds far better than almost all other bass drums I have heard. This kick is a cannon, and sounds amazing whether playing Blaze or Break beats. Over all, I would say that this kit is the best deal I’ve stumbled across in a long time. I would definitely buy this kit again if I had the option.

Gretsch’s Catalina Club Jazz kits are great. Not only are they reasonably priced but they sound great. When I first saw this kit at my local music store the thing that really did it for me was the finish. A classic silver sparkle and a classic white pearl. Visually these kits resemble the famous Grestch drums from the past played by pros like Elvin Jones or Jimmy Cobb. I was surprised to find a mid-level kit with an 18’ kick as well. It’s hard to come by a good intermediate drum set that is well suited for jazz. Almost none of the other major companies make 12” x 8” toms or 18” x 14” bass drums in the intermediate series. I finally got the sit down at the kit and play it and it sounded amazing. When I went to compare buying other drums the only option I had was to buy a kit sized for a child or order my drums independently. I was pleased with looks, and sound, but now onto the hardware components of the kit. The tom mount was your typical Gretsch mount, it would have been nice to not have the mount and mount the tom of the cymbal or to complete the retro-fitted drum kit to add a rail mount like 50’s and 60’s kits had. Otherwise the floor tom legs were nice and had a good retro appeal to them and the included bass drum riser was great. If you get the optional hardware pack you usually end up getting some flimsy hardware not suitable for very much. I would recommend buying the kit as a shell pack like I did. Overall, I think this kit is best thing out there for the working jazz musician. If you cant afford to go buy a custom kit where you really can get jazz sized toms and bass drums it’s in your best interest to buy this kit. Buy this kit and you will not be disappointed!