More years ago than I can remember ... the "great" American drum kits were 'King'! But, the kit that had the purest sound was the Gretsch. Of course, it was beyond my pocket at that time, but I lived in hope. Now, all those years on, I have a Gretsch. It's the Renown Maple. It looks great and has already drawn comments from other drummers! I bought the 18" kit for ease of use - many venues offer limited space -
so it's compactness was essential. Great finish, the furniture (lugs, holder and legs) are high quality and well designed. Setting up was straight forward and there was a lot of scope for a multitude of settings. Enough to suit most drummers.
I particularly liked the "locks" on the tom tom legs. One can get the exact height, etcetera, when laying out the kit. Saves a lot of adjustment time at the venues! The drum sizes (18" bass, 12" and 14" toms) offer a good range for tuning, but .. it's probably a personal thing, I wasn't impressed with the transparent better heads. I have changes them for Evans G2's and (in my opinion) the sound and feel has improved. But it's something to be toyed with in the immediate future.
If you are looking for an affordable quality drum kit with an established reputation, this is a worthy contender for you.
Good in all types of playing situations, function bands, small jazz groups and big bands, rock and more progressive styles.
All in all, a great looking kit that will not let you down and it almost makes me think I can actually play!!! But what's not to like? "It's a GRETSCH"!
