Your Gear...

Bish! :shock:

Beautiful set! Please, send us that sound test with or without guitar!

Congrats! :D

Nice throne, dude!

Not something I follow, but didn't know Gretsch was still building hot @ss drum kits. All we guitarists even hear about is Gretsch Broadcaster drums being the reason for the 'Nocaster' and eventually 'Telecaster.' Hope they sound at least half as good as they look. Bish. Enjoy. Play. Record.

That's one killer looking drum kit Bish! 8) Congrats! :D

Dan

Bish -
Beautiful set 8) :D

Please excuse my ignorance, for I know next to nothing about drums....

Does Gretch still make their drums out of wood????
I noticed that it said maple on them.

From what I understand; Levon Helm, drummer from 'The Band', had an old Gretch wooden drum set that he used.
It was a coveted sound by many of his contemporaries, including Ringo Starr.
Ringo once remarked that the sound he tried to get from his Pearls in the studio, was that of Levon's wooden Gretch set.

All the pics I remember from the later Beatle's days, Ringo had almost all of his drums covered in damp towels or something.

So I'm assuming that his Pearl kit was acrylic or something similar that maybe had more resonance than he desired.
And that wooden drums are a bit more subdued....????

Seems like an interesting discussion.... Drum Tone. :wink:

Anyway, I really like your new set.

Ken

Thanks for all the nice comments, everyone. This set is amazing. Talk about ringing tones. Man, I've been waiting for a kit like this for forever.

These are all maple shells which I like a bit better than the Birch shells I had with the two previous kits. I can tell you this, tho, it doubles the price of a drumset. I spent twice on just the shells for this Gretsch kit than I did for the entire Mapex M Birch kit (with hardware) I'm currently selling. On top of that I had to purchase hardware, too and that just about doubles ...well in fact in my case it did double the cost of the kit. And I didn't even have to buy cymbals this time...yet. :wink: That would have been another thousand dollars for new cymbals and we all know I still have to budget for more guitars. :D

I don't know about an exact comparison between wood and acrylic drums but the maple have (to my ears) the warmest tones of all drums. Acrylics, to me, sound flat or dead. They look cool as heck and if lighted correctly can be a stage show within itself. But I'm not into acrylic kits at all.

I will get a vid clip of this kit for anyone interest over the next few days. I'm still trying to dial in the tom layout and then the tension settings on the bass drum pedal and the hi-hat will need tweaking to my preferences. And then you will all get to see it perform. :D

Thanks again for the kind comments...my extended family. :D 8)

Looks a real heavy-duty kit, Bish. Most guitarists (me included!) wouldn't have a clue about the price of drums, but from the clues about the cymbals, I'd guess it cost more than your entire guitar set-up?

Good drumming, bro'!!!!

:D :D :D

Vic

LOL :lol:

Okay.
Well, I've done some checking around.

It would seem that Ringo famously used Ludwig drums.
I was trying hard to picture the logo above the Beatle's name... and came up with Pearl for some reason.
Sorry. :lol:

Interestingly enough, they were Black Pearl colored shells.
Only available on Ludwigs.

From what I can tell, most drums are made of wood. (Maple, Ash, Birch, Mahogany)

So -
I'm very confused now as to why everyone was so into Levon's drum set????

Unless it was a VERY OLD set????
Gretsch has been making drums since the 1880's.

Sorry Bish.
Unfortunately, this is what you get in a discussion about drums with a bunch of dumb guitar players. (Most notably ME :P )

I'm sure we'd all be interested in learning more though. (I know I would) :D

Can't wait to hear yours.
Really a stunning set.

Ken

Looks a real heavy-duty kit, Bish. Most guitarists (me included!) wouldn't have a clue about the price of drums, but from the clues about the cymbals, I'd guess it cost more than your entire guitar set-up?

Good drumming, bro'!!!!

:D :D :D

Vic

The prices for drums are no secret as you can tell by going on line. Of course unless there is something in comparison or you have some basis as a beginning it's as crazy with drum sets as it is with guitars. Oh boy, here I go. :twisted:

There are two basic configurations to begin with. Fusion and Standard. Fusion utilizes smaller drums sizes for different purposes. A basic Fusion kit will consist of 10", 12", 14" drum diameters of the tom-toms. Also usually the lowest tom is not a floor design but similar to the mounted toms. Snare sizes can range from 10" to 14" in diameter and 3" to 5" in depth.

Mine was a bit different in that I got the 14" floor tom, even though I opted for the Fusion sizes. I don't like that one to hang. Again, more options.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Gretsch-Drums-Renown-Maple-Fusion-Shell-Pack-with-Free-8-Tom?sku=445684

A standard kit will have tom sizes of 12", 13", and 16" and that is usually a 3 legged floor tom. Snare size usually accepted are 14" with a depth of 5" to 6.5" and up to 8" in some cases. Here is the kit I have and am currently attempting to sell.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Mapex-M-Birch-Standard-5Piece-Drum-Set-with-Free-10-Tom-?sku=449725

Biggest difference other than shell material and size differences, this kit came with hardware. Mine did not.

