Lets talk: Gretsch Catalina Club Jazz?

[byebyepanda]

I really love the look and sizes of these drums. Though, I prefer a 20x14 bass drum, this has a 18x14 BD.

Well, looking at the name, I can tell these are suitable for jazz (duh!) but I've been reading that the bass drum can sound like a 22" (width) bass drum with an EMAD and that you can play rock music.

I'm more into playing rock music so that's why this is a big concern to me to decide if this is a good drum set.

So how are these drums in your opinion?

[Porker69]

About an 18" bass drum, you can make them sound pretty big. On Saturday I had a short gig and I played on the guy's kit who was playing after me, he had an 18" set up with a remo powerstroke 3, it sounded great and much bigger than I would have thought. It was unmiked and after my set I was in the back of the venue and the kick still had alot of volume.

BTW the Gretsch bass drum is 18x16 not 18x14 and they make great drums so I'm sure it will sound good. But try out the kit before you buy it to make sure you like it.

Maybe try the Ludwig accent series for a 20" bass if your not happy with the gretsch

[byebyepanda]

Thanks for the reply!

The 18x16 are the Elite versions, not the Clubs. I'm more interested with a 14" depth.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Gretsch-Drums-Catalina-Club-Jazz-4-Piece-Shell-Pack?sku=445682

[crlujan]

BTW the Gretsch bass drum is 18x16 not 18x14 and they make great drums so I'm sure it will sound good. But try out the kit before you buy it to make sure you like it.

The older Catalina Elite had the 16x18 bass drum. The kit they offer now (Catalina Club) has the 14x18 bass drum.

These are decent cheaper kits. The Elite's were the better of the two; with birch shells. The Club's are mahogany. But if you're looking for a good looking, cheap kit; this might be okay for you. And, yes, the 18's sound bigger than you'd think.

[bballdrummer34]

That's the kit in my Avatar. You can pretty much make it sound how ever you want it to. I do use it for jazz mostly, but also for pop gigs. For me it doesn't have too many limits. But, if you're outside doing a rock gig, I wouldn't suggest it. I love it though. It's my baby.

[Porker69]

I havent checked out new Gretsch's in a while so I didnt know had changed the line.

[kung_f00]

If you're concerned about the bass drum, I would suggest taking a look at the Catalina Club Mod. In my opinion, the finishes are much nicer on the Club Jazz, but I think that the Mod's 20x22 bass drum would be much better suited for rock.

[Jusstickinaround]

http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/5755/0318071703gretsch1dp1.jpg
These are great little kits, you'd be surprised how good that kick can sound. The only thing I couldn't use to was the feel of the 18" kick, that's one of the reasons I traded it for my Ludwigs. If you can get use to the feel you can defintely play them in a rock band, especially if it's miked up.

[gretsch223]

I would definetely recommend this kit. I use it for all of my gigs and get a lot of compliments on the sound and the look. If you want an inexpensive kit that will give you a great sound, this is for you. With the right heads and tuning, you will not believe the sound you can get out them.

[Skitch]

If I were looking for a jazz kit, this is what I would get!


Mike

http://www.mikemccraw.com
http://www.dominoretroplate.com

http://www.youtube.com/drummermikemccraw
http://www.myspace.com/drummermikemccraw

[Terry Branam]

Yeah, actually just picked one up a couple weeks ago. I've played some gigs in various styles with them so far. From straight ahead to loungey pop to Tower of Power type funk. This kit sounds great!

The only thing I have found is that the snare drum isn't super responsive. I also got a lot of weird snare buzz in certain rooms. On the last gig I just played with it, I used my Yamaha birch snare, and that sounded really nice. I have a brazillian thing coming up and I'll probably stick with the birch snare.

Has anybody gotten the Catalina snare to sound great on this kit? I wonder if I got some Puresound snares happening or maybe deepen up the snare bed... Maybe that's the ticket.

Any luck out there?

This kit is really a steal for the price.

[byebyepanda]

This is one of my favorite drummers in this vid:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=vesCKnG2RMs

I was wondering if I could play this style of drumming and type of music with these jazz clubs?

[bballdrummer34]

Yea you might want to try the bigger bass drum ...

[EvanMatthiesen]

This is one of my favorite drummers in this vid:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=vesCKnG2RMs

I was wondering if I could play this style of drumming and type of music with these jazz clubs?

tera melos is rad man