taiko
Senior Member
Here is a review of the Gretsch Catalina Club Street. I purchased this about a month ago and have gigged with it once. Overall, I am happy with this drum set. The kit consists of a 6” x 10” tom, 11” x 13” floor tom, 12.5” – 14” x 16” bass, and 5” x 13” snare. The bass drum has metal hoops and is unusually because it comes in two halves and can be opened up in the middle to change the depth and sound.
I play jazz and use this kit in a trio, for which it is perfect.
Quality and Construction
In general, the drum set is reasonably well-made for a relatively inexpensive kit ($599). The hardware is fine, if nothing spectacular. The bearing edges are all smooth and the fit in finish is generally good. The one odd thing is that the two halves of the bass drum don’t quite fit together right. This is a minor issue that is only noticeable when the drum is closed. I like the red sparkle wrap, which looks cool under lights.
Sound
The drums sound surprisingly good. The bass drum was quite a surprise. It has a deep strong sound with the drum open or closed. It dries out a bit when you open the drum. I have been impressed by the BD, which sounds better than a 14” x 18” on a custom made kit I had a while back. Toms both sound very good; I immediately replaced the batter heads with Aquarian Studio X heads, which work well on these drums. The snare sucks—a lot. It will take a fair amount of work to get the snare sounding good.
The drums are not particularly loud, which makes this kit great for small, acoustic clubs and coffee shops.
Portability
The best feature of this kit is that it is very small and easy to cart around. The drums are light and if Gretsch ever gets off its ass and makes the bags it advertises that are supposed to be designed for this kit available, it will be very easy to take to gigs.
Verdict
This is a great little kit for maximum portability that sounds good. It works very well for jazz and fits nicely into nice spaces. Good kit for the price.
I play jazz and use this kit in a trio, for which it is perfect.
Quality and Construction
In general, the drum set is reasonably well-made for a relatively inexpensive kit ($599). The hardware is fine, if nothing spectacular. The bearing edges are all smooth and the fit in finish is generally good. The one odd thing is that the two halves of the bass drum don’t quite fit together right. This is a minor issue that is only noticeable when the drum is closed. I like the red sparkle wrap, which looks cool under lights.
Sound
The drums sound surprisingly good. The bass drum was quite a surprise. It has a deep strong sound with the drum open or closed. It dries out a bit when you open the drum. I have been impressed by the BD, which sounds better than a 14” x 18” on a custom made kit I had a while back. Toms both sound very good; I immediately replaced the batter heads with Aquarian Studio X heads, which work well on these drums. The snare sucks—a lot. It will take a fair amount of work to get the snare sounding good.
The drums are not particularly loud, which makes this kit great for small, acoustic clubs and coffee shops.
Portability
The best feature of this kit is that it is very small and easy to cart around. The drums are light and if Gretsch ever gets off its ass and makes the bags it advertises that are supposed to be designed for this kit available, it will be very easy to take to gigs.
Verdict
This is a great little kit for maximum portability that sounds good. It works very well for jazz and fits nicely into nice spaces. Good kit for the price.