Over the last sixteen years I’ve reviewed many Gretsch drums, both kits and snares, and yet I’ve still never owned a Gretsch drum myself. I’m not sure why as I’ve pretty much always enjoyed them.
The configuration we tried this time round was from the Brooklyn series (GB-J484) and had a 12×8 rack tom, 14×14 floor tom, an unmuffled 18×14 bass drum and a 14×5 snare, which was in Deep Marine Black Pearl.
The drums feature 6-ply North American maple/poplar shells with Gretsch’s Silver Sealer interiors, 30’ bearing edges and Remo (as Gretsch Permatone) heads top and bottom (coated Ambassadors top and clear on the bottoms, with a coated PS3 and unproved logo head on the kick).
Hoops and hardware are all Gretsch and include “302” 3mm double-flanged hoops on the snare and toms and Satin Ebony with matching Nitron inlay hoops on the bass drum.
The full range of Brooklyn drums is –
Mounted Toms: 8×7, 10×7, 10×8, 12×8,12×9, 13×9, 14×10
Floor Toms: 14×12, 14×14, 16×14, 16×16, 18×16
Bass Drums: 18×16, 20×16, 20×18, 20×14, 22×18, 24×14, 24×16, 24×18, 26×14
These are, as you would expect, classy high end drums, but they’re not cheap, although quality never is.
The drums have a warm sound and tuned up as in the video have a real authentic open jazzy feel. They’re not the loudest drums, but the sizes will account for a lot of that. Add to all of this the fact you have a large amount of sizes and options to choose from and you’re good to go.
I’ve always found the higher end Gretsch kits to be some of the ‘vibiest’ drums around. I think it’s the hoops, I love the way they look and feel. Overall though, the drums look great and have a real classic thing to them and if like me vibe is your thing, then these would be a good starting point.
In fact, if I had a need for a high end small sized kit for jazzy/bluesy gigs, i.e. if I were playing that type of music a lot, the Brooklyn would be on my list of kits to check out further.
For more info, check out – http://www.gretschdrums.com/drums/brooklyn
David Bateman
May 2018