Drum shell set includes:
Gretsch drums have a strong association with jazz legends like Tony Williams, Max Roach, and Elvin Jones. The affordable Gretsch Catalina Club Jazz Drumset, which has a classic bebop configuration, is also deeply rooted in the jazz tradition. The shells made of 100% seven-ply mahogany deliver a warm, resonant sound. From its round badges and classic lugs through to the natural wood and foil surfaces, the look is very clearly in the Gretsch tradition.
An 18"x14" bass drum combined with 12"x8" and 14"x14" toms and a 14"x5.5" wooden snare drum is the setup which has been the standard in Jazz for many decades. Gretsch's typical 30° bearing edge gives the mahogany drums a soft, musical sound, while the free-floating tom mounting system and the 1.6mm thick hoops ensure optimum sustain. With its sturdy bass drum legs and the flexibly adjustable tom holder, the kit - unlike its predecessors from the 50s and 60s - can easily cope with the rigours of everyday touring. The package also includes a bass drum riser, which allows the beater to hit the exact centre of the head, unlocking the drum's full potential.
The list of possible uses of the Catalina Club Jazz Drumset is very diverse. The affiliation with Jazz is already clear from the name, but it cuts an excellent figure in many other places too. The kit also makes a convincing case as a compact drum set for acoustic music on small stages thanks to its small space requirement, its clear, musical sound, and its manageable volume. Drummers who travel a lot will appreciate the low weight of the drums and the fact that the complete set can be easily stowed in a car.
The Gretsch company was founded in 1883 by Friedrich Gretsch, a German-born immigrant, in Brooklyn/USA and has been owned by Drum Workshop since 2015. In the first decades of its existence, the company specialised in the production of tambourines, drums, and banjos, but from around 1930 it started building guitars. By this time, Gretsch had established itself as a serious manufacturer of drum sets, and in the decades that followed, Gretsch drums were extremely popular, especially among Jazz drummers. Today, Gretsch offers a range of drum sets in all price ranges, starting with the affordable Catalina series and extending to the exclusive American Custom drums - and every series includes traditional features, a characteristic trait of Gretsch Drums.
The Gretsch Catalina Club Jazz Drumset has been a fixture in many Jazz clubs for years. The reasons for this are obvious: The kit is easy to tune, looks like it's straight from the golden era of Jazz, and delivers the perfect sound for this genre of music. The small drum sizes and the associated reduction in volume also enable use in rooms with difficult acoustics, for example in churches. Your bandmates in the rehearsal room will also appreciate a drum set with more moderate volume, as this ensures a more transparent overall sound and gives the instrumentalists and vocals more space.
30° bearing edge
The typical wooden drum shell has a relatively narrow contact surface for the head on the outside, which allows it to vibrate unhindered. On the inside, most manufacturers mill the shell at a 45° angle. However, the Gretsch company has been an exception in this regard and consistently relies on a 30° angle in order to achieve a softer, more controlled sound due to the slightly expanded head contact surface.