Gretsch USA Custom - DARK WALNUT gloss finish

[KONA]

Has anyone seen or played on a Gretsch USA Custom kit that has a Dark Walnut finish?

I'm thinking of getting that finish and don't have access to the drums before placing my order. I have samples of that, and other finishes, on small 3x3 inch pieces of the Maple shells that the Canadian Gretsch rep. sent to me. I will probably go with that finish, but because of the expense for the 7 drum shell pack ($8,000 w/tax) I thought I'd ask if anyone has experience with these drums with that DARK Walnut finish.

I spent 4 hours in a large drum store on Saturday and looked closely at a lot of drums: DW (nice!), Gretsch Renown Maple Rosewood Lacquer finish (pretty nice), Yamaha Custom Oak - large kit - Silver Sparkle finish - wow! - nice drums!, and Taye Studio Maple - incredibley nice! I just left the store more confussed than ever................I may jump ship from Gretsch to Yamaha or Taye - I don't know.

Thoughts on the Dark Walnut Gretsch USA Custom?


Kona

[Chunkaway]

Didn't have that finish, but I bought a Gretsch USA Custom back in September. I sold them in January, which should tell you something.

The bearing edges were not properly cut-not smooth, not even, etc.. and the wrap on the drums was not applied correctly, which meant I could not get the heads on and off. (The kick drum head took me FIVE minutes to get off and on.) I wound up sending the drum set back to Grestch. They replaced the kick and fixed the edges, which made the kit actually playable-novel concept. I just was never happy with the sound of the kit, even after I got it back from Gretsch, so I sold it.

If I had to do it over again, I'd probably go with Pork Pie, Spaun, Tama Bubinga, DW or something of that quality. I do really like Taye as well, although I'm not a huge fan of their finishes. I played Yamaha for 15 years, so I am a fan of them as well, although I prefer their maple over oak.

[fusssion]

Has anyone seen or played on a Gretsch USA Custom kit that has a Dark Walnut finish?

I'm thinking of getting that finish and don't have access to the drums before placing my order. I have samples of that, and other finishes, on small 3x3 inch pieces of the Maple shells that the Canadian Gretsch rep. sent to me. I will probably go with that finish, but because of the expense for the 7 drum shell pack ($8,000 w/tax) I thought I'd ask if anyone has experience with these drums with that DARK Walnut finish.

I spent 4 hours in a large drum store on Saturday and looked closely at a lot of drums: DW (nice!), Gretsch Renown Maple Rosewood Lacquer finish (pretty nice), Yamaha Custom Oak - large kit - Silver Sparkle finish - wow! - nice drums!, and Taye Studio Maple - incredibley nice! I just left the store more confussed than ever................I may jump ship from Gretsch to Yamaha or Taye - I don't know.

Thoughts on the Dark Walnut Gretsch USA Custom?


Kona

WOW.....well, the first question is .....what kit sounded the best??? I can probably guess the answer ......"I couldn't tell really...." right ? :-)

Correct me if I'm wrong, but ....isn't Gretsch USA Custom their top of the line? I believe it is, ....and at that price, I would hope that you're going to "order" your kit piece by piece, unless however, they make a configuration that is your dream kit!

Make a list of all the pros and cons of each kit ........starting with the sound YOU LIKE best .......then go from there!

You have all maple kits in there except for the Yamaha (oak...totally different sounding drum) ......but anyhow.....take the time, weigh it out!

If it were me .......and I had 8k to spend on a kit .....it would all be based on sound...because at that price, ...you'll be getting a top of the line kit! Also.....I'd probably [ note: I said PROBABLY] lean toward a kit made here in the USA....

Good luck and have fun with it!

[YAMAHA DRUMMER]

The Gretsch USA Custom are great kits ... but i don't really like the sound ... the vintage Gretsch jazz kits are a different story ...
it all comes down to a personal taste ... so you can't ask what other drummers love... you should go out and play , feel and hear the kit , i'm a Yamaha fan , and i think that if you take all the reasons ... bearing edge , quality , sound , finish , hardware ... and price , you just can't go worng with Yamaha ... for me they are they best drums ever ...
i pick a Yamaha Birch Custom Absolute 2 yeas ago ...and it just amazing !! before Yamaha , i played on Pearl , Tama , DW , Sonor , Premier , Remo , PDP .... Yamaha just take over them all .
take care
and i hope you'll find what you're looking for .

[Chunkaway]

My Gretsch was American made. Poor quality control can happen in any country.

[KONA]

Thanks guys - I'm going for the Gretsch Renown Purewood African Mahogany 6 drum shell pack - die-cast rims and GTS mounts: 8x10 & 9x12 rack toms, 14x14 & 16x16 floor toms, 18x22 bass and a 5.5x14 snare - UV GLOSS finish all at less than 1/3 the price of what I was going to fork out for the USA Custom drums!

If I don't like them I'll keep them tucked away so my kids can sell them in 50 years for $100,000. In the mean time I'll probably buy a Taye Studio Maple kit (I played one on the weekend - really nice drums! - and had a chance to chat with an old friend: Ray Ayotte). The Yamaha customs where smashing (oak's nice).

Cheers,

Kona