My Gretsch Catalina Maple
- Thread starter Jameister
- Start date
Pocket-full-of-gold
Platinum Member
Your set up looks fine. The big question is, are YOU comfortable at the kit? If so, then that's all that matters.
The only suggestion I'll offer for that kit is when you can afford it, ditch the stock heads and upgrade. Whilst you can still get a pleasant tone out of the Cat's with the "Grestch" heads on them, there will be a remarkable difference if you slap some Remo, Evans or Aquarian heads on.
Winston_Wolf
Platinum Member
Looks great!
I'll repeat what Pocket said about new heads. What's you've got is fine for now, but you'll definitely get a better sound out of those drums with professional heads, and models that suit your playing style better.
As for set up, I really can't emphasize enough how important it is to focus on setting up your drums and cymbals where they are most comfortable for you and not try to make your set follow a preconceived notion of how they should look.
This is lengthy, but here's what I do. It actually reads a lot longer than it actually takes to do, but I wouldn't rush either. The time you spend getting a comfortable set up now will make for much more comfortable playing.
Start with just the stool, with no drums anywhere near. Find a comfortable height that gives you a comfortable range of motion in both legs and keeps your core properly supported.
Move to pedal placement. Find where both feet naturally sit on the floor and place your pedals in those spots.
Next up is snare placement. It should fall into an obvious location between both legs, but height, angle, etc make a big difference in playing comfort and consistency.
Work on mounted toms and floor toms next. I usually air drum a little to figure where my sticks want to fall before putting an actual target up on the kit. Once that's sorted, getting height and angle to a comfortable place shouldn't be too hard.
Cymbals go up last, and because they need to fit into the gaps left around the drumkit finding a good placement should be fairly easy. Again, I do a little air drumming to figure about where they should go, and then after a little playing it's quick work to adjust height and angle to dial them right into the most comfortable location.
I'll repeat what Pocket said about new heads. What's you've got is fine for now, but you'll definitely get a better sound out of those drums with professional heads, and models that suit your playing style better.
As for set up, I really can't emphasize enough how important it is to focus on setting up your drums and cymbals where they are most comfortable for you and not try to make your set follow a preconceived notion of how they should look.
This is lengthy, but here's what I do. It actually reads a lot longer than it actually takes to do, but I wouldn't rush either. The time you spend getting a comfortable set up now will make for much more comfortable playing.
Start with just the stool, with no drums anywhere near. Find a comfortable height that gives you a comfortable range of motion in both legs and keeps your core properly supported.
Move to pedal placement. Find where both feet naturally sit on the floor and place your pedals in those spots.
Next up is snare placement. It should fall into an obvious location between both legs, but height, angle, etc make a big difference in playing comfort and consistency.
Work on mounted toms and floor toms next. I usually air drum a little to figure where my sticks want to fall before putting an actual target up on the kit. Once that's sorted, getting height and angle to a comfortable place shouldn't be too hard.
Cymbals go up last, and because they need to fit into the gaps left around the drumkit finding a good placement should be fairly easy. Again, I do a little air drumming to figure about where they should go, and then after a little playing it's quick work to adjust height and angle to dial them right into the most comfortable location.
I have the same kit, and I love it!
They are right about the heads.
I put Remo Emperors on as batters, and kept the stock resos.
In the future I'm going to replace the resos with Ambassadors, and I think thats the best head combination for me. I play mostly rock and metal.
If you are playing jazz or latin, you might want to use Ambassadors as batters, but I'm not sure about that.
Bram
They are right about the heads.
I put Remo Emperors on as batters, and kept the stock resos.
In the future I'm going to replace the resos with Ambassadors, and I think thats the best head combination for me. I play mostly rock and metal.
If you are playing jazz or latin, you might want to use Ambassadors as batters, but I'm not sure about that.
Bram