My new Gretsch Catalina Maple

[Bram]

Hello,

I changed the setup of my Gretsch Catalina Maple:

22 x 18" bassdrum
14 x 6" snaredrum
10 x 8" tomtom
12 x 9" tomtom
14 x 14" floortom
16 x 16" floortom
20" Paiste Alpha full ride
14" Paiste Alpha medium hi hat
14" Paiste Alpha medium crash
16" Paiste Alpha medium crash
10" Sabian B8 splash
All the new hardware is Gibraltar 5600 series.
The bassdrumpedal is Gibraltar Prowler.

The first 2 pics are from my "official" kit, as i bought it.
The last 2 pics are from my new kit combined with my homemade piccolo's and my 12x10" tom, but without the splash, because I use cymbalstands for my toms.
The 16" crash stands on my old hi hat, and the ride on my old cymbal stand.
The setup is inspired by Neil Peart.

[GRUNTERSDAD]

Congrats on Joining the Gretsch Family of Drummers. Looks great.

[bojangleman]

very nice man! looks great!

all those drums and no double pedal?...man...thats unheard of..lol :p

the gretsch's look very nice!

Alex

[Bram]

very nice man! looks great!

all those drums and no double pedal?...man...thats unheard of..lol :p

the gretsch's look very nice!

Alex

I have 2 bassdrums, so at home I don't need a double pedal, and when I have to play somewhere else, there is usually already a drumset.

[mikei]

That is a SWEET looking set you have there.

I played one of these at GC and it really sounded good.

Congrats and GREAT purchase.

Mike

[bojangleman]

ahh...didnt see the black kick....alright...gotcha...

what kind is the black set?

Alex

[Bram]

It is a red kit, and it's a very old Pulse.
I had never heard of it, before I bought that one of a friend.

[slingerland755]

How do you like the Paiste Alpha's?

[Bram]

They sound very good.

[stasz]

Awesome! Finish looks great and love the alphas. I once used a catalina maple snare as a last-minute replacement once for a gig and was highly impressed, even with the stock heads. Very crisp and articulate with nice body. The work you put into this kit with new heads and tuning will be more than worth it.

[Mr. Pasquini]

Beautiful kit, and huge combination! good find!

[Bram]

Awesome! Finish looks great and love the alphas. I once used a catalina maple snare as a last-minute replacement once for a gig and was highly impressed, even with the stock heads. Very crisp and articulate with nice body. The work you put into this kit with new heads and tuning will be more than worth it.

I think I'm not going to change the heads now, because they sound very good like this, but I don't know if I can get the Gretsch heads when I hit trough one, so then I'm maybe going to change all of them.
Does somebody have ideas what kind of heads I can use the best for rock / hardrock??
On my old set, I had Remo ambassador.

[gconyers]

Gorgeous drums- enjoy them!

[Class A Drummer]

Amazing. Catalinas are so great. 3 floor toms kick ass my friend haha

[Bram]

Awesome! Finish looks great and love the alphas. I once used a catalina maple snare as a last-minute replacement once for a gig and was highly impressed, even with the stock heads. Very crisp and articulate with nice body. The work you put into this kit with new heads and tuning will be more than worth it.

Does somebody have ideas for what kind of heads I can use for rock/hardrock?
On my old set I had Remo Ambassador.

Bram

[stasz]

Remo emperors or evans g2 are great for toms for rock. You could also try a premuffled head like remo pinstripes if you like that sound. For the snare I would stick with an Ambassador, but that's my personal choice. Good bass heads for rock are remo powerstroke 3 or evans emad.

[zzdrummer]

I have the same Gretsch kit in red and I have the G2's uncoated, they project really well and sound like their singing. Also I have an Aquarian Superkick ii on the bass and it provides a great punch...But I hate the snare wires that came with it, does anyone have any suggestions for a new set?

[lewisn27]

the setup on the 1st and 2nd pictures is the nicesest.
that kit looks very comfortable to play on.

[Bram]

Remo emperors or evans g2 are great for toms for rock. You could also try a premuffled head like remo pinstripes if you like that sound. For the snare I would stick with an Ambassador, but that's my personal choice. Good bass heads for rock are remo powerstroke 3 or evans emad.

