My Pearl & Gretsch Kits...

Here's some pics of my two current kits....

I built the first one for playing hard rock... here are the specs..

Here's the specs:

Pearl Masters Custom 100% maple
MCX408 (Pewter Glass)

Rack toms:
8x7", 10x8", and 12x9"
Floor toms: 14x14" and 16x16"
Kick: 22x18"
Snare: 14x5" Pearl Morgan Rose signature series

Rack: Pearl 503C

Pedals: DWCP9002 double kick, DW9500TP hi-hat, DW 9502LB remote hi-hat

Cymbals:
Zildjian 14" Armand high hats (matched, left and right), 16" Armand medium thin crash, 17" A Custom crash, 10" Armand splash, 19" Hybrid "K" China, 20" Custom "K" Dry Ride

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And here's my jazz kit...

Specs

Gretsch Catalina Club Jazz 4-piece 100% Mahogany
CT-J484 (Natural Satin)

Toms: 12x8", 14x14"
Snare: 14x5" wood
Kick: 18x14"

Cymbals: 14" Armand high hats 16" Armand medium thin crash, 10" Armand splash, 21" Avedis Sweet Ride

Extras: PDP 10" mini timbale, LP Cowbell.

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I like your Gretch. Is a super color! Your Pearl is over the top for me.

Is your Gretch the Catalina Maple? I'm considering buying this kit 'cause they're currently offering an extra floor tom. However, they don't have the color you have, and their snare is a 6" deep. I want a five inch. I don't need the extra power.

Any advise on a great snare besides spending dollars on one?

At any rate, that Gretch kit of yours is lovely. I'd like to have that baby. Is very pretty!
 
I like your Gretch. Is a super color! Your Pearl is over the top for me.

Thanks, man...

Is your Gretch the Catalina Maple? I'm considering buying this kit 'cause they're currently offering an extra floor tom. However, they don't have the color you have, and their snare is a 6" deep. I want a five inch. I don't need the extra power.

The Catalina Maple is a different kit... the Catalina Club Jazz is mahogany. The maple kits have a 22" kick, this one is a 18 x 14". Tiny little kit but it packs a lot of punch and sounds amazing.
 
nice kits! i love the Icon rack, i have one myself and absolutely love it!

what's the Morgan Rose sig. snare sound like? not aesthetically pleasing IMO, but what do you think of it?

-Jonathan
 
18 x 14? HOLY HELL! That is small, almost kid sized.

You ever heard of Chick Webb? He was a contemporary of Duke Ellington, Basie, and Benny Goodman in the grand old days of Harlem dance clubs (Late 1920s-1930s). He wrocks! But he was nearly a dwarf. He was small in stature, had a large head for his body, and large hands too. And... get this... his bass drum was a 28"! Like, that's crazy! But damn, he plays well! If you have iTunes, go find him. He's superb!

p.s. I suggest you check out his CD, "Strictly Jive". There's some very early tracks that feature Ella Fitzgerald.

Oh hell! Here, see this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chick_Webb
 
what's the Morgan Rose sig. snare sound like? not aesthetically pleasing IMO, but what do you think of it?

I love the way it looks, personally... it's nice having something a little oddball.

Soundwise... it seems to sound best when you really crank the hell out of the top head. I had problems with the lugs coming loose on it when I did a lot of rimshots initially, and decided to try really cranking the head down on it... ended up sounding way better than it had previously. I'm using a Remo Powerstroke3 on top, and a Evans Hazy 300 on bottom. It has a really sharp crack to it, and is pretty loud. the rimshot sounds like a shotgun. Overall I'm pretty happy with it... it does the job quite well.
 
18 x 14? HOLY HELL! That is small, almost kid sized.

Yeah, it's a tiny little kit. It looks like a toy next to my Pearl...

That was one of the reasons I bought it, though... I play in a 5-piece band that often does gigs in small coffee houses and other venues with small stages.. so I needed a kit with the smallest footprint possible. Once I played it and heard how nice it sounds, I was completely sold.

