A bad case of G.A.S.

[kickinit]

thanks ricky!! I thought about a dw collectors kit for a long time but i finally pulled the trigger after finding out how great the renowns sound!!

THIS ^^

Every time I sit behind my Renowns, I just grin ear to ear... I can't get any valuable practicing done because all I want to do is hear the sound, and feel the response from drums. The experience is very interactive... these drums just give something back to the player... anyone who has played them knows what I am talking about.


G.A.S. is building... may not be until next year but I can predict a USA custom in my future also. Very much going down the same path... being impressed with the Renowns coupled with Ricardo's earlier USA Custom post.

Again, super stoked for you Rich!! Awesome kit... and well deserved... Congrats!

[late8]

THIS ^^

Every time I sit behind my Renowns, I just grin ear to ear... I can't get any valuable practicing done because all I want to do is hear the sound, and feel the response from drums. The experience is very interactive... these drums just give something back to the player... anyone who has played them knows what I am talking about.


G.A.S. is building... may not be until next year but I can predict a USA custom in my future also. Very much going down the same path... being impressed with the Renowns coupled with Ricardo's earlier USA Custom post.

Again, super stoked for you Rich!! Awesome kit... and well deserved... Congrats!

Thanks David. I'm happy to report that if you are happy with the Renowns, you'll be blown away by the USA Customs. Grant it, I never had a chance to actually sit down to play a Custom kit so I was a little apprehensive about the purchase. I had to rely soley on what the Renowns were able to 'give back'. That "Gretsch Sound" that's been coined to describe their trademark is exactly what's described by many others who have purchased Gretsch drums. That sound hits you in the face. I can feel the kick drum resonate against my chest. My bandmates's jaws dropped when I brought the kit to practice yesterday. They were 'floored' when they heard the kick drum. Now I know why the bass drum alone was over $1,600.

[Ricardo]

That "Gretsch Sound" that's been coined to describe their trademark is exactly what's described by many others who have purchased Gretsch drums. That sound hits you in the face. I can feel the kick drum resonate against my chest. My bandmates's jaws dropped when I brought the kit to practice yesterday. They were 'floored' when they heard the kick drum. Now I know why the bass drum alone was over $1,600.

All drum manufacturers make a "top line" of shells and have successfully created snares and toms that are excellent............and yes, even some bass drums.
In my old Gretsch kit, the bass drum is easily the best sounding drum.........I don't know what it is but Gretsch has always been the leader in bass drum sound with the USA Custom line.
Over the years I have had many sound reinforcement people ask me about it because it sounded a bit better than they were used to hearing.

Rich............are you using the stock heads ?
After you experiment with different heads over time (I know, not inexpensive) you will find the right application that sounds good to you.............much better than the stock stuff, which are generally the equivalent of Ambos.

I'm currently playing clear Emps over clear Ambos on the toms and I play them wide open...........they make a PA sing.

Right now on my bass drum I have a clear PS4 as the batter and a black ported PS3 on the Reso..............a small towel lies in the bass drum just touching each head............powered by a double Speed Cobra (itself, a marvel of mechanical engineering), this old drum totally kix bootie.

Have fun !

[late8]

All drum manufacturers make a "top line" of shells and have successfully created snares and toms that are excellent............and yes, even some bass drums.
In my old Gretsch kit, the bass drum is easily the best sounding drum.........I don't know what it is but Gretsch has always been the leader in bass drum sound with the USA Custom line.
Over the years I have had many sound reinforcement people ask me about it because it sounded a bit better than they were used to hearing.

Rich............are you using the stock heads ?
After you experiment with different heads over time (I know, not inexpensive) you will find the right application that sounds good to you.............much better than the stock stuff, which are generally the equivalent of Ambos.

I'm currently playing clear Emps over clear Ambos on the toms and I play them wide open...........they make a PA sing.

Right now on my bass drum I have a clear PS4 as the batter and a black ported PS3 on the Reso..............a small towel lies in the bass drum just touching each head............powered by a double Speed Cobra (itself, a marvel of mechanical engineering), this old drum totally kix bootie.

Have fun !

I've swapped out the stock Permatone heads with Evans EC2 clear batter/G1 clear. The toms 'sing'. I opted to have an 8x12" rather than what appears to be the standard size of 9x12". The 9x12" get's lost in the mix no matter how I tune it in my humble opinion. With the 12" tom now having 8" of depth has really made it 'pop'. I couldn't be happier with the toms.

For the bass drum I swapped out the Fiberskyn reso with a Remo mylar WeatherKing with a 5" port. The batter was swapped out for a Aquarian SKII. I ditched the slave bass drum pedal and now have the optimum hihat position. I was torn about not having a double bass drum pedal but I haven't missed it much.

Thanks for the suggestion for the heads. I'm going to try your combination as soon as I wear out the EC2 heads.

[late8]

[late8]

The ebony lacquer finish over N. American Rock Maple takes on a different color when hit with bright light. The finish looks dark green to me in this pic:

Flash:



No flash:

[Bish]

Yeah it does.

[Ricardo]

They are beautiful.
And they look very familiar.............lol.
Because of the age differences, my bass drum has wing bolts rather than drum key bolts.
In looking down through your clear batters into the shell interior, it looks odd to me to not see the dual mufflers that were common and included in all toms in 1977.

[late8]

^Cool pics Ricardo. I noticed the wing bolts on your kick drum. The width of the claws on the newer style look strikingly similar to yours. It's hard to comprehend that both of our kits, even though decades part in construction time, have had the same exact belt sander and drill press used on kits made for artists from the '50s like Max Roach, Kenny Clarke, Art Blakey, Shelly Manne, Elvin Jones, Art Taylor, Mel Lewis, Charlie Persip and Philly Joe Jones just to name a few.

The fact that impresses me the most is that years ago, Gretsch moved their belt sander and drill press from the factory where the Jasper shells were made in the midwest back in the '50s to their current factory in Ridgeland S. Carolina. That's some serious history right there brother!

[Ricardo]

Believe it..............it's all true.

Jasper is a small town in Southern Indiana :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jasper,_Indiana



And if you have a few minutes, check this out :

http://gretschpages.com/forum/rumble...i/22808/page1/

[late8]

Bumping this thread to share this:

http://www.drumchat.com/showthread.p...m-v-29597.html