I have the same Gretsch kit in red and I have the G2's uncoated, they project really well and sound like their singing. Also I have an Aquarian Superkick ii on the bass and it provides a great punch...But I hate the snare wires that came with it, does anyone have any suggestions for a new set?

Thanks

the setup on the 1st and 2nd pictures is the nicesest.
that kit looks very comfortable to play on.

You're right, I think I'm going to play with the new drums only, because it's too big to play on, and I don't use the highest and lowest tom. Maybe I'm going to buy a double pedal for the bass when I have money...

Bram

[Bram]

I think i'm going to make rocket toms out of a pvc pipe and hoops and lugs and of course a head.
Would thad sound good??
I don't want to spend money if it doesn't sound good.

Bram

[frank0072]

I think i'm going to make rocket toms out of a pvc pipe and hoops and lugs and of course a head.
Would thad sound good??
I don't want to spend money if it doesn't sound good.

Bram

Hey Bram, welcome to the forum. I see you're from Holland, that makes three of us then. Big Philly lives in Enschede, and I live in Bennekom. Big Philly made his own octobans, so you could ask him all about it.

Veel plezier hier, en maak eens een filmpje van je drummen ;-).

[Bram]

Hey Bram, welcome to the forum. I see you're from Holland, that makes three of us then. Big Philly lives in Enschede, and I live in Bennekom. Big Philly made his own octobans, so you could ask him all about it.

Veel plezier hier, en maak eens een filmpje van je drummen ;-).

Zal ik doen.

Bram

[Bram]

I updated the first post with new pics.
Enjoy it :-)

Bram

[stasz]

Drums look best in the sunlight, no doubt. I see you're doing your best Neil Peart impression, nice job. The finish on your kit is so nice not to mention on a kit in its price range.

[Drumsword]

That set is a thing of Beauty. Absolutely gorgeous. I have the same set as well only in the cherry red finsh. I recently added a second Kick to mine and will get pics up soon. I wasn't overly happy with the snare sound either, It sounded ok but I just use my matching snare as a display in my display case in my drum room now. I usually use my Brady or Copper snare.

I usually use grover, wide snare wires when I change em though.

[junglelord]

How Neil Peart of you....LOL
Really nice kit and cool outdoor shots.
Cheers

[Bram]

That set is a thing of Beauty. Absolutely gorgeous. I have the same set as well only in the cherry red finsh. I recently added a second Kick to mine and will get pics up soon. I wasn't overly happy with the snare sound either, It sounded ok but I just use my matching snare as a display in my display case in my drum room now. I usually use my Brady or Copper snare.

I usually use grover, wide snare wires when I change em though.

I like the sound of this snaredrum, but i think i'm going to buy new lugs and a new hoop and new heads for my old snaredrum as second snare.

How Neil Peart of you....LOL
Really nice kit and cool outdoor shots.
Cheers

Yeah, the pics are nice, but i don't like the sound outside.
And I don't think i'm going to play outside anymore, my dad could hear it 1 kilometre from my house when he was at work at our tree nursery ( I had a afternoon off)....

[drapl]

Awesome! Really nice kit

:)

[Tylerdrums109]

Thats one of the kits i was considering before i got my yamaha's...but one day i will own a nice gretsch set...sweet kit dude congradulations

[mikec]

Congrats!!! I have this same kit and some advice , please do keep a backup snare with you esp if you are gigging a lot. The one thing with this kit that I think doesnt do the drums themselves justice is the crappy hardware. I had to change out the kick legs and I had to also change out the some of the snare hardware.

[Big_Philly]

That is a very beautiful kit, I like the finish and sizes. How are your octobans coming along?
Where in the Netherlands are you? Drenthe, by any chance?
Groetjes!

Edit: 1111 posts... how cool is that.

