Gretsch Drums CT1 J403 SWG Gretsch CT1-J403-SWG Catalina Club 3 Piece Shell Pack 14x20 Bass, 8x12 Suspended, 14x14 Floor Tom Satin Walnut Glaze

I tried to buy these two years ago and it didn’t work out. I found another deal on them and decided to try again. I’ve played and owned top of the line professional touring kits and I can still very much appreciate these for what they are:Bass drum - I used a clear emad 2 on the kick with a rolled up hand towel on the inside of batter and resonant head. Reso head immediately ported. With a round felt or Zoro beater the kick thumps. The 14” depth really gives a great sound and exceptional playability. The claws did seem a little chintzy but I bet they will hold up fine for low tuning. I appreciate the claw gaskets. The Gretsch bass drum logo on the reso head looks cheap and gaudy. If they put the other logo they use these drums would look much higher class.12 inch rack Tom has good vintage tone with quick decay. The rims mount doesn’t really seem to help sustain much, I may look for a better mounting system that’s more stable. It will work for the foreseeable future. I love the sound, it really sits in the mix well with coated g2. These aren’t cutting drums but I still think are versatile for most genres. Mechanically I did find a small nick on the 12 Tom bearing edge. I appreciate that all lugs came with gaskets. Also, in the box the Tom holder had ripped through its box and jabbed into the kick drum shell leaving a rash mark. Overall everything could have stood to have been packed better by Gretsch.14 floor Tom - I had one lug insert give a lot of resistance even after lubing all tension rods. They include a spare insert in the box so I need to replace it. Bearing edge had a nick in it but I don’t think it will affect the sound. Also at the wood seam it looks like a small chunk has been wood filled and then they stained over it. I put Gibraltar floating feet on the floor Tom legs and with a vintage emperor tuned 94/117 batter/reso on tunebot and one moongel, 3 cotton balls inside I get a nice deep thump out of the 14. Plenty of bottom end for me. The floor Tom leg eyelet system is annoying but looks like it will last a long time.Overall the kit sounds like a middle ground between a MIJ round over kit and a modern 45 degree bearing edge drum. I could see these lacking projection compared to a modern kit but that’s to be expected with a 30 degree bearing edge.I think the satin walnut finish looks best followed by the two antique finishes. I don’t know that they were thinking with the flame finishes. The sparkle bronze is decent - I love sparkles normally but the sparkle bronze just looks a little old and dingy. If they added more sparkle finishes I’d trade another one of my kits to get a 2nd Catalina club.Personally I think the quality level is that of a little lower priced drum set than the typical web asking price. I’ve got another kit I paid less for that came with beefier lugs and 2.3 mm hoops as opposed to the 1.6 of the catalina. However, the sound and tuning range is that of higher priced kits. I wouldn’t hesitate to use these for any situation and these will probably be my go to kit as long as the satin finish can handle moves and the lugs hold up. I just love the sound, how you get nice smooth, deep earthy tone and then it just gets out of the way. I don’t need my drums to ring out like DWs. They’re light, and the 20/12/14 sizes are in my opinion the ultimate in versatility; you can get them down for real soft gigs or crank it up for heavier stuff. I don’t regret trading in my aging pro rock kit to get these, they are so fun to play and so musical. Gretsch was perfect in creating a 14x20 bass drum kit. It is the Goldilocks size. Overall I’m happy with my purchase. I would definitely pick these over a beat up vintage kit that parts for are either tough to find or too costly.

Kick sounds great. Flr Tom sounds good. Still working on the 12" tom. I have a Gretch Renown kit too. The hardware is a step down with Catalina Club kit. The 12" Tom mounting system needs some help. The stock 1" memory lock clamp is totally inadequate for holding the tom fixed. I upgraded the memory lock to Gibraltar SC-HML1 Hinged Memory Lock 1 Inch. Put 1" heat shrink tubing on both sides of the memory lock and that really helps secures the mounting system. As well the T-Rod screw holding the 1' tube is inadequate. It would be too hard to explain how I sorta' help that without pictures.The T-Rod screw locking on an optional cymbal holder was bent. I was credited $10, but Hal-Leonard sent me the T-Rod for free. Gretsch doesn't handle support directly, but pointed me in the right direction.The reason for the 4 rating is the tom mounting platform. A larger memory lock would help a lot. A softer rubber/plastic insert in the 1" hole where the platform 1" tube fits would help too to keep the tom fixed in place.Overall I'm pleased with the set. I used the kick in a gig this weekend because it was smaller than my 18' x 22" and the toms would be quicker to set up as apposed to the Gretsch floating Tom system off cymbal stands. As I wrote the kick sounds great.

I’ve had the same set of birch Yamahas for 40 years. I wasn’t sure if I could replace them. But, this set with the 20” bass sounds great. The YouTube videos are true to what they sound like. Once I properly tuned them they sounded great. You can get all kinds of tones from the Toms. I’m using a Gretsch renown 6.5” snare and they acoustically together sound amazing. Been playing them for a month now, and I’m a heavy hitter and so far they are solid.