Topic: Stepping Up - Graduation, Growth, and Gretsch |
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| 1.Stepping Up - Graduation, Growth, and Gretsch | Copy to clipboard |
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Posted by: HuskerFan Posted on: May 27, 2012 8:57 AM I got my first set of drums, the black Sunlite 5-piece, back in 8th grade before Christmas 2007. They've served me well in the five years since then, but I've always known I'd soon need a better quality kit. I happily got along with the Sunlites, replacing the heads, getting sturdier hardware, and collecting a nice, small collection of good cymbals. Last Sunday I graduated from high school. Corresponding with that, I received a nice amount of money from various relatives and such, for which I am very grateful. I wanted to make a good investment out of it, so my parents and I contemplated some things I'd enjoy. My uncle suggested a new guitar, but not being primarily a guitarist, I figured that would be nice, but wouldn't be as useful to me. I made the decision to get a new drum set. Yesterday my dad and I went to Guitar Center to take advantage of their Memorial Day sale and I came home with a Gretsch Catalina Club Jazz kit in copper sparkle finish for $550. It may not be a top-line kit, but it seems like a great playable, portable, and presentable step up from the Sunlites. I'm definitely happy and I can foresee these Gretsch drums in my possession for years and years to come! | |
| 2.Re:Stepping Up - Graduation, Growth, and Gretsch [Re: HuskerFan] | Copy to clipboard |
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Posted by: HuskerFan Posted on: May 27, 2012 8:58 AM My first plan with my grad money was to buy as many Snickers bars as I could, so I've nicknamed them "Snickers."  (Click the picture to view the original one) | |
| 3.Re:Stepping Up - Graduation, Growth, and Gretsch [Re: HuskerFan] | Copy to clipboard |
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Posted by: pwc Posted on: May 27, 2012 9:33 AM Very nice indeed. Well done on both the graduation and the Gretsch. ..!! | |
| 4.Re:Stepping Up - Graduation, Growth, and Gretsch [Re: pwc] | Copy to clipboard |
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Posted by: HuskerFan Posted on: May 27, 2012 9:43 AM pwc wrote: Thank you, Peter! I'm now both a proud graduate and member of the 18" bass drum club. | |
| 5.Re:Stepping Up - Graduation, Growth, and Gretsch [Re: HuskerFan] | Copy to clipboard |
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Posted by: paul Posted on: May 27, 2012 10:35 AM Those kits have a very good reputation, and that's a really nice color. Congratulations for all. | |
| 6.Re:Stepping Up - Graduation, Growth, and Gretsch [Re: HuskerFan] | Copy to clipboard |
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Posted by: Singlestroker Posted on: May 27, 2012 10:37 AM It's truly stunning! It goes to show that you really can't beat sparkles and glitters. OK, I know: that's just my opinion. Congratulations on graduation too. | |
| 7.Re:Stepping Up - Graduation, Growth, and Gretsch [Re: HuskerFan] | Copy to clipboard |
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Posted by: OldFart Posted on: May 27, 2012 11:40 AM Whoa! Great find; great choice! Loverly in all respects! You've done well in progressively moving toward a goal; nicely done  Congratulations for graduating - first of all; and congrats on the fine acquisition 
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| 8.Re:Stepping Up - Graduation, Growth, and Gretsch [Re: HuskerFan] | Copy to clipboard |
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Posted by: StillKicken Posted on: May 27, 2012 1:44 PM Very nice, I've always liked Gretsch drums. And congratulations on the graduation. 18" bass and joining the crowd, great!! BTW: I'm in the process of finally converting my 18" tom to a bass. sherm | |
| 9.Re:Stepping Up - Graduation, Growth, and Gretsch [Re: HuskerFan] | Copy to clipboard |
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Posted by: HuskerFan Posted on: May 27, 2012 8:15 PM Thank you Paul, Singlestroker, Randy, and Sherm! Singlestroker, I think I agree: you can't beat sparkles and glitters. My other favorite kit I have access to is my bandmate's orange sparkle Apollo kit. 20" bass on that one. I was tempted by the WMP offered on the Catalina Club jazz. Sherm, what's your process? Are you getting new hoops? | |
