Gretsch Renown or Tama Starclassic B+B

SharkyBait911

Senior Member
Hi once again guys,

I've got a dilema, Ive been saving up for a new kit for while now and I'm coming up for a good some of money, so i've stated looking at kits and I'm stuck between two kits, either;
Gretsch Renown maple limited edition 6 piece - £1327
Tama Starclassic performer birch+bubinga - £1600

So all i need really is some advice from you guys to push me towards either of these kits,
If it helps i play jazz/funk/fusion kinda stuff and some rock/pop stuff in a band.

Thanks again guys !!!!!

Tristan
 
I've played both. My pick would be the Tama BB. Great sounding versatile kit. Not that the Gretsch is bad. Tama gets my vote. I play Pearl...
 
Well there you go. Buy with your ears. Tune the kits and play them both.
 
Though I never heard any of them live, I heard good thing about both but only Tama SC B/B has sometimes people not like their sound. Going with my heart and from what David Northrup told me, Renown is the kit, he could have choosen the New Classic or the USA Custom but he play Renown because of their true warm sound.

The only thing I dont like about Gretsch is their 5 lugs tom on 10" (maybe even on 12") tom but their are "renown" for being easy to tune.
 
Different types of sound, so to speak. It's hard to compare them because they're quite different, just starting with the wood they're made of.

Want dark, punchy and with short sustain? Tama Starclassic BB

Want mellow, warm and with some sustain? Gretsch Renown
 
I own Renown. I haven't played Tama. I'm sure once they are tuned properly and playing against music you won't hear much difference. And with the Gretsch you save 300 pounds. Go give them both a good swat.
 
How does a four year old thread even get resurrected?

It happens when that guy comes around and spams 100 threads promoting his "Largest collection of drumless background music" pay site.

People then reply before the admins do spam control and the thread is bumped to the new-posts list.
 
It happens when that guy comes around and spams 100 threads promoting his "Largest collection of drumless background music" pay site.

People then reply before the admins do spam control and the thread is bumped to the new-posts list.

To be fair, anyone that does that gets hammered very quickly.

Fair enough, Joseph! I'd be saying go for whichever is less expensive. It's much of a muchness.
 
Just wanted to see if anyone had experience in comparing projection/cut, that's all...

Right before I bought my Renown Maple, I tried out a Catalina Birch. The birch did not project as well, though for a number of reasons (it's a whole class lower). People have told me that birch is great for recording and maple is great for live acoustic performance. I'm not certain I believe them past the extent that birch has a slightly more subdued sonic profile.
 
Thanks guys. I already have a silverstar and a renown maple. From what people in the audience or my band members tell me, the birch sounds thunderous and cutting, where as the maple sounds great (their terms). I use the same head combo on both and they seem to project the same, but the renown is warmer as expected. Since the renown is more pronounced on mid frequencies, sometimes it gets buried in the guitar parts. It's hard to measure accurately especially un-mic'd.
 
I've played both and I think I'd choose the tama. However, if it's in the short stack config with the ridiculously deep kick then those sexy satin white renowns might be more appealing.
 
Thanks guys. I already have a silverstar and a renown maple. From what people in the audience or my band members tell me, the birch sounds thunderous and cutting, where as the maple sounds great (their terms). I use the same head combo on both and they seem to project the same, but the renown is warmer as expected. Since the renown is more pronounced on mid frequencies, sometimes it gets buried in the guitar parts. It's hard to measure accurately especially un-mic'd.

I used to have a Pearl BLX kit. Cutting highs and solid lows was how I'd describe the kit. It had no problem projecting due to the thick shells, I suppose. It lacked warmth though. Still, it was an awesome live kit because it didn't get buried behind the sound of the guitar. Different kit than the Tamas for sure, but it had everything that was distinctly birch, so it's a good reference.
 
I used to have a Pearl BLX kit. Cutting highs and solid lows was how I'd describe the kit. It had no problem projecting due to the thick shells, I suppose. It lacked warmth though. Still, it was an awesome live kit because it didn't get buried behind the sound of the guitar. Different kit than the Tamas for sure, but it had everything that was distinctly birch, so it's a good reference.

Thanks a lot for the advice. I very rarely play Pearl's so I never considered them. I'll check them out.
 
Both are very nice kits.

For me, the Renowns are more of a classic, vintage sound, with a modern twist on them. The Tama B/B kits are 100% a modern sound. They are among the best kits I've recorded for heavier music, but I don't find their sound to be as versatile as the Renowns.

Of course, we're splitting hairs here - your choice of heads and tuning are likely to have a much larger influence on the sound of the drums and what genres they'll fit in than anything. Personally, out of the two, I like the more aggressive sound of the Tama B/Bs, but few maple kits really "wow" me anymore.
 
Thanks a lot for the advice. I very rarely play Pearl's so I never considered them. I'll check them out.

I just played on the new Pearl BCX kit and it was awesome. It had warmth and sustain that was missing from my BLX. While still having solid birch punch.

I'm in the market for my first kit in years and the BCX now on my short list.
 
Thanks guys. I already have a silverstar and a renown maple. From what people in the audience or my band members tell me, the birch sounds thunderous and cutting, where as the maple sounds great (their terms). I use the same head combo on both and they seem to project the same, but the renown is warmer as expected. Since the renown is more pronounced on mid frequencies, sometimes it gets buried in the guitar parts. It's hard to measure accurately especially un-mic'd.

that has not been my experience at all. I saw my buddy play last night on his Renowns, and those suckers cut like crazy! I've heard a couple of Silverstars, and they don't cut that well at all from what I heard, (they were miked, too), and I have compared them in the same room live, with the same drummer/same band/tuning. I suppose with some kits it can be down to the drummer/tuning/heads, but that wasn't the case with the Silverstars.
 
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