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  Why I bought a Gretsch Catalina Ash Kit

THE EQUIPMENT
Gretsch Catalina Ash in Deep Cherry Red.
  • 8", 10", 12" rack toms + 14" floor tom all with Remo Emperor coated heads
  • Additional 16" floor tom to come.
  • 22" Kick with Remo Powerstroke III head
  • 14 x 5 snare with Remo Emperor X skin.
Cymbals
  • Sabian AAX 14" stage hats
  • Sabian AAXplosion 18" crash
  • Zildjian A Custom 18" crash
  • Zildjian A Custom 18" china
  • Zildjian A Custom 14" Fast Crash
  • Sabian AAX 20" stage ride
Hardware & Accessories
  • Tama Iron Cobra double pedals.
  • Gibraltar GRSP Rack.
  • 5 x Superlux drum mics for toms
  • 2 x Superlux overhead mics
  • 1 x Shure PG52 kick drum mic
  • 1 x Shure PG56 snare mic
  • 3 x mic stands (1 kick & 2 for overheads)
  • Pearl Hihat tambourine
  • Generic metal cowbell
  • Mapex soft cases

WHY I PURCHASED A GRETSCH CATALINA ASH KIT


I had a budget of £700 and I was looking for a so-called 'mid-range' kit. But let me tell you where my brain was regarding brands, because this influenced my decision in a big way...

I've seen loads of live bands in various situations but mostly in local pubs and clubs. And I know the sound man plays an overiding role in this, and there are other variables such which skins the drummer is using and so on, but even with all this in mind, I was thinking..
  1. I have NEVER, EVER, heard a poor sounding Gretsch kit
  2. I have played a cheap Mapex kit with stock heads which sounded utterly fantastic, but I've heard some poor sounding kits live.
  3. Pearl kits at this price sound rubbish, and their hardware and mounting systems are naff, we've all played them in rehearsal rooms.
  4. The Yamaha kit I used to have sounded pretty good (a Stage Custom Advantage) and I loved the YESS tom mounting system, but its been discontinued and they were only Falketta shells which I ended up taking the res skins off to get a decent sound out of them.
  5. I've heard some great sounding Tama kits, but the one's I've heard were out of my price range
So in the end I was torn between a Mapex Meridian Birch and a Gretsch Catalina Maple, and I really wanted a white pearl effect kit.

I was surfing around for days, and I'm about to go for the white pearl effect Gretsch Catalina Club from Electro Music at £484 when I see Andertons are doing a Gretsch Catalina Ash kit, with an extra tom, at, wait for it, £299!! So I check it out on You Tube and it sounds great, so that was it.

The color of the kit (deep cherry red, transluscent) is better than I expected, but I can always put a white pearl effect wrap on it! And by the way, Andertons were truly brilliant. I'll be buying my stuff from there from now on.
email me at: paul@drumstudio.co.uk
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