Gretsch Renown

I went with the RN2-E8246 four-piece shell pack in Silver Oyster Pearl. I use the Mike Johnston Brooklyn Standard snare with the set. The Brooklyn Standard is a great sounding snare. This is my first wood shell snare. I have always played metal shells either steel or aluminum. The Renowns are a great sounding drum and I'm convinced the 30-degree bearing edges have a lot to do with it. I am unable to play them for the next couple of weeks as I just had surgery on my left hand. What kit do you play?
Nice set! I went with Silver Oyster Pearl as well.

My shell pack included the maple snare but I added a Brooklyn steel snare afterwards so that like you, I would have options. I hear good things about the Brooklyn Standard.
 
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I want a set. No $$ and more importantly, no room.
I really like the Sweetwater exclusive set in the burnt orange.
 
I really like my DW Design kit, but am experiencing a growing desire for a 24” bass drum (if for no other reason the larger kick drum would be more proportionate to my large frame lol). Have my eye on one of these and may just pull the trigger when my year end bonus gets paid out.

 
I want a set. No $$ and more importantly, no room.
I really like the Sweetwater exclusive set in the burnt orange.
Likewise - my config and sizes, and I love the finish. Wanted it with the Black copper snare - but they won't ship to the UK:cautious:
 
I went with the RN2-E8246 four-piece shell pack in Silver Oyster Pearl. I use the Mike Johnston Brooklyn Standard snare with the set. The Brooklyn Standard is a great sounding snare. This is my first wood shell snare. I have always played metal shells either steel or aluminum. The Renowns are a great sounding drum and I'm convinced the 30-degree bearing edges have a lot to do with it. I am unable to play them for the next couple of weeks as I just had surgery on my left hand. What kit do you play?

I also own the RN2-E8246 as my only kit and I absolutely love their sound.
In hindsight, I wish I had gone with the smaller 16X20 BD rather than my 18X22 BD.
 
I also own the RN2-E8246 as my only kit and I absolutely love their sound.
In hindsight, I wish I had gone with the smaller 16X20 BD rather than my 18X22 BD.
It won't be cheap but you might be able to add the 16x20 separately. That's the one I chose and I'm glad that I did, if only for the weight reduction.
 
It won't be cheap but you might be able to add the 16x20 separately. That's the one I chose and I'm glad that I did, if only for the weight reduction.

yammyfan, I remember your post when you received your new RN2s, and immediately thought I should have gone with the 16x20 BD.

Gretsch sells the 16X20 BD for $809 ala carte. I anticipate pulling the trigger at some point in 2022.
My biggest question is how to sell my 18X22 RN2 BD. I can post it on eBay or Reverb, but I don't expect any demand.
 
Anyone researching a new Renown shell pack should seriously consider a set that includes a snare. The Renown snare is every bit as good as the rest of the drums in the set, which is saying a lot.
The 5-piece kit currently on sale at MF has a snare but it's not a Renown snare; it is "14x5.5 in Black Nickel Over Steel snare drum" and appears to be of lesser quality than the regular maple Renown snare. Be aware of what snare is included.
 
yammyfan, I remember your post when you received your new RN2s, and immediately thought I should have gone with the 16x20 BD.

Gretsch sells the 16X20 BD for $809 ala carte. I anticipate pulling the trigger at some point in 2022.
My biggest question is how to sell my 18X22 RN2 BD. I can post it on eBay or Reverb, but I don't expect any demand.
I was in your position 3 years ago. It took me about 8 months to sell my 22x18 after I ordered the 20x16. Think I had 2 people show interest and I sold to one of them. Don't expect to get much for it either, the demand just isn't there, even though in my case, the 22" was in pristine condition. Pretty soul destroying actually. I didn't have the means to package it up to ship so I had to find a local buyers so that's needle in a haystack territory.

Sounds counter-intuitive for one drum, but I'd suggest a better approach would be to sell your current set then just buy a brand new Renown with the 20" shell pack. Renowns are very sought after so you'd get a quicker sale and I doubt there would be much in it financially.
 
I also own the RN2-E8246 as my only kit and I absolutely love their sound.
In hindsight, I wish I had gone with the smaller 16X20 BD rather than my 18X22 BD.
My vintage "1968" Premier set had a 20"x16" bass drum. The shell was three-ply African Mahogany with Birch reinforcing rings. The bass always sounded good but when I tried the Renowns in the store with the 22"x18" bass I was sold on that deeper round sound. It's all in what you hear and what you prefer. After playing the Premiers for 50 plus years, I could not go back to the smaller bass drum. Also, I do prefer the sound of the Renown maple shells as opposed to the Premier mahogany shells.
 
When I checked out the Renown set in the store it had the 14" x 5 1/2" Renown snare and I totally agree that it was a great sounding snare. I purchase the Brooklyn Standard snare because of its snare muffling capabilities. I would rather use an integrated muffler than those sticky gels. I prefer a snare sound that is a bit less wide open. The Brooklyn gives me the punch without the loud overtone.
 
I also own the RN2-E8246 as my only kit and I absolutely love their sound.
In hindsight, I wish I had gone with the smaller 16X20 BD rather than my 18X22 BD.
Yeah - I had the RN2 with the 22 x 18 bass drum.Its the reason I sold it. I had to lug the thing up and down a narrow staircase at my house. Great drums but I wish they had a 22x14. I looked at importing ( I live in Australia) the 20 x 16 but it meant re mortgaging the house!
 
I agree it is a large bass drum but oh that sound to me to some extent outweighs the handling issues. I have cases for all my drums which helps minimize damage to a large extent. I played a 20"x16" bass for over fifty years and did a lot of gigs with it with very good results. I guess now that I have a bass that packs the sound I like, I'm feeling a bit spoiled!
 
I agree it is a large bass drum but oh that sound to me to some extent outweighs the handling issues. I have cases for all my drums which helps minimize damage to a large extent. I played a 20"x16" bass for over fifty years and did a lot of gigs with it with very good results. I guess now that I have a bass that packs the sound I like, I'm feeling a bit spoiled!
That 22 x18 is a great sounding bass drum for sure!
 
That 22 x18 is a great sounding bass drum for sure!
Yeah I actually regret selling my 22x18. I only move my drums for gigs a few times a month, so with hindsight, I would have been far better off keeping that beastie but transporting it in a soft bag rather than a Hardcase. That 22 in a hardcase did for me… Sitting behind that 22 was like driving a powerful car with a v10 engine!
 
Yeah I actually regret selling my 22x18. I only move my drums for gigs a few times a month, so with hindsight, I would have been far better off keeping that beastie but transporting it in a soft bag rather than a Hardcase. That 22 in a hardcase did for me… Sitting behind that 22 was like driving a powerful car with a v10 engine!
I bought a set of hard shell (fiberboard) cases years ago for my old Premier drums. The added weight and bulkiness of the cases were hard to cope with many times during transportation to and from gigs. I bought a set of Humes and Berg soft padded shells and what a difference. They can be a bit tricky to load the drums in at first, but you learn how to deal with it. I will never go back to a hard-shell case. I recently ordered Humes and Berg soft cases for my Renowns.
 
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