The Gretsch Catalina Maple is one of Gretsch’s best-selling drum kits. It’s an incredibly popular intermediate kit that can be used for multiple settings and occasions. In the drum market, there are a few popular maple kits in this price range from different brands.
We’re going to take a look at what makes the Catalina Maple stand out from those kits, and why you should buy it. Let’s get cracking!
The big features of this drum kit are the maple shells, the 30-degree bearing edges, the Gretsch GTS suspension system, and the kit configuration options on offer.
The maple shells give the drums a punchy and warm sound. They’re quite explosive, yet mellow enough for styles like jazz. The 30-degree bearing edges are a classic touch from Gretsch. The drums vibrate a bit more than standard drums with 45-degree bearing edges, making these drums a lot more responsive.
The GTS suspension mount offers a fair amount of flexibility with your tom positioning. It’s not the greatest mount compared to other brands, but it does the job fairly well.
One of the best things about this kit is the number of configuration options you get. You can choose to buy the kit in a 4-piece, 5-piece, or 7-piece setup.
The Gretsch Catalina is the intermediate drum set option from Gretsch. When thinking of its quality, you have to realize that the kit is made on a production line in order to produce as many kits as possible in a short time.
So, you’re getting intermediate quality features. That’s not to say they aren’t good, though. In fact, the Gretsch Catalina is one of the best kits on the market in its price range.
You get high-quality sounds that are aimed at intermediate drummers, but the kit is usable in many pro settings. There isn’t much to fault in terms of quality other than the stock drumheads that come with the kit. Those can be easily upgraded, though!
Gretsch has a very rich drum making history. Everything about this kit represents that as the construction of this kit is what gives it the vintage-like tone.
The biggest and most prevalent construction feature is the 30-degree bearing edge on each drum. This is a typical Gretsch design that makes the drums a lot more resonant and responsive.
Other than that, the drums are very durable. They also look fantastic. You get a large choice of finish options, with each one looking just as good as the last.
The drums all have triple-flanged hoops. This is fairly standard for a kit of this price, but it’s worth mentioning.
This kit is a fully versatile drum kit option. The warm and explosive tones tend to fit perfectly in every style. If you tune the toms a bit higher, they’ll resonate musically and act as the perfect jazz drumming tools. If you tune them to be low and booming, they’ll sound fantastic in rock settings.
The Catalina is a great performance drum set. You could use it for professional gigs and it would work quite well. However, you’d need to swap out all the single-ply drumheads for some two-ply ones to get a better sound out of these drums.
You could try higher-quality single-ply heads, but they won’t do as great a job of eliminating any unwanted overtones.
The kit costs between $800 and $1300 depending on which configuration you buy. It only comes as a shell pack, meaning you don’t get any hardware or cymbals with the set. That’s a fairly decent price for a maple drum set.
However, you’ll find a few maple kits from brands like PDP, Tama, and Pearl that have the same price points. So, the price-to-value ratio of the Gretsch Catalina is the same as those kits.
Your decision of which maple set to get won’t be decided by price, but rather by which features you like the most.
The 7-piece version of the kit comes with 8”, 10”, and 12” rack toms, 14” and 16” floor toms, a 14” snare drum, and a 22” bass drum.
This is the ultimate version of the kit to get if you want a giant drum kit setup. It’s the best option for metal drummers or anyone who loves playing on lots of drums. Unsurprisingly, it’s the most expensive version of the set.
The 5-piece version comes with 10” and 12” rack toms, a 16” floor tom, a 14” snare drum, and a 22” bass drum. There’s also an option to get a shell pack with smaller sizes that has a 14” floor tom and 20” bass drum.
This is the most standard version of the set. It’s perfect for anyone who wants a normal drum kit setup with 3 toms around the kit. It’s the version of the kit that has a price point that is in the middle of the 3 setup options.
The 4-piece version of the set has a 14” snare drum, 12” rack tom, 16” floor tom, and a 22” bass drum.
This is the bare basics version of the set. It’s a good choice for drummers who prefer playing without a middle tom. It’s also the best option for gigging drummers. Gigging drummers tend to prefer playing without a middle tom as it makes it easier to carry the drums around as well as fit in tighter spaces on stages.
The Gretsch Catalina is great! It’s one of the best mid-range maple sets on the market, and it’s one of Gretsch’s top-selling kits. It can be used for so many different settings as it’s incredibly versatile.
The other mid-range maple kits that it competes with are the Tama Superstar Classic, Pearl Decade Maple, and PDP Concept Maple. All these kits are made of maple shells and cost between $800 and $1300 depending on the different configurations that you choose.
The Gretsch company has a popular reputation as their top drum kits are made in the USA. Drums made in the US are arguably better than foreign shipped drums in most cases. So, you may be expecting the Catalina Maple to be a good US-made kit.
Unfortunately, the Catalina drums are actually made in Taiwan. Having them made there is what keeps the production costs low, allowing the company to produce the drums on a large scale.
This is why the Catalina kits are the most sold kits from Gretsch. They’re cheaper and there are simply many more models than there are of any other Gretsch drum kit.
Gretsch drum kits are fantastic if you’re looking for a vintage background with modern touches. Every Gretsch kit serves as a bit of a reminder of all the kits that have come before in the old days.
There’s something special about the construction that goes into Gretsch drums, and it’s a great privilege to own a Gretsch kit. This is especially true if you own one of the higher-quality ones like a USA Custom or a Broadkaster.
The Gretsch Catalina Maple is an excellent kit for studio recording, especially if you’re looking for a budget kit for your studio. The maple shells are excellent in recording settings as they transfer through microphones very well. They’re easy to mix and EQ as well.
You’d need to pair the kit up with some top-quality cymbals to get the best possible setup for recording.
The kit also works fairly well for live settings thanks to the explosive nature of the toms. You’d need to tune it quite well without muffling the drums too much to get the best effect on a stage.
The Catalina Maple kit looks fantastic under lights, so it’s an excellent option for drummers who love aesthetics.
This is the kit to get if you want a maple drum set that is affordable, offers different setup configurations, and has an explosive tone with a vintage touch. While the stock drumheads and GTS tom mounts aren’t ideal, everything else about the kit is excellent.
If you love the Gretsch brand, you’ll love this kit. If you’re unsure of whether this is the kit for you, you should check out the other intermediate maple kits such as the PDP Concept Maple, Pearl Decade Maple, and Tama Superstar Classic. Whichever kit you choose, know that a maple kit will always be a good choice!
Drum Teacher
Brett Clur has a Drum Performance Diploma from Trinity College London has been playing drums for over 20 years. He is passionate about advanced concepts and uses his years of experience to teach his students about them. While he is a full-time drum teacher, he is also working on growing a YouTube channel where shares his insights. You can see him playing there, or on Instagram where he posts daily videos.
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