Best Gretsch Drums Catalina Club Studio GAB Alternatives

Based on 5 reviews

Very impressed with this lovely little Sonor AQ2 Bop kit - 18? Kick, 12?, 14? Toms. Even the 14x6? snare is sounding delicious. Workmanship is top class. Design of the kit hardware and ergonomics is excellent. Sounds very nice. I cannot fault the kit. I?ve had near on every kit going, DW Exotic Collectors, Pearl Reference, Recording customs, Maple Customs, Teardrops, Ludwig super classics, Delites, Starclassics, Signia, and many more, I can honestly say this kit edges and for me, just tops, each one of them. Based on build quality, design and ergonomics, sound (though this is easily tweaked on any kit) , looks, and price. There?s absolutely nothing missing from it. The white marine pearl is beautiful, nicer than the ?60s Slingerland wmp kit I had at one stage. It is a unique pattern, a...

Based on 5 reviews

Bought this kit last week. Wow. What value for money this little kit is. Just changed heads on the toms. Left original snare and bass drum heads on. I mic up all drums through a very good quality PA and I'll tell you, it sounds huge. The whole kit fits in 2 padded bags. So easy to carry. I will change the snare batter head, and honestly if I had to pick a weak point about this kit, it would be the snare itself. Totally useable but not the best, then again you must remember the price of this whole package!!! Pearl have done it again. Fully recommended. Tune it right,mic it up and boom. Go for it.

Based on 4 reviews

This kit by Pearl was an absolute delight to assemble. It comes in one box about waist height and was very simple to put together. It tuned so quickly and I was surprised that with the new stock heads it stayed in tune. I had anticipated myself having to buy new heads fairly soon but I'm getting good use out of the stock heads as they are sounding great. The snare head Is beginning to wear after 4 gigs so I will need to change it soon. The beauty of this kit is how quick you can set it up. I use it for small tight spaced gigs and small rehearsals. I was disappointed that there was no option to buy the carrier bags. This forced me to use my hardcases which defeats the purpose of the mobility factor. The bass drum design is intuitive with the hoop edged out and its riser but I would prefer...

Based on 3 reviews

TL;DR: very good shell pack with a great sound. I use this kit for rehearsal, practice in a small studio. The overall quality of the kit is very good: * easy tuning of the toms, creating a full, even sound pretty easily * snare is amazing: cracking and powerful sound * toms clamps are steady, and it's easy to get the toms in the right place. I picked 2 heavy Tama HC83BW stands and they do the job perfectly for a reasonable price. * bundled with coated drumheads by Remo and they sound great. Still it's too early to tell about durability. I've been playing a couple of different kits in the past (Yamaha, Sonor, Pearl), about the same mid-range quality and the sound of the Mapex Armory is better compared to those: easier tuning and "stable" tom notes makes the kit sing in harmony...

Based on 3 reviews

When you put it upright, it just looks so much better. All kidding aside, this kit is easy to put together. When you buy a snare drum stand, you do have to put in a bit more consideration, because some of them don’t hold 10" snare drums. The wrap finish looks awesome. It’s sparkly and chic. It isn’t seamless everywhere, but it has been put on carefully and looks tidy at the seam. The snaredrum and 8" tom come pre-assembled. The 10" tom and 14" bass drum you need to assemble yourself. The 8" Tom had its drumhead on so tight that it barely resonated and I had to greatly loosen it. I can’t imagine that’s Tama’s doing. Now it’s fine and for as far as I can tell the wood isn’t damaged. You get one short and one long spare...

Based on 3 reviews

I highly recommend this drum set. All the features are fantastic. Manufacturing is really high end. The snare drum just sings. From the 16-inch kick drum, you will be satisfied if you play jazz or funk or does not matter, it has enough low end for every genre. This drum kit is excellent in every situation; if you are looking compact drum set there is no drum set to compare with this one, all the features are written in the description are really useful and awesome. Pros: Maple shell, smart mount system, arm for the ride cymbal, beautiful warm sound, the best snare in this price range, amazing color and compact of course! Cons: there are no cons at all :D , I think :))) This drum is more than you expect.

Based on 2 reviews

As a drummer for some 30 years, I've tried and owned a number of kits from all the main manufacturers including my own custom built birch rock kit. I chose the Catalina Club Rock due to it's diversity. When played hard, it delivers a deep powerful sound but has equally nice tones when laying off with some jazz grooves. My previous (monstrous) bass drum was 22x26 so I was a little dubious about the 24x14's ability to cut through and deliver the punch required for double pedal work. However after tuning and damping, the 24" bass drum delivered everything I was looking for. It's a big brutal beast with plenty of projection. The mahogany shells are beautifully finished with the satin walnut glaze. A classic looking kit that has a traditional understated presence that demands a second...

Based on 2 reviews

I've been playing other brands before buying my very own kit, and as soon as I played on a Stage Custom I knew exactly what I wanted myself - And got it as soon as I could. And after 6 months of use, I can say this buy was a great one! It sounds amazing, and for a cheap price as this shell pack is, any drummer should honestly have one of these kits in their disposal. It'll probably be my main kit for many, many years to come, and Yamaha has been a brand I've fallen in love with so much over the last months. I use all Evans heads. G2 + Genera Reso heads on all toms, ST Dry + Snare Side 300 on the snare, and EQ3 + Yamaha Factory reso on bass drum. Sounds professional and amazing. Easy to assemble, looks great where ever I set it up and I usually get compliments for how good it looks and...

Based on 2 reviews

I have more recently been using Drum Workshop kits, but have always had a soft spot for Gretsch having owned one in the past. I play in a few bands and got feed up with having to cart my fairly large set up DW kit around to smaller gigs and particularly with my jazz band as space is often at a premium at venues. I saw this kit a few months ago and was very tempted by it's lovely finish (Vintage Pearl) and the set up was just the sizes I wanted too. Anyway I bit the bullet and bought it and I have to say I am very impressed. The finish is excellent and the fittings and parts are well made and just feel right. I took it along to a rehearsal with my jazz band and it got all the "oohs" and "aahs" I had expected. It sounds great and would thoroughly recommend it if you are...

Based on 2 reviews

I wanted a small set for my apartment, but didn't want something of cheaper brands. Since DW floats the boat for me, and because it's very well known company - I went ahead and bought this one. Very nicely built with great quality of shells and hardware, lots of spare tension rods/washers/etc. 1ply factory heads are ok to play light styles of music, these are not flimsy or too thin "demo" heads like on budget brands. Since I'm building a silent set - I put these onto the resonant side of drums and they sound good. Overall I'm happy with the whole thing, highly recommended as a base for silent set or for small studio.