I've heard of Chick Webb, never really listened to him... thanks for the recommendation, I'll check it out.
 
Ya know, I think this is what I really want. I considered the Catalina Maple, but M'thinks it'll have too much power behind it. I need light venue equipment. The Catalina Jazz has a 5" deep snare as opposed to the 6" on the Maple, which will mean more articulation and less power. The toms will have good articulation too, but m'thinks I'll miss having a 16" floor. I dunno for sure, though. And I missed your accessory, the mini tambale. Oh man! This would suit me just fine for a 10".

However, I can't find one piece of information I need. Gretch's site says these are 6 ply, but doesn't state the shell thickness. Do you know what thickness they are? Also, these have a bearing edge of 30 degrees, which might be a little too open for me. Do you muffle your toms, and if so, how? Gel?

I like the looks of this kit, it's small footprint, and relatively low power, plus, at this bass diameter, reaching for my rack tom is gonna be easy on a geezer like me. Also, the mahogany should deliver a nice deep tone (very desired). I may miss having a 16, but if so, I can add one (another brand and color though, 'cause Gretch doesn't make a 14x16 in any finish). And speaking of finishes, they have a great selection for this jazz kit. I will have trouble with making up my mind on this! Every finish is a beauty!

Have you got any recordings on the net, either mp3 or YouTubes? I'd definitely like to hear these when tuned well with good heads. I'm heading for YouTube now to look for a demo vid.

Wow! I think I've found what I been looking for.

----------------
Edit/Addition

Once again, YouTube blows pretty bad. I found a couple of vids where the sound quality was decent. One fellow has his drums tuned too high, and they're tuned to thirds. Another is a promo for an Ebay seller. This guy says he went to great lengths to get you a decent recording of what they really sound like when tuned (and he did), but then he talks over the drums throughout the video! IDIOT! I found a couple others too, but they don't feature the drums ... they're decent recordings of club jazz (and the musicians play well). However, it seems that many of the guys who know what they're doing, have replaced the snare drum with a 7x13. This adds expense, sounds pretty good, but it's not the sound I'm looking for. I will miss a 16" floor. So, this IS a great kit, but it's not what I'm looking for. Drat!

Okay... start over. Here we go again. :cool:
 
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I don't have any muffling on the kit at all. Not even the kick drum, other than the EMAD head. You can see in the pictures there's nothing inside the kick.

I have my kit tuned pretty much the same as this guy.. they're a local band I saw recently, and he was the one that gave be the idea to buy the kit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1QyAO0V-1E
 
Well, hey now! That sounds a lot better'n what I found. I may have to change my mind again!

This is toooooo difficult. I'm gonna give it a rest for a while. But I gotta say, this video has turned my head once again.

p.s. I'm a fan of those Emads. They're awesome!
 
I decided to try setting up the Pearl to mimic the layout of the Gretsch kit, and I'm really loving playing it like this... here's what the new config looks like.. and yes, there's two different snares in the pics... I tried it with both of them, and liked the Morgan Rose snare better.

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I love the kits, I just wish those Pinstripes were coated Ambs or something to let them siiiiiiiing!
 
I love the kits, I just wish those Pinstripes were coated Ambs or something to let them siiiiiiiing!

I've been considering switching over to coated Ambassadors because of how much I like the way the Gretsch kit sounds.. but I can't say I would complain about how the Pearl sounds... it sounds HUGE. I love it... although the current sound works much better for the hard rock stuff I was playing previous... not quite as well for the light jazzy stuff I'm doing now.
 
I like the Pearl kit, the Gretsch is too small for me and I am not into plain wood....but that Silver Sparkle, Yeah, Baby, Yeah!
 
Love the MCX kit. I'm a huge fan of Pearl and their drums are just fantastic. Those MCX kits are the best quality and sound for the money, on the market today.
 
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