New Gretsch Renown '57

C.M. Jones said:
I'm a Gretsch outsider, of course, and plan to keep it that way. Assessing this matter from a psychological perspective, however, I believe, Mr. yammyfan, that this dilemma will continue to eat away at you until you procure a set of USA Customs and call it a day. There will be no mountain to ascend after that acquisition, though it's entirely possible that you'll still like your Renowns more.

As a longtime Pearl player, I can tell you this: I've owned Masters Maple kits, but I like my Session Studio Select set more than any of the Masters I've had. Marketing-wise, Masters are one level higher in Pearl's hierarchy, but I believe the Sessions (birch/African mahogany) have a tone unto themselves, which is why I'm playing them instead of Masters. In essence, "objectively speaking" doesn't apply to drum equipment. What we like isn't always dictated by measurable factors.
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I've owned Renowns and a USA Custom. Frankly I prefer the sound of the Renown. The Renown set I have now (2011's) is 100% N Amer maple. No gum, no asian maple. To me the USA Custom has a more vintage sound which some may like, especially jazzers. I'm more of a rock/soul player so the Renowns are more suitable for me. You shouldn't consider this as me disparaging the USA's, just personal pref.
 
Darth Vater said:
I've owned Renowns and a USA Custom. Frankly I prefer the sound of the Renown. The Renown set I have now (2011's) is 100% N Amer maple. No gum, no asian maple. To me the USA Custom has a more vintage sound which some may like, especially jazzers. I'm more of a rock/soul player so the Renowns are more suitable for me. You shouldn't consider this as me disparaging the USA's, just personal pref.
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And there you have it. Unless status is the singular concern, what a manufacturer promotes as "top of the line" isn't necessarily what you'll end up liking most. It might be what you like most, and you should get it in that case, but if it isn't, buying it makes no sense at all. As you've pointed out, if the USA Customs have a more vintage vibe, that affiliation certainly isn't for everyone. Keeping an open mind and listening as honestly as you can is the surest path to satisfaction.
 
yammyfan said:
When you say "the real deal" what does that mean in terms of quality and sound? I think that USA Customs are about 2.5 times more expensive than Renowns - which aren't exactly cheap. I would expect the Customs to absolutely demolish the Renowns at that price. Like, be an order of magnitude better.

Note: I live outside the US so the "Made in the USA" label has no sentimental value for me. Objectively speaking, are the USA Customs still worth 2.5x the price if you take that into consideration? I don't mind paying more for better but I need something to justify it. I struggle with this, as you can tell :unsure:
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The Renowns sound very, very close to the USA Customs, no question and quality is 100% on par. I would have a very hard time picking one from the other in a blindfolded test. The 'Renown Recipe' has changed a bit with each version, the earliest RN1 had a similar Square Badges as USA Customs of the time, same tom holder and same die cast hoops. They of course have the 302 hoops now, and some of the hardware is different. Regardless, all versions sound very similar to their USA Custom cousins. In your case , no, the USA Customs are absolutely not worth 2.5 times the price of the Renowns.

For me...I am a bit of a collector and I have bought/sold/played gigs/traded/fixed/flipped my way to the higher-end Gretsch. I'm a sucker for authenticity, heritage, history and all that vibe...and I do like some of the fine details like Gretsch Engraved Hoops (301 and 302), the snap-in key holder, the badges scream "authentic' to me, just like the old days. I know some will think that is silly, but to them I say....hey, some people collect swords. Which one is 'better' ?

I am not in the USA either, but also own several vintage and new Ludwig kits and snares. More than both of those, I have more Yamaha than anything. But the Renowns are probably going to get a revisit from me in the future. A good way to get into some bigger sizes that I don't currently have. On the local lookout for used.


NouveauCliche said:
I think the difference is more notable now - the older Renowns with the die cast hoops, etc. were certainly proxies for the USA Customs - enough that I think even Gretsch realized what they'd done haha. I know for a fact that the older Renowns and USA customs are pretty similar....I haven't been able to test that with the new Renowns.

I'd still like to be in a room with the new Renowns like yours and a USA custom in the same sizes and tuning to actually see how much of a difference it really is. Regardless of how they sound relative to each other - it certainly doesn't diminish how great the Renowns sound.

Regarding "Made in the USA" - the only thing I'd say about that is that Gretsch is a USA brand and the distinct sound comes from decades of the instruments being made at the factory by the people in that factory...so it's less the "USA" part of that - but more the history of the instrument rather than a set of specifications and a badge if that all makes sense.

Just like Yamaha shells being made by the Sakae family when that was a thing....it's not inherently that it was made in Japan that made it great - but the history of the people making the shells, which just happened to be in Japan....just like Gretsch and the USA Factory.
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Yup, bang on. I don't think it was until DW took over the distribution of Grestch when they made more refinements to the differences between the lines. I DO think the Renowns were way too close to the USA Customs at first, just too good. Just like when Fender was making guitars in Japan...they were too good and they had to stop the production over there because the 'more affordable overseas' models were putting the USA made models to shame. Japanese made Fenders and Squiers are still sought after, I have a Japanese Strat and it's one of the best guitars I own.

I also agree with your take on the history of the badge, the place, and the people that make them more desireable so than a set of specifications. In a word....authentic. My apologies if everyone is sick of that word , it certainly gets thrown around a lot these days.
 
C.M. Jones said:
I'm a Gretsch outsider, of course, and plan to keep it that way. Assessing the matter from a psychological perspective, however, I believe, Mr. yammyfan, that this dilemma will continue to eat away at you until you procure a set of USA Customs and call it a day. There will be no mountain to ascend after that acquisition, though it's entirely possible that you'll still like your Renowns more.

As a longtime Pearl player, I can tell you this: I've owned Masters Maple kits, but I like my Session Studio Select set more than any of the Masters I've had. Marketing-wise, Masters are one level higher in Pearl's hierarchy, but I believe the Sessions (birch/African mahogany) have a tone unto themselves, which is why I'm playing them instead of Masters. In essence, "objectively speaking" doesn't apply to drum equipment. What we like isn't always dictated by measurable factors.
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One of the reasons why I moved up, for sure. It was eating away at me...."but they aren't USA Customs"...
I too prefer playing some Yamaha kits that aren't necessarily the 'top tier' kits. I had a PHX but didn't prefer them. I prefer original gold lug Maple Customs and 8000/Tour Custom series from the 80's.
 
IBitePrettyHard said:
The difference in sound quality from a Renown (new or old) and a USA Custom is so minimal, I honestly don't think it's worth 2x the price. You're paying for the finish options and the prestige more than anything.

Sure if you're super SUPER picky about the exact sound you want, you might go with a USA Custom, but the differences are so close, it's ridiculous. The only caveat is that perhaps the Renowns are a little lively for the studio, but that can all be remedied with the proper heads and muffling. It just might take a few more minutes to rein in all that Renown resonance.
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Don't forget the limited choice in size and finish for the Renown, kit with 22x18 or smallish 10x7, and the 6 finishes aren't for every one's taste.

About the new Renown 57" : Gretsch please, plain colour underneath the Chevron ! Metallic Red, Antic White, Grey, Black, whatever but no oyster / pearl wrap, what a strange idea you came with !
That said, it's easy to change the position of the chevron so that they're less visible. On thing to be aware of : the cream white paint on the chevron are very VERY sensitive to scratches !
 
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I went to the music store that had the blue/white 57 6 piece kit to pick up a head and take a picture of it and it was sold-I'm pretty sure it was around $2,600. I couldn't believe it sold so fast, but man it sure was sweet. Some lucky person got it for Xmas probably.
 
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