Finally got my Gretsch add on tom

stillgroovin

Senior Member
It was a long 6 months but my 8in Cat Maple tom finally came today!!!! I found some things that I felt did not add up to Gretsch quality and thought I would share them. First of all the triple flange hoops were not flat at all!!! took about 45 minutes to correct that problem. The shell itself was not flat on the resonant side and I managed to correct this and sharpen the bearing edge. The shell is actually 7 3/4 inches and not 8 inches. I wonder if this is a foul up or done on purpose? I am in the process of sealing the interior with Teak oil like I did with the other drums and by tomorrow it will be read for re assembly. Mostly minor stuff. More to follow.
 
Are we to take this as an indication of a problem in Gretsch's quality standards or did it appear to be a problem that occurred in shipping?
 
Well, yes and no. I suppose I should be a politician with that answer but I found some things that didn't sit right with me. Now, before I get attacked by the "what did you expect", from a mid level kit guys, I have to say that I love my Cat maples. Yes, they are not high end drums but the quality of the finish and the sound is totaly Gretsch. What I didn't expect is having to TRUE both of the rims so that they sit flat. I was also stunned to find the resonant side not flat. Not good. The one thing that I mad a previous mention about is that the shell is not 8inches in diameter but rather 7 3/4. I dont know if Gretsch is doing this on purpose or if it is a defect but the shell is perfectly round. I mean, aside from this, the drum will sound fine once I seal the interiors and add Evans heads. Is there a quality control issue at Gretsch? well, maybe just not enough. Oh, and it took 6 months to get delivered. If the factory was still in the US, this may not have been an issue.
 
That's kind of disappointing to hear. For me it was between a Catalina Maple or a Ludwig Centennial. I went with the Ludwig for a bunch of reasons, but mainly because of the drum sizes available compared to what the Catalina offered. I played a Cataline Maple in store briefly though and was pretty impressed. How were your other drums and hoops?

PS. Sealing the inside with teak oil... is that a common practice among drummers? Why do this?
 
I really love my Cat Maples. Personally I think they are the best drums on the market in their price range, hands down. Everything I did to my kit prior to the arrival of the newest member was to improve on what was already good, like adding Evans heads, sealing the interiors, adding nylon lug washers etc. These are just little things that makes the kit even better than "Out of the Box" so to speak. I did have an issue with the rims of the other drums but, purchased new ones and ended that. I was asking though if anyone knows if the size issue is a Gretsch thing or a mistake. I'm kind of leaning toward the ON PURPOSE line of thinking because the shell is perfectly round. This is the first time I experienced any problems with the bearing edges though. If your interested i the interior sealing thing I wrote an extensive post on the subject and you should be able to find it under the search function.
 
I really love my Cat Maples. Personally I think they are the best drums on the market in their price range, hands down. Everything I did to my kit prior to the arrival of the newest member was to improve on what was already good, like adding Evans heads, sealing the interiors, adding nylon lug washers etc. These are just little things that makes the kit even better than "Out of the Box" so to speak. I did have an issue with the rims of the other drums but, purchased new ones and ended that. I was asking though if anyone knows if the size issue is a Gretsch thing or a mistake. I'm kind of leaning toward the ON PURPOSE line of thinking because the shell is perfectly round. This is the first time I experienced any problems with the bearing edges though. If your interested i the interior sealing thing I wrote an extensive post on the subject and you should be able to find it under the search function.

I think you just had a bit of bad luck there stillgroovin - my CCs were all flat / round / level - but mine also took 6 months to get here....

Isn't it a standard in Gretsch's design to have the shells slighly undersized? I thought this was part of "that great Gretsch sound" and ensured that the head rim didn't touch the shell (same as you see in Tympanis).

What heads came on your CCs? Mine came with Evans Generas on the batter and clears on the res - sounds like different countries may get different heads....
 
I think you may be right about the undersized shells I really hasn't posed a problem before so I believe this to be standard practice unless someone can verify otherwise. As a footnote, I went to change the heads to Evans and found the hoops so out of round that they wouldn't fit at all. Gretsch may be having a problem in their machine shop!! New hoops on the way from another source so thats a dead issue. Just a shame it happened.
 
I have a Cat Maple and love it. I know it isn't a 'professional' kit but I have recorded with it a few times and always get compliments about the sound quality of the toms. I really love them.

There have been a few minor niggles with the kit since I bought it. On mine the wingnuts on the GTS mounts that hold the toms are 6mm, and one of them stripped in 6 months. So now I buy new ones every 4 or 5 months just to be safe. Most kits are using 8mm nuts. But again, this is a mid-price kit, and it isn't a big issue.

My only real complaint would be at the distributors here in South Africa. When enquiring about anything extra (like the 8" add on tom, or a white logo head for the kick drum) they sort of say its a lot of effort to get them and not worth their time. What? So trying to get anything extra is a mission, which sucks because I would love to add all sorts of Gretsch stuff to my kit.
 
It sounds like there's a bit of a quality control issue in the catalina factory eh? Like I mentioned, I briefly played some maple cats in store and I was pretty impressed though. It's too bad Gretsch has been giving you these problems!
 
It sounds like there's a bit of a quality control issue in the catalina factory eh? Like I mentioned, I briefly played some maple cats in store and I was pretty impressed though. It's too bad Gretsch has been giving you these problems!
Gretsch has their non-US custom sets built in China.. Mass production is the culprit here.
 
Agreed!!!! Recipe for bad PR. Not all of us can shell out 3 grand for the US made kits.
 
Agreed!!!! Recipe for bad PR. Not all of us can shell out 3 grand for the US made kits.

True that man.. Sorry to hear about your bad experience.. I would be giving Gretsch's customer service an earful! (If you haven't already)
 
Happy ending!!!! Bought new tripple flange hoops, on went the Evans heads and the drum tuned up like a dream. Sounds great. Pics to follow in the your place section, Gretsch drums thread. Cat Maple buyers......Watch out for bad hoops coming from China!!!!
 
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