Going Gretsch. Will I be happy with a set of Renowns?

My 22 x 18 Renown bass drum is an absolute cannon. I've never considered a 24 or larger drum. The only bass drum I've ever owned that was comparable is my Pearl Session Series 22".
 
Pulled the trigger on a five piece Renown 2 today, thanks in no small part to the great feedback here.

I went with the 20x16 inch kick version with 10-12-14 inch toms in Silver Oyster Pearl:

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It's vital that the drums fit in the backseat of my car so the 20x16 was the surefire way to go. I have a Yamaha kit with a 20x17 which fits so the Gretsch was a no brainer from that perspective. I like the fact that the snare was included in the package, too.

Better still, my favourite brick and mortar drum shop's supplier had stock so I don't think I'll have to wait long to get them.

Thanks again to everyone who weighed in on this thread. ?
 
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Is it true Renowns are heavy drums?
My 2¢

In a comparative sense, yes. My RN series was heavier than many other drums.

I strain to imagine a scenario where they would be prohibitively so. Perhaps if you had a back injury, or are loading them on a small Cessna so you can tour with the Big Bopper....

The Renown RN was, for all intents and purposes, a no-frills Taiwanese made imitation of the USA Custom. It did remarkably well at achieving its purpose.
 
Congrats on the Renowns! Let us know what you think of them. The 5 lug pattern on the smaller Gretsch toms takes a little getting used to, but you’ll get it quickly.
 
The Renown RN was, for all intents and purposes, a no-frills Taiwanese made imitation of the USA Custom. It did remarkably well at achieving its purpose.
That’s a pretty good description. I‘ve always thought of Renowns as a Taiwanese made USA Custom with 100% maple shells instead of maple/gum, and fewer finish/sizing options. At least thats what I thought of the older Renowns and RN1s. The newer RN2s, with their 302 double-flanged hoops and those gas cap style bass drum mounts (which they stole from the Catalina line), seem to have deviated from the “Taiwanese made USA Custom” formula.

While RN2s don’t appeal to me quite as much, they’re still very nice drums and the best bang for your buck in the $1200-1800 range. And yes, they are definitely heavy drums. While that doesn’t particularly bother me, it very well may bother some.

Yammyfan, congrats on the kit. I’m sure you will enjoy them. Since you went with the 16x20 bass drum, I’ll let you know how I tune my 16x20 Renown to sound more like a 22”. I put a Remo clear PS4 (not the more common PS3) on the batter tuned low, and added a Kickport to the stock reso head, tuned medium-low, with nothing inside the kick. It sounds huge!
 
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Pulled the trigger on a five piece Renown 2 today, thanks in no small part to the great feedback here.

I went with the 20x16 inch kick version with 10-12-14 inch toms in Silver Oyster Pearl:

View attachment 93406

It's vital that the drums fit in the backseat of my car so the 20x16 was the surefire way to go. I have a Yamaha kit with a 20x17 which fits so the Gretsch was a no brainer from that perspective. I like the fact that the snare was included in the package, too.

Better still, my favourite brick and mortar drum shop's supplier had stock so I don't think I'll have to wait long to get them.

Thanks again to everyone who weighed in on this thread. ?

Congrats
Really like the Silver Oyster Pearl
 
That’s a pretty good description. I‘ve always thought of Renowns as a Taiwanese made USA Custom with 100% maple shells instead of maple/gum, and fewer finish/sizing options. At least thats what I thought of the older Renowns and RN1s. The newer RN2s, with their 302 double-flanged hoops and those gas cap style bass drum mounts (which they stole from the Catalina line), seem to have deviated from the “Taiwanese made USA Custom” formula.

While RN2s don’t appeal to me quite as much, they’re still very nice drums and the best bang for your buck in the $1200-1800 range. And yes, they are definitely heavy drums. While that doesn’t particularly bother me, it very well may bother some.

Yammyfan, congrats on the kit. I’m sure you will enjoy them. Since you went with the 16x20 bass drum, I’ll let you know how I tune my 16x20 Renown to sound more like a 22”. I put a Remo clear PS4 (not the more common PS3) on the batter tuned low, and added a Kickport to the stock reso head, tuned medium-low, with nothing inside the kick. It sounds huge!
Thanks for the tip. I'll have to check but I'm pretty sure there's a clear PS3 on my older Stage Custom 20x17 and it packs a wallop so I'm sure that the Gretsch will sound even better with the same head. I'll give the PS4 a try for sure.

I have rightly or wrongly always associated weight with quality, especially when it comes to audio equipment, so I'm actually pleased to hear that there is some heft to the Renowns. It used to be that the heavier an audio component (amp, tuner etc.) was, the better it tended to be so this doesn't bother me in the least. :)
 
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Congrats on the Renowns! Let us know what you think of them. The 5 lug pattern on the smaller Gretsch toms takes a little getting used to, but you’ll get it quickly.
Thanks! I read somewhere that the 5 lug pattern works well with the 302 hoops so that will be interesting to hear.
Congrats
Really like the Silver Oyster Pearl
Thank you! The finish reminds me of Ringo's old Ludwigs. It looks great in the videos I've seen.
 
You'll love them! Congrats!
 
Very good first impressions. Everything was well packed and nothing appears to be damaged. I appreciate that the heads were installed on everything save the kick drum. LOVE the kick drum hoops.

The floor tom is shockingly heavy for a 14". It must weigh 18-20 pounds and that's without the legs. Eight lugs though. My Stage Custom Birch has just six lugs so there's an upgrade right there.

Chrome and hardware is top-notch (y)

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