I have a love hate relationship with Gretsch drums. When I started playing in the summer of 1982, all of my hero's including my teacher played Ludwig. My first set was bought out of price and convienence and it was(is) a 1974 rosewood red Gretsch 22,12,13,16. It came with a 1966 chrome supra but over the last 15 years I added a chrome SSB Gretsch snare.

I was happy to have the set as a teenager but I hated dealing with the hardware on the set. The legs always slipped and the ball socket mounts didn't work all that great. I was a rock and roller when I started playing but I got into jazz during my junior year of high school and totally love and respect the vintage Gretsch jazz sound. I would love to own a satin flame bop set just like Elvin or Art.

My first love was Gretsch going back to when I was a young 13 year old drummer in 1978 I use to watch the Midnight Special, Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert, The Rock Show and anything else that showed bands and artists as it was the only way at that time to see my heroes!

I believe it was The Rock Show that aired a video clip of The Rolling Stones in the studio for the Some Girls album. And there was Charlie Watts looking cool as ever playing a black Gretsch 70’s kit.

Flash forward to around 1995 and I not only bought my first vintage kit, it was also my first Gretsch kit. A 70’s walnut kit with big drums! 26/13/14/15/18. The bass drum was finicky and I could never quite get a good tone so I sold it. Last I heard Lars Ulrich owns it and uses it to record all their albums since Load. I then bought a 70’s red rosewood kit 18/13/15 kit. Again I had a finicky bass drum so I sold it.

I went Gretschless for a few years then bought a 90’s 22/10/13/16 kit in Tony Williams Yellow. Again bass drum problems so I sold it.

I then mostly concentrated on Camco and George Way drums before landing a 60’s RB 20/13/16 kit w/ matching snare in Tangerine Sparkle ( rewrap) Bam! There’s that bass drum tone I was looking for!

Not all Gretsch are created equal in the vintage market and I’ve learned to wade through the dogs to find the gems that have That Great Greatch Sound!

The TWY kit made it back into my hands after almost 10 years . I’m in California and they ended up in New York at Maxwell’s so I bought them back. More bass drum head options now then 10 years ago and I was able to finally find a good head combo that works on this bass drum but it still a bit finicky to dial it in.

I now own the following Gretsch kits and love all of them!

2012 20/10/12/14 Renown Purewood 6 ply Hickory

1990’s 22/10/13/16 w/ 6.5 matching snare TW Yellow

1980’s 24/13/14/16/18 w/ 6.5 matching snare Red Rosewood

1970’s 22/8/10/12/16 in Black Nitron

1970’s 24/13/14/18 in Black Nitron ( rewrap)

1960’s 20/13/16 w/ 5x14 matching snare Tangerine Sparkle (rewrap)

If I hit the lotto jackpot, then I think I'd be able to afford a nice Gretsch RB bop kit....I bought a ticket....heh....*cough*

Good luck to you!!

Cheers

Coming back to this after a few days I thought I would clarify as I don't mean to be evasive or nasty! Your comment about some of the drummers who I revere most (Shelly Manne, Elvin, Tony) surprised me for a couple of reasons. First off Ive rarely (never!?) heard anyone say they dislike their drumming. In my circle/contacts, these are the drum gods and we all appreciate what they gave the world of music and jazz drumming in particular. Second, I don’t hear their drumming as “nebulous” but rather as precisely what they intended to do and precisely what was needed. But again I see these ultimately as opinions and you obviously have a different set of wonders and amazements in your musical sphere. By the way grooving rock drummers like Bonham and Al Jackson are definitely cool by me and I’ve learned quite a lot from their styles also. But modern jazz resonates more because of the larger set of variations and the poetry of the phrasing.

I much appreciate the fact that we can disagree here and still be civil, which is more than I can say for other forums. Obviously, I'm just not a fan of that bop style of drumming.

I will admit that my opinion of Tony Williams is clouded by an incident I witnessed involving Tony at a Modern Drummer magazine festival I attended years ago. Tony was one of the featured drummers that day, and after his solo section was over, he started preaching about a theory he had that said, drummers should never rely on stick rebound, that they should always consciously lift the sticks back. It was a theory that left some of us scratching our heads in confusion. Someone stood up and asked Tony why he believed this theory was valid, and Tony got very nasty with the guy. The audience immediately braced for a confrontation, as the questioner didn't take kindly to Tony's arrogant reply. I almost stood up and berated this so-called drumming legend, I was incensed and I was not alone. Someone yelled out, "Apologize, Tony!" which he eventually did and that was that. He blamed little sleep the night before.

Joe,Never got Rogers?..Why?

Of all the brands of drums that I have owned, Rogers are the heaviest. This was not an issue when I was much younger and playing many one-nighters that involved loading and unloading in the van, loading and unloading at the gig, setting up, and tearing down. My Walberg & Auge drums with mostly Gretsch parts were not as heavy as my Walberg & Auge drums with mostly Rogers hardware. If I were still a gigging drummer, I would probably leave my Rogers Swivo era drums at home and gig with my Slingerlands or Leedys.

Probably because one never came up for sale . sitting in front of me, ----well twice or three times I had a "Rogers Experience"...actual eyeballs on them----played a fella's dynasonic for a whole night once-----.but never any desire to pursue them.Had already owned Ludwigs maybe thought "not much " of a Difference (and not as good-looking) ... Just never came across any..

Same with Slingerland They never did anything to me either. Couple few three experiences with them never enough a desire to pursue.

The only Rogers I had a semi- for were the memri-loc; again never saw many locally..

Once a Butcher Block in a jazz club. Their looks just didn't excite me enough. Same with Swingerland.

Today looking at either still-- nothing. Respect them just don't want to own.

I personally like the Gretsch RB-SSB bass drums. The bass drum has a warm woody thump - more attack than Ludwig or Slingerland, but less punchy than Rogers. It just suits what I do, sits really well in the mix and has a happy medium if that makes sense. Rack toms are 50/50 for me - 12", 13"s can have amazing tone, especially mid to high tuning. But sometimes they seem to go from dead/floppy to 'boingy' without much middle ground. Most of the floor toms seem to be that way though, especially the 14". They weren't consistent from drum to drum so I'd need to play a Gretsch before buying. Overall one of my faves though. Also a big fan of their weirder satin flame wraps (Olive, Sunset, Peacock). I feel the same way about Ludwig as you feel abut Gretsch. I just never got into their sound and never played a Ludwig set I liked the sound of, but it's totally an individual taste thing. That said, Sonor Teardrops, to me have the best of everything and are my personal favorite vintage drums.