Thanks for taking the time to do this comparison. It was really helpful to hear the differences between the two drum kits, even though they are physically similar. I personally really prefer the sound of the club much more than the renown
I'm liking the sound of the Catalinas in this comparison! Punchy. The Renowns have more resonance and could probably use a bit of tweaking with the tuning. That being said, I just received my own set of Renowns in 24/13/16!
The Catalina series is made in the DW drum factory in Taiwan with ownership still under Gretsch. Taiwan quality is amazing for all products! I love my Catalina Club Jazz kit. @@marcros7289
Excellent sound comparison. Less crash and ride cymbals being played, so it was much easier to hear the attack, tone, sustain and decay of each drum. Good job. Thanks.
One of the best drum comparison videos, i have found! Just playing simple beat and a fill, repeat it and or directly compare it, nothing too fancy, that will distract me from the sound of the toms. Thank you very much! 🙏
This video was so helpful! Great to hear each set on its own and then a side by side at the end. Outstanding job! This has actually helped me make my decision as to which sound I like better and which set to get....definitely the Catalinas. And bonus, they're cheaper! Thanks again!!
Renowns have better clarity and the mounting metal part is better as in better build quality. The Catalina toms can be better in a song recording if you want the toms a little more controlled or a little more subdued. …For drum solos, the Renowns can be better since they are a little more pronounced and forward sounding.
Both kits sounded great. I am a little bit of a fan boy of Catalina‘s. I did note that the Renowns seemed deeper or lower. They were definitely more resonant. I do find it interesting that both the Renown and the Catalina lines have a long history with Gretsch as you can find early iterations of these brand names in the 1920s and 1930s catalogs.
Hey! It's GRETSCH!!!! Love them both. I have a Catalina Club BOP kit, so I'm partial to the Catalinas. Of course it's obvious the Renown is a higher quality instrument at 2x the price. Love that they both have the same fundamental sound, with the renown having a much superior overall resonance and tone Nice comparison
If you own a Catalina, you could buy one or two Renown rack toms for a change of pace. If you do that I wouldn’t get rid of the Catalina rack Tom because it still has its own sound.
Renown every time!! I have both Renown and USA Custom, there is nothing in it sound wise but the USA kit will always be worth more financially. I think given time the Gretsch Renown kits will increase in value.
Yeah, I was just at the Chicago Drum Show this past weekend and it got me thinking about how things like Catalina’s and Renown’s will be viewed at once they are old enough to be considered vintage. I feel like everybody has now embraced 80s and 90s kits as “vintage” and somewhat desirable now.
Renown seems to have a bit more 'weight' although they are ringing more than the Catalina's. Both sound really good. I think I'm about to spring for a set of the Renowns.
Catalina are 7ply thin mahogany /Renown being 7 ply maple is a huge tone and volume difference.I've had both and they are equally are amazing but...If you need volume ? Renown are 3x louder especially if your not mic'd. Mahogany has beautiful low end tone but the volume especially on the racks is really not there.the kicks and floor toms shine on the catalina gear.Great Comparison Mike,as alway's.
Can't argue with that. I find that most situations where I need to project, Im mic'd up, but maybe in a big band or concert band the Renowns would help cut acoustically.
I have both these kits, black ebony with a 8" rack added on the renown and white chocolate on the club. Bigger Renown kit is more of a permanent set at church I play every week. I use the club kit when we play in public park twice a year, easier to set up/ break down to o the park. I Mic up the club kit on the open air stand at the park, it still gets the sound I need in the mix on the board. The black Renown came with a free 8" which I seldom need. Sometimes I take it as a mismatch with theWhite Chocolate club and add it off a cymbal boom. By the way I'm trying to sell the Catalina Club with or without cymbals and booms.
For me, the 1st kit sounded much better. The second kit has an overtone that sounds like a stretching rubber band. My kit is somewhere in between and I've never really been happy about it. But, I grew up on 60s and 70s "thump." Great comparison.
