Gretsch Renown Maple

[coke_can]

yes and from person to person

[Counttewfour]

After playing various configurations of Ludwig maples and custom hand-made kits (in my workshop) over the years on stage and studio, I decided it was time for a new kit. I wanted a clear or transparent color as I wanted the new kit to show the wood grain.

As part of the decision process, I also weighed the option of ordering Keller shells and the associated parts and building another kit from scratch. The configuration would ideally be 10, 12, 14, 16 with RIMS type mounts and no drilling the shells and 18 x 22 (virgin bass). This would allow for flexibility on gigs and be able to play 4, 5 or 6 piece on stages both small and large. This should also allow any kind of sound or feel any studio engineer/producer could want. However the kicker was, with two kids attending college in the fall my budget needed to be at or below $1500.00

Price comparisons for new kits quickly pointed to the mid range offerings from PDP, Yamaha, Tama, Mapex (Pro M), Gretsch (Renowns) and used DW Collectors from e-bay or Craigslist. (For some reason Ludwigs have lost their charm and Pearls and some of the others just didn’t float my boat)

Interestingly enough, building a kit by ordering shells and shooting a clear poly automotive finish wasn’t any cheaper than buying one of the “store bought” mid range kits. Additionally, I kept thinking “if I spent $1300-$1500 on Shells and parts I’d better not screw it up during shooting the clear and assembly”...and then the question became, “...what was my time worth?”

After months of research and agonizing and with the new Gretsch model year hitting the stores, I found a new set of “last year’s” Gretsch Renown in 10,12, 14, and 18x 22 virgin bass in Autumn Burst at one of Guitar Centers (RNE-825-AB) . Researched indicated that they had the new models for this year coming in so I was confident were motivated to get rid of old inventory. That made it pretty easy to be aggressive. After some haggling and price matching, I got it out the door for $1190 tax included. My research was confirmed when they threw in a 8x7 rack tom and financed it free for one year. (Down the road I will likely order the 16” after living with the current configuration for a bit). Note: I don't really like the sound of the 8" and therefore haven't played it or even set it up...

So here is what I’ve found over the course of the last 3-4 weeks or give or take:

Initially let me say how beautiful the fit, finish & detail are on these. Rich, deep lacquer over a gradual tobacco like brown burst stain, chrome to rival some hot-rods and rubber insulators on all mounts including bass drum spurs and claws. Simply stunning (I actually went out and bought a can of Lemon Pledge! ...yeah.... yeah I know)

I played them while filling in for a local blues band the day after my purchase. I found the Clear Evans G2 batters and the generic factory clear heads on the toms left something to be desired. They were somewhat difficult to dial in (could have been the room) but with some perseverance, not too bad. The good news was the bass drum with its EMAD batter and G1 resonant head was huge, dare I say thunderous...a joy to play. (I even had a DW Collectors player from the crowd compliment the low end). I later ported the head with a 5” hole to accommodate an internally mounted bass drum mic and found the drum got even punchier with a touch less “boom” and less rebound off the pedal.

However, I did not like the idea of “not bad” for the toms on a brand new set of drums. So I replaced everything on the toms with Coated G2s up top and G1 coated on the bottom. I supplemented the batters with some Evans sound rings just to further fatten it up. BINGO! Nice and fat all the way around with great control. If you want them to really sing simply pull the sound ring off the head. Either way, you get a nice full round tone that almost seems to groan as it diminishes. My band’s bass player called them a “very pure sounding set of drums” ...I like that...very descriptive.

I play a lot of R&B, Blues a little Funk and Rock & Roll so I’m not really much of a Jazzer...

That being said, and given the type of music I play, I have found that these toms seem to have very narrow tuning range. Unlike my old Ludwigs, which have a wide range and are very forgiving, these toms are either on or they’re not. Additionally it appears they do not like a slack batter head. Where the Ludwigs seem to like even tuning on batter and resonant head. However the Gretschs seem to be at home with the batter head a touch tighter than the resonant. So, depending on where I’m playing, I tune both heads a touch above slack to where I get them to sing and not “boing” and then drop the tuning on the resonant heads to get the tone/note I want and to make sure the interval between each drum is pleasing. I’ve found the 10” and the 14” tune up in a snap, the 12” however is a bit more finicky. But once you find that sweet spot they far surpass any drum set I’ve ever played or owned. Remember the bass players comment about “pure tone”? Believe it. Just be prepared to spend a little $$ on heads and some time dialing them in. (If you’re a REMO person, consider pinstripes up top and ambassadors below)


Overall bang for the buck....OUTSTANDING drums. The more I live with these, the more I discover and the better I like ‘em.

There ya have it... hope this helps

Counttewfour

[davewilson]

In my experiments with my Gretsch renowns I've found that they seem to come to life with a thicker resonant head when using thicker or muted batters. I don't know if it's the combination of 5 lugs, 30 degree bearing edges, sealed interior,and very heavy cast rims or just shell construction.. but I've tried various head combinations side by side with my Pearl and Tama toms and the Gretsch seems to be unique in many ways.
I even tried it with two fairly thin Tama Powercraft heads (one on each end) and it had the same effect. It would seen that for whatever reason the Gretsch seems to like heads that are similar on both ends. I even mounted up a hydraulic on batter with a G2 on reso and was totally shocked to hear my tom resonate for so long... the tuning range seemed to open up, the tone rather then becoming choked actually seemed to increase (???). Earlier today I tried an Emperor on both ends and the same thing happened.
So it would seem that if you are using a two-ply batter (or a really thick single like the g-plus) you should try using a thicker (10mil)head on reso... like the ambassador or G1. I've been using the Emperors and G2's on both ends of my floor toms for quite a while now... but the Renowns are the first shells I've owned where you could plop a two ply head on both ends of a 12" tom and actually see such a dramatic increase in tone and sustain.
I know Gretsch always claimed to be different... I'm starting to believe it.