DW Performance series or Gretsch Renown?

[frenchdrummer]

Looking to get another set. What are your thoughts? Tone, volume, resale value etc.?

[Mr.L]

What kind of music do you play? What sort of sound are you looking for?

[frenchdrummer]

Funk, rock, pop. I like tone, toms that sing.

[PeteN]

Man.....I really like the Renowns, the DW and Gretsch are both maple but that silver lining on the renowns I believe adds some brightness to the tone of the drums. Also I kind of like the idea of less lugs on the on the smaller toms of the gretsch. Another thing is the bearing edge on the renown is I believe 30 degrees vs 45 degrees on the DW, which also gives it even more identity and character in my opinion.

Regarding resale....I dont think it will matter too much because they are both higher end kits but I'll bet the Gretsch might sell easier just because it's been around so long where the DW performance is still very new to the market.

Regarding music genre.....I dont think you'll have a problem unless you're into 16" and 18" floor toms, then I might go for the DW over the gretsch just because I rarely see renowns with larger floor toms, might be a custom order thing, you would need to check on that.

[Mikecore]

DW isn't making an 18" Performance floor tom yet, or bass drum. No odd sizes either (if that makes a difference to you). The Gretsch offers a wider selection (including 18" floors), and if fewer lugs is a winning design point for you then there you have it (I prefer more lugs on small toms for very high tuning, so I'm stuck with DW/PDP/DIY, one of the reasons I gripe so much about DW, but won't go anywhere else. They sound nice too, but...)

The Renown specs are here:

Performance specs here:

As for sound, I couldn't tell you...nor should I. Seems like a personal judgment call.

[audiotech]

Originally Posted by PeteN

Man.....

Regarding music genre.....I dont think you'll have a problem unless you're into 16" and 18" floor toms, then I might go for the DW over the gretsch just because I rarely see renowns with larger floor toms, might be a custom order thing, you would need to check on that.

The large floor tom on my Renowns is a 16" x 16" and didn't have to be specially ordered. The 8", 10" and 12" rack toms do have 5 lugs top and bottom, they go to 6 top and bottom on the 13" and larger diameter. The Gretsch Renowns are a great sounding set of drums.



Dennis

[Atypicalkris]

I realize this thread is a little old but maybe it'll help someone else. I owned a Gretsch Renown. I recently sold it and bought a DW Performance Series. My Renown wast just a 3 piece. 12x9 rack tom, 16x16 floor tom and 22x20 kick. My new DW kit is a 5 piece 10x8, 12x9, 16x14 toms, 22x18 kick and 6.5x14 snare.
The two kits are night and day lets just get that out of the way.
Material quality is comparable. The gretsch feels a little more substantial due to the die cast hoops I suppose. The bass drum hoops feel a little thicker on the renown too.
Thats where the Renown advantage stops. First off the edges on my renown kit sucked from the start. Had to have them recut. It helped a little, mostly with tuning.
Speaking of tuning, the combination of 5 lugs and the die cast rims made the 12" tom a major pain to tune. I wasted countless hours trying to tune that kit. The rack tom almost took a little flight across the room on several occasions.Had the DW kit tuned right up nicely in no time at all.
Sound wise I guess its a matter of taste but for me the Performance series cant be beat. The renowns have a good sound its just very focused and almost compressed sounding. The Performance is wide open and huge sounding. The toms sing amazingly. They have a pretty wide tuning range. Even tuned up higher they sound nice and deep. With just the factory heads.
The kick is awesome. Its deep and punchy! The renown kick is a little boomier but I think I prefer the sound of the DW kick. Still just the factory heads. Ive got and Emad with Emad reso head I took off the renown kick, think I might give them a try.
Now the snare. I didnt buy the snare with the Renown kit. I have a great 13x7 that I built. I went ahead and got the snare this time. So glad I did. It is amazing! The throw off it killer. The sound is perfect. Its got a lot of body, great crack and very sensitive. I find it a little ringy for my tast but again its just the stock head. Which from what I understand is a remo control sound. Never really been a fan of that head personally. Always found it a little ringy. My favorite snare head has got to be a remo powerstroke x. Its got the single ply feel with a little more thickness, Im kind of a heavy hitter. Plus it has the underlay ring which for me controls the ring of the drum. So I cant wait to try that head on this drum.
Finish wise its a toss up. Both have very fine finishes. My Renown was the silver slate sparkle. My Performance is the ebony stain. Both great just different.
In conclusion the DW Performance series comepletly out performs the Gretsch Renown. Oh and for all the doubters when I bought my Performance kit it was sitting right next to a Collectors series kit. I inspected them both very carefully. Other than the re-rings, lugs (the smaller ones look better), and badges I really couldnt tell a difference. Personally I prefer the sound of the Performance over the Collectors. I think its the re-rings, for me they focus the sound a little too much.
I would say its kind of like comparing a Gibson Les Paul Studio to a Les Paul Custom. Just more frills.

[braincramp]

I played both at Sam Ash and maybe it was the stock heads???? of course the DW 24" bass made a big difference but I much, much preferred the DW performance series!!