Nice comparison video. Too many just show someone doing a groove without a clear hearing of the toms. I like the bass drum sound better on the Renown. To me that extra 2" gives it a little more thump. But I liked the toms on the Catalina. I have a Catalina Club 4 piece in the yellow strata finish and have thought about upgrading. But I have it sounding pretty good to my ears. Rogers has come out with a kit in the champaign sparkle finish which is beautiful. But it is over 3 times what I paid for the Gretsch and not sure it sounds 3 times better. This is actually a great time to be a drummer. Manufacturer processes are better than 50 years ago so more inexpensive kits are pretty good now. I know more expensive kits would hold up better when doing a lot of setup and tear downs when gigging but the sound is not necessarily that much better. And when in a band setting where the drums are just sitting in a wall of sound where many of the nuances of a better kit aren't really heard the difference in price is a consideration. Because you have a more expensive kit doesn't mean you are a better drummer. Maybe it is more a status symbol.
I own a 24,12,16 70’s Gretsch, 24,13,16 Gretsch Renown RN2 and a Catalina Club Black Galaxy sparkle. All different kits. But enjoy all of them equally.
Hey Mike, hope all is well. Last year I picked up a renown bop kit. I already owned a cat bop kit. I agree that both kits sound great. I did some comparisons but my bop kit had single ply heads and the Renowns had two ply so it wasn’t a true comparison like yours. Although I can’t say how it affected the sound I think the heavier hardware and 302 rims on the Renowns affects the sound. I think The maple shells vs the poplar shells make a big difference. The Renowns had more sustain and volume. I found The cats are more subtle and warmer. Great video!!
Yeah, it's almost a preference for the genre you play. In many settings, a Catalina could be a better fit and more desirable, but I still own a Catalina and a Renown, and they are both fantastic.
I have both kits. The Catalina kit is light weight and very simple to tune. The snare is a bit weak however. The Renoun projects more volume and is a bit more challenging to tune. The Catalina is great for jazz because it doesnt project big volume. If you are rocker I suggest the Renoun as they are heavier and will project more.
Hey, great comparison! They are both great, depending on what you are after. The Renown obviously has better hardware, as to be expected. Speaking in the context of sound: Renown is superior for modern backbeat oriented genres of music. For swing Jazz, the Catalina Club is much more ideal. Thanks for posting this.
Yeah, I think you’re probably close to me in my view of the two. Sometimes I actually prefer the lighter hardware and shells of the Catalina’s over the heavier, thicker, higher end Renowns, but it’s all situational for me too.
I will say.. your technique is VERY good. And your tuning is also good. So you really sell the catalina's further than they may deserve with great technique and good tuning. I think you would make any drum set sound decent with your playing/tuning. I think the difference up against the renowns would be a LOT more dramatic with "average technique" and "average tuning" .. if that makes sense? Haha. Anyway, awesome comparison video!
I'd certainly agree that a great player could hopefully make almost anything sound good, and it's probably an underrated skill to be able to adjust your touch, and playing to bring out the best in an instrument. I appreciate the nice comments about my playing. They're all great drums to me!
Catalina has more focus. Have always preferred 20x14 bass drums too. The renown sounds a bit handful but I’m sure it’s wicked! Many drummers prefer it to the USA Custom and Brooklyn
I have used both kits. Catalina is light weight (thin Shells) and the toms sound and tune up really well. The Catalina snare that I had was a 5.5 and was honestly the weak link on the kit. So get the Cats to save some money, but get a good snare because the 5.5 inch cat mahogany snare really kinda sucks. Forgot to mention, the Catalina hardware is, well, cheap to be blunt.
I have the same feelings on the Catalina's I mostly used them for gigging because they are so light weight to carry around, and also much easier to replace if need be. I bought mine without a snare, so I don't have much experience with the snares, not surprised though. They don't even cut snare beds on most of those student level kits.
What do you think about upgrading the hoops? I’ve had great luck with upgrading student kits to 2.3mm but I haven’t decided what I want to do with my cats. Leave them, or go to 2.3 or 3mm.
