The excerpt below is taken from the complete article that appears in the July 2015 issue,
which is available here.

Product Close-Up

Gretsch Renown Birch and Walnut Drumsets

Two new shell offerings expand the tonal spectrum.

A couple years back Gretsch revamped its Taiwanese-made “touring drummer” Renown series so that it stood closer in line with the company’s top-end U.S.-made counterparts. Upgrades included Gretsch-style rounded T-rods on the tom mounts and bass drum spurs, a sleeker and more lightweight GTS suspension system, stronger and better-fitting tom mounting brackets, and a silver embossed round badge. Gretsch also added Remo USA batter heads, and the interior of the drums feature the company’s signature “silver sealer” finish.

Originally available with maple shells only, the Renown series has been expanded with birch and walnut. We were sent identical setups of the new offerings (18×22 kick, 7×10 and 8×12 rack toms, 14×16 floor tom, 5.5×14 snare) to see what types of tones the different woods would provide.

Check out video demos of each kit at three different tunings below, and read more about the kits in the July 2015 issue.

Michael Dawson

Renown Walnut

 

Renown Birch