[Bram]

Thats one of the kits i was considering before i got my yamaha's...but one day i will own a nice gretsch set...sweet kit dude congradulations

Thanks, it's a really nice set :p

Congrats!!! I have this same kit and some advice , please do keep a backup snare with you esp if you are gigging a lot. The one thing with this kit that I think doesnt do the drums themselves justice is the crappy hardware. I had to change out the kick legs and I had to also change out the some of the snare hardware.

I'm going to buy new hardware for my old snare, and then I have two snares.

That is a very beautiful kit, I like the finish and sizes. How are your octobans coming along?
Where in the Netherlands are you? Drenthe, by any chance?
Groetjes!

Edit: 1111 posts... how cool is that.

Dank je.
Ik ben van de octobans afgestapt, ik was Project Mapex aan het bekijken, en hij had van een tom twee piccolo's gemaakt, en dat heb ik ook gedaan. Misschien doe ik het later nog eens een keer.
Ik woon in de Achterhoek.

Bram

[Jbcardinal]

is that finish "honey amber" or "deep amber" I would really like to know cause I am looking to buy one of those sets very very soon.

thanks!

God bless!!

[m1ck]

That's beautiful, man.

[Bram]

is that finish "honey amber" or "deep amber" I would really like to know cause I am looking to buy one of those sets very very soon.

thanks!

God bless!!

I'm not sure, but I think it's deep amber.
It's a good choiche to buy it.

That's beautiful, man.

Thanks, I like the set a lot, but my neighbours don't :)

Bram

[JoseZ]

It's deep amber, i am sure

I have one (in Studio sizes) and its GREAT!

[Bram]

It's deep amber, i am sure

I have one (in Studio sizes) and its GREAT!

Are the Studio sizes the normal sizes (10*8, 12*9, 14*14, 16*16, 22*18)?

[Bram]

I just bought a Paiste Alpha 8" splash.
I will post pics when I have a camera and I don't know when I have one.
My 10" B8 has many cracks from the hole in the middle towards the oudside.

It's hard to place the splace, because I have 2 bassdrums, 8 toms and a snare in the Neil Peart setup, and the boom arm is not very long (Gibraltar 5600). Does somebody have ideas where to place the splash???

Bram

[JoseZ]

Studio sizes are 20x16" / 10x8" / 12x9" / 14x12" / 14x5,5"

[drumforone]

Nice the Maples are awesome arnt they, i love mine to bits. :D

[lewisn27]

I just bought a Paiste Alpha 8" splash.
I will post pics when I have a camera and I don't know when I have one.
My 10" B8 has many cracks from the hole in the middle towards the oudside.

It's hard to place the splace, because I have 2 bassdrums, 8 toms and a snare in the Neil Peart setup, and the boom arm is not very long (Gibraltar 5600). Does somebody have ideas where to place the splash???

Bram
You could put the splash on top of a crash, I mean on the same stand. You just have to a a few spare felts.

[Bram]

You could put the splash on top of a crash, I mean on the same stand. You just have to a a few spare felts.

Thanks! I didn't think about that, i will try.

Bram

[MartyOwens]

That's a beautiful finish.... looks inviting to play. Some kits have that appeal. This is one of those kits !! :)

[Bram]

That's a beautiful finish.... looks inviting to play. Some kits have that appeal. This is one of those kits !! :)

Thanks!!!!
I love my kit, it's just what I want.
I have now set it up 2 up, 2 down, and one of my piccolo's on the left of the 10" tom.
This summer I want to buy a double pedal (has anyone suggestions??) and maybe a china and a crash.

Bram

[ThirdAlternativ]

Als dat geen vreemde opstelling is :D

[Bram]

Hoezo??
Het is de meest normale opstelling voor 5 toms.

[Dutchdrummer]

Heey Bram,

Ga je nog een keer pic's in dit topic zetten van je dubbelbass-setup?? Ik bedoel, het is misschien ook wel leuk om het topic actueel te houden :D

Casper

(Translation in English: Hello Bram, are you going to put some pics online of your new doublebass setup?? I think it might be fun to keep this topic updated :D)

[Bram]

I have another thread, the one in my signature, that one is more recent, and I will post some pics there

Bram

[Dutchdrummer]

Ok, dan zal ik daar even kijke :p