Bass drum on the renown sounds punchier and louder. But to me, maple and birch bass drums always sound louder with more attack than any other wood. It was hard to compare the toms because the renowns had so much more sustain but you warned us about that. If you still have both sets I would love to hear the toms tuned to the same frequency.
Yeah, part of me also thinks it’s not fair to tune drums exactly the same because drum has its own sweet spot based on the build, but I can also understand the desire to have consistency in an experiment.
@@malonedrum Actually part of me just wants to hear the comparison of maple verse mahogany. It's the same manufacturer, same size kit, both 7 ply shells. I assume the same thickness. It would be a real nice comparison. Thanks for taking the time to do the video. Best
One thing that always bothers me about RU-vid people that dude drum demos is that they tuner drums tco loose or too low in that case. I tune my drums as you do I'm 56 and have been taught to buy a bigger drum.than to tune loose. I use black or chrome ambassadors on the reso heads. Pinstripes on all but the snare. Either way you gave a fair review.
I love "That Great Gretsch Sound"! My Catalina Club Jazz kit is amazing! I would like to have heard more info on the type of wood (mahogany, maple,, etc.), number of plies and any other info on the shells. Which heads did you use? What size are the snare drums? What size (thickness) are the hoops? Are these identical? Which sticks are you using? By the way, my personal preference from your video is the Catalina Club.
While the renown were a little more resonant (this could be tuning?) I actually preferred the Catalinas. I didn't hear anything from the renown that would entice me to pay twice the price of the Catalinas for them.
Thanks for the very useful comparison. The Catalina definitely does not have a “pro” sound. Good for students and casual gigging, but not for serious music making.
@@malonedrum yes, I can see that. I called the Renown sound “pro” in the sense that its resonance seems to give a lot more room for “engineering” the sound in a studio or amplified situation. In yours and other demos, the toms give very clear pitches. On the other hand, the Catalina sounds “drier” (shorter resonance) and less defined in a way that, as you suggest, evokes old jazz recordings. On another note, how do you feel about the Renown hardware? I’ve seen comments about it feeling “flimsy” or not polished (for the price) but what I see in pics and videos seems different. Unfortunately, there aren’t any Renown kits in my local stores to give it a try.
nicely tuned and great sounding recording. i got an older set of catalina, but a terrible room with low ceilings. i'd be stoked if i could get a recorded sound like you have here. i like the sound of the catalina here (i'm biased), although they both sound great..love gretsch
My ceilings are maybe 6.5 ft at most where I record my drums, and it’s probably not ideal, but I’ve certainly not struggled to get a good sound. I think if you worked to treat your room a little bit you could get a very passable room sound!
@@malonedrum yeah brick walls, concrete floor, low ceiling, regular basement..adds lots phase issues and some nasty frequency that does not sit well in any mix without a lot of EQing. the mics on the kit are ok/passable ..it the overheads..it just does not sound good for me at the kit, so it translates into the recording. i gotta research treating the room for sure..cheers
I wasn't even looking for you this time! Anyway, the Catalina Club having a 30-degree bearing Edge and mahogany is obviously one of the most user-friendly warm drum sets for my ears and the few times I've played in the music stores I've always loved them but I've heard a lot of quality control issues 10 years ago and I still hear them now from people. What are your thoughts on that? A guy told me today that he had a Catalina and I think a broadcaster and they both had to be fixed or sanded somewhere on the bearing Edge and he even said both had at least one loose lug. I love the way these sound and I really like the 18" BD from Catalina. Btw, I like the Catalina club sound better.
Nice comparison video. I had a wonderful set of Renowns but started using a Catalina Club kit instead. The Catalinas are so much easier to get around. (...that's important at my age...-lol) Plus I just Love the sound of Mahogany! By the way... what heads are you using? Thanks!