| 10.Re:Stepping Up - Graduation, Growth, and Gretsch [Re: HuskerFan] | Copy to clipboard |
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Posted by: StillKicken Posted on: May 27, 2012 9:06 PM HuskerFan wrote: Yes, actually one at at a time. Today I put on the first coat of Tung Oil, gotta wait 24 hour between coats. The first Saturday of May I booked two jobs within an hour of each other across town. LOL!! I've been itching to make the change for some time so I went to the drum shop and purchased a Fiberskyn PS3 to replace a very old reso head. The guys worked on the tuning for a while and got it to sound like a bass drum just to get me buy for a one hour gig. Bass and snare with hi-hat. I built a plywood box rack to mount the new bass with a door hinge for the pedal clamp. It worked!!! With the gigging set already setup at the second gig location I walked in with snare and hi-hat 30 minutes prior to start time. And the guys were worried I couldn't do it! HaaHaa! sherm | |
| 11.Re:Stepping Up - Graduation, Growth, and Gretsch [Re: HuskerFan] | Copy to clipboard |
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Posted by: Singlestroker Posted on: May 28, 2012 12:19 AM HuskerFan wrote:... Singlestroker, I think I agree: you can't beat sparkles and glitters... Spare a little tear for me, though, Joshua. I have never had a glitter or sparkle kit, much as I prefer them. 
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| 12.Re:Stepping Up - Graduation, Growth, and Gretsch [Re: HuskerFan] | Copy to clipboard |
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Posted by: OldFart Posted on: May 28, 2012 7:45 AM You're quite welcome, Joshua ... My first kit - consisting of a Bass, Snare and mounted Tom - was a golden-orange metal flake wrapped no-name, Japanese made kit (as I recall, a Pearl OEM kit). That was at a time in the USA where imported consumer goods were inconsistent and often of such poor quality they'd only be fit for the dust bin. Now, decades later, many of those same sources are ISO 9000-certified manufacturers. A small kit like that was a step up from a solitary student snare. My student snare pack, however, was made by Gretsch. My father was a fine musician, and during WWII was a big band band leader and arranger. He knew a thing or two about many instruments, but knew the least about drums. But he was intelligent enough to pick-up that Gretsch student snare. A couple years later, when we were just about to obtain the three-piece, we had a chance to purchase a small Sonor kit; but I hadn't heard of Sonor at 14 years of age. I was familiar with Gretsch, Rogers, Ludwig and Slingerland; but completely in the dark about Sonor. Foolish, eh? For a little bit more money I could've had a top-line full drum kit. Idiot I was, I didn't like the whitish, sort of cream color on the Sonor - the orange metal flake on the OEM kit was singing to me and won me over. O what could've been. | |
| 13.Re:Stepping Up - Graduation, Growth, and Gretsch [Re: Singlestroker] | Copy to clipboard |
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Posted by: HuskerFan Posted on: May 28, 2012 9:08 AM Singlestroker wrote: 
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| 14.Re:Stepping Up - Graduation, Growth, and Gretsch [Re: HuskerFan] | Copy to clipboard |
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Posted by: drummer5359 Posted on: May 29, 2012 6:17 PM HuskerFan wrote: THAT is a beautiful kit!!! Congrats on graduation and a new Gretsch kit! SNICKERS ROCKS! | |
| 15.Re:Stepping Up - Graduation, Growth, and Gretsch [Re: drummer5359] | Copy to clipboard |
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Posted by: HuskerFan Posted on: May 29, 2012 10:54 PM drummer5359 wrote: Thank you very much! | |
| 16.Re:Stepping Up - Graduation, Growth, and Gretsch [Re: HuskerFan] | Copy to clipboard |
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Posted by: Dave Posted on: May 31, 2012 8:41 AM Congraduations! | |
| 17.Re:Stepping Up - Graduation, Growth, and Gretsch [Re: Dave] | Copy to clipboard |
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Posted by: HuskerFan Posted on: May 31, 2012 1:35 PM Dave wrote: Thank you, Dave! 
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| 18.Re:Stepping Up - Graduation, Growth, and Gretsch [Re: HuskerFan] | Copy to clipboard |
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Posted by: OldFart Posted on: Jun 2, 2012 8:57 AM Yessir - It's always good to see Dave around here! | |
