Gretsch Catalina Jazz club

RemoteContact · Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 12:14 pm Post subject: Gretsch Catalina Jazz club

Hey drumdogs, this is my kit:

Standard Bop sizes with a 13"x6.5" tama snare (the ones that come with a free leather bag). The snare that comes with this kit IMHO stinks on ice. While the replacement snare is awesome, this is a gretsch post. This is my first gretsch kit. I've had it for about a year now. The kit mated up nicely with a pdp hardware pack that was on sale at GC at the time. The pedals took an hour or so to adjust and I haven't touched them since. They're not DWs but I trust them for my playing and gigging. I did however pick up some used 5000 series cymbal stands. Only the best for my plates. The heads were the biggest tonal upgrade to the kit. This set comes stock with "evans G1 coated" heads. I believe that this is a bit of a farce as I have some real evans g1 coated heads and they are mildly different than the "evans g1s" that come stock on the catalinas. I have coated ambassadors on the top and bottom of my toms, fiberskyns on both sides of the bass, snare batter and a 200 on the snare side. NIGHT AND DAY after good tuning. I do mostly combo stuff and in that environment I keep my toms tuned medium high along with the bass as almost a third tom. Soon I'm going to go back to a coated ambassador for the snare batter or maybe a diplomat weight fiberskyn. The FA head feels plasticky and too fake. I do like it on the bass though.

I use two 20" rides and 14" hats. The right side ride is flat. All of my cymbals are thin by today's standards. Comments, questions, concerns, suggestions... All are welcome and appreciated.

rritter · Posted: Wed Sep 05, 2007 8:15 am Post subject:

Odd tom placment. How do you like their sound, tone? I have heard a lot of good things about this kit, even good comments on the snare when tuned right.
_________________
Now playing Slingerland, Gretsch, & Sonor Drums
http://www.j4fmusic.com

RemoteContact · Posted: Wed Sep 05, 2007 2:06 pm Post subject:

Yeah, I've played for a long time with the normal tom placement but this one just works so much better for me. Another few shots of different angles would show it to be really not so weird. I have seen some of the snares and thought they were alright while in the store, I just think mine was a dog. If I got the bearing edges properly cut it would be loads better I'm sure. They're off kilter a good amount on the bottom. The tone (when tuned accordingly) is the traditional ping...pong of the bebop era. Thin shells keep resonance up. I'm sure though with some pinstripes and moongels it could be a nice portable rock kit as well.

Ive got a kind of lame quality but operational recording at

myspace.com/bercuexperience

rritter · Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2007 4:34 am Post subject:

What snare drum are you using on this recording? The drums sound great but the snare is flat sounding. I would think a higher tuned snare would sound so much better with the jazz you are playing. But a great sound kit non the less. As you said “Not Bad”. Oh yea great playing too.
_________________
Now playing Slingerland, Gretsch, & Sonor Drums
http://www.j4fmusic.com

bytor · Admin Joined: 12 Aug 2003 Posts: 5213 Location: Kansas

I really like that setup. It looks pretty sweet. The drums sound very nice, too. I don't think your snare sounds all that flat, but as you mentioned, going to a lighter batter head like a coated Ambassador or Diplomat Fiberskyn might give it a little more life. Very nice playing, by the way. I enjoyed it.

RemoteContact · Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2007 7:42 pm Post subject:

On the recording I am using a Tama 13" by 6.5" snare as pictured. The snares bottom head were kind of loose, but the main problem was that the sm57 I had on the snare was pointed at the rim edge of the head and not the center. I can't find any fiberskyn diplomats anywhere here so in time the snare batter will be switched to a coated ambassador. Nothing looks cooler than a worn in coated ambassador even though my brushes complain when they get worn down. I can't wait to get a good audio interface so I can actually hear the real sounds of my cymbals with all of their subtle wash.