I’m using Remo colortone heads, which are just clear emperors. Not my usual sound but for this kits function, that’s what was the choice. I actually mostly gig with a Catalina kit because it weighs so much less and if I scratch it, it’s not that heartbreaking considering the price/value
It might just be the tuning, but I think I preferred the Catalinas here. The tone felt a bit cleaner and more defined. I really didn't like the sound of the renown floor tom, but that's probably just tuning. Too "wobbly" sounding for me. Overall though, the sound is VERY close.
Renown 💯 So the renown is made in Taiwan which makes excellent drums and hardware and also has the 302 3 mm Gretsch hoops and the overall quality is just much better. The Catalina is made in China using the 1.6 mm hoops with low quality chrome. I have a Catalina mahogany kit and it sounds great now that I’ve changed the heads and put Gibraltar 2.3 mm hoops on .
I actually prefer lighter hoops on drums typically. Lighter mass creates a nice sound, but I also dig having a bit more weight tighten up tones at times too.
They both sound great. Since I started drumming I felt in love with the gretsch usa custom that was shown in my favorite drum shop. Of course far away from affordable at this time. The renown reminds me so much of that sound. Is this comparison appropriate?
Yeah, I think the wood species probably has a lot to do with projection. The maple would be way harder, and the die cast hoops don’t hurt there either.
That Catalina is PUNCHY! Do you know anything about the Club Maple snare's? I found a gold sparkle 14x6.5 at my local used guitar shop. I was thinking of getting it but i couldn't find any demos on it and it was tuned low and I didn't have a drum key to see how it's sounded tuned high. It was going for $200
$200 feels pretty steep for that drum because in my opinion, when you see stock snares with mid level kits, they typically are not built with a ton of thought and design, sometimes they don't even have snare beds.
@@malonedrum About 10 years ago I found a Ludwig supraphonic all metal in a pawn shop and got the guy down to $90. I put new heads on and a new snare strand. It is my go to for almost all my kits. Easy to tune up or down. I bought the Catalina Club in 2016, 4-pc with the maple snare. Less than $600 for the whole shell pack. $200 for that snare is a bit high. Mine sounds great and easy to tune.
Is this a Catalina maple set? Or is it a club series? I did not know a 5 piece configuration was available in the club configuration. Nice comparison. Thanks
Both kits sound great but the Renown sing a bit more and have a clearer tone. Not to say the Catalina could get the same tone, too, with some tweaking. I'm in the market for a 5 piece Renown kit next week. I use an older chrome Slingerland Krupa snare as my go-to snare drum. Should fit in nice with this kit.
I too prefer the sound of the Catalina over the renown. Much smoother. Two questions: 1. Can you recommend a hoop mm replacement for the cats (2.3 vs 302 hoops). Sound is modern worship low key to high energy in smaller room. Or if you recommend to stick with stock 1.6 that’s cool too. 2. What are the fabric rings you have on your cats in many of your other videos
I’m not sure I can pinpoint a specific mm hoop correlated to a specific genre of music, but I find thicker/heavier hoops tighten up the sound a bit. I use Roots EQ muffling on lots of drums in different situations. Great company and option for muffling.
I've got a Renown. Still trying to find heads that I like. Currently they have Aquarian heads...studio x clears over classic clears. Thinking about trying Evans coated G1s over clear G1s. What heads do you have on these? My kits a 13, 16 and 24 with a Dallas Drum aluminum snare.
I have them both, the Catalina has an 18in bass and the renown has a 22. Love them both but with proper tuning I think my 18 sounds punchier and boomier than the 22.
Yeah, to me the Catalina’s having thinner shells and lighter hardware is something that a lot of higher end drums miss due to the association between nicer being heavier duty.
Love the renown toms but prefer the Catalina bass drum. And yes the tuning is much lower to my ear on the renown shame perhaps tune them closer and redo?
Yeah, I mean I think you have to balance trying to compare things in an exact science, and tuning a drum where it sits I won’t be doing it again for these two kits, but you live, learn, adjust, and repeat.
Renow sound more sustain ,but i think is for tom holder , why your catalina doesn´t have suspension tom holder than last models? Its makes a huge difference in sound.... Beautiful kits I have a catalina jazz club , new models and every new model its better , sound like a pro drums... Great video, one more suscriber...
