Gretsch Drums Renown RN2-E