Almost all kits come standard with 22" X 18" deep bass drums. From there, the options and configuration changes are limitless. I got an 8" tom with this kit as a free deal from Gretsch. I could also opt for a 16" or even 18" floor tom if I wanted to lug around more gear. :D Add another bass drum if I get lazy and can't perform it all with my right. I'm not a metal or speed drummer but I'll do just about anything else.

The right combination of shell material, the selection of both batter head and resonant head and the pitch they are tuned all are extremely relevant to the tone / sound produced. It's way worse than trying to choose which strings to use for your guitar. Try choosing strings and an amp and cabinet (not to mention speaker size) and a half dozen effects pedals to start gigging in two weeks, all at once and you get some idea of what is required to find that "perfect" tone that any certain drummer is looking for. I think I've found mine.

Now, another factor that comes into play is the shell or head retaining hoops that are used to hold the head in place. Also, how the toms are mounted is critical to retaining the true tone of the drum. Take all that into play and it really starts tuning or detuning a shell in a hurry. The amount of mass stress the shells have to endure effects quality of tone of a drum, as well.

In early days, the tom mounts were connected directly to the shell itself. Now days that is still done but you can opt for no mounts on the shells as is done in the case of these drums. There is no hole in the bass drum for a tom mount either. That is termed 'virgin bass drum', and I'm totally serious.

I'm not saying that the kit I have is really anything special in the big picture. I'm far from the flagship setups out there. Everyone has their own wants and needs and requirements and sometimes it takes a while to get there or be able to afford to get what you want. I've done a lot of research and have a few years of experience and still know less than a lot of people doing this less time than I have. We never stop learning do we?

I hope this enlightens some to what is involved with drumset purchases.

And I'm sorry I didn't respond about Ringo, CitiZenNoir. Yes, he used Ludwigs. Classic onyx black 4 piece. Most people really don't appreciate how good Ringo is cuz he blended so well in the Beatles.

Also, I wasn't aware of the hoopla over the Helms kit. I never followed them and when I had to learn some of their songs, nothing caught my ear. So I'm not sure what the deal is there.

Very nice description there. You rock, Bish. (seriously, if you stop selling your guitars so very often...lol)

Sweet drums Bish.

Seeing that kt reminded me of my good friend's kit back in high school. He had a decent kit in his room and it took up his ENTIRE room. It was crazy.

It also reminds me how cool it is to be into guitars be able to store them away. Drum take up so much room.

Sweet drums Bish.

Thanks!!!!
Drum take up so much room.

Yeah, we rule, don't we? 8)

Wow! :shock:

And I'm sorry I didn't respond about Ringo, CitiZenNoir. Yes, he used Ludwigs. Classic onyx black 4 piece. Most people really don't appreciate how good Ringo is cuz he blended so well in the Beatles.

Also, I wasn't aware of the hoopla over the Helms kit. I never followed them and when I had to learn some of their songs, nothing caught my ear. So I'm not sure what the deal is there.

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I have to rate Ringo as probably my favorite drummer.
He was just great.
Like you said, blended perfectly.
I might not know a lot about drums (okay, I don't know anything about drums :) ),
I do know what I like in a drummer though.

And as far as it goes, for as much Paul McCartney bashing as I do....
He was a fantastic bass player.
He knew how to tie it together and hold it down.
Got intricate, though never in your face.
Could hardly tell he was there at times, though if he stopped playing, there would be a gigantic hole.
That's a good bass player.
I would have to say that a bass player that really knows what they're doing is worth the price of gold.
Has to be one of the hardest jobs in a band.

Hope you don't mind my sidetrack about bass players - to me, they go hand in hand with drummers.

Levon's stuff is, like you said... not that special.
He was a singer, so like Don Henley, his stuff has that 'drone' to it.
You know. Kept it simple so he could sing.
Effective none the less.

So being JUST a drummer and doing his stuff, you'd probably find it quite boring.

And on some songs, Richard Manual played drums. (He was the piano/keyboard player, and one of their singers. And probably one of the greatest singers in the genre)

I would like to know what the story is on Levon's drums, and I can't find anything.
Hmmmm.
Oh Well.
If I run across something, I'll let you know.

Ken

I might have someone to buy the kit.

-Epiphone Black Beauty Custom
-10W Marshall practice amp
-12 String acoustic (not sure brand, at work right now)
-p.o.s. 6 string acoustic i use for slide playing
-bandurria from Philippines (nice sound, don't play it much though)
-computer/software for recording