I removed the suspension mounts, I’m a big fan and advocate for DTS (Direct To Shell) mounting. I actually layer on released a video where I removed the suspension mounts from my renown kit and did DTS mounts.
Nice comparison, thank you! The Renowns are my next kit, they sound amazing for a so called budget kit. My Pearl ELX Selects on an ICON rack have been mistaken for a high end kit before, these should be too.
Thanks for the kind words! If this video reaches you anything I think it shows that you can get a great sound in either student level or entry line professional kits.
@@malonedrum sure, its a taste thing. I'm in the market for a 24/16/13 set, huge kicks look ugly drilled to me. actually having second thoughts now as a renown clearly sounds better in this video, more bloom, mids and that vintage mojo overall. and I really like the oyster wrap
@@malonedrum Dear Mike, I though they were Catalina Club Maples shown on your video. Wow. Very nice tuning/mixing. Especially, just an overhead and a kick mic.
Renowns obviously have more resonance, but if you're playing to an audience you may not prefer it (or even hear it in the audience). Renowns are definitely better built... and much heavier. I'd buy used Renowns over equivalently used Cats since they'd be holding up better.
They both sound good; we're you using any muffling/dampening? The Renowns are a bit ringy, I would say. A little too much sustain - most noticeable in the floor tom. Maybe a little moongel could dampen that a tad? All personal preference, I guess.
Yes, they both sound great! and no, I did not use muffling, and I typically would. Usually using the Snare Weight M80s or the smaller version, especially on a floor tom, but for this video I felt if I used muffling, I'm taking away from comparing the actual drums.
The Catalina’s clearly win here and I was rooting for the Renown’s. The Renown’s are maple and the Clubs are luan (Asian mahogany)? If so this is why the cat clubs sound warmer.
@@malonedrum Ear supercedes any particular note. As long as the interval is right and tone. I dont use Tunebot I reference with piano. I arrived at my “tuning technique” by using a Ddrum /triggers back in the 90’s You can change the pitch on the Ddrum module sample. I found when comparing my desired (say 10” ) drum tone/pitch to my drum heros Garibaldi, Enzo Todesco, Vinnie, Bissonette etc they were all very close to D#. So I matched my drums to the samples and didnt have to use much muffling. Hope that makes sense. I like your content I subscribed and invite you visit my youtube chan. As I said it’s not polished or purposed content. Its more for storage and sharing.
Certainly can't argue with you, but if the drum doesn't sing in the same exact tuning, I'd rather hear a drum where it's sounding balanced and in tune with itself then making sure I'm using some identical setting on a tune bot. But again, I hear you.
@@malonedrum The tuning of the set taken individually is not in question but the fact that they are compared, I repeat in my opinion, if they are not tuned in the same way, a reliable comparison cannot be made.
Interesting is they are actually the same snare. A Gretsch New Classic. I did the comparisons back to back so I can’t imagine the tuning changed at all either. Maybe just blended better with the particular set though.
I can’t say I’ve had the same issue, I’ve always been able to get extremely wide range of sounds/tones just from changing the variable things like heads, muffling, hoops, tuning, etc. I know the different wood specific would make a difference, but I’ve never felt limited to a particular sound based off shell material.
... Once you play a Sonor SQ1 birch kit ... there is no going back ! ... It is truly in a league of it's own (as far as sound). THAT'S WHY I TRADED IN MY RENOWNS.
@malonedrum well as you should know, I'm not a drum manufacturer. I will say, though they do have hybrid shells. For example, hickory/birch or hickory/maple. Hickory is a great wood come to find out. Also, could be the plies and/or bearing edges... could be many things. One thing about Gretsch is they put coated heads on ALL their kits which could be some of the sound problems. They sound deep most of the time but dead attack most of the time.
@@JoeMo2000 so it’s the heads, not the drums? I think heads influence the drum sound probably more than any other factor including bearing edges or shell construction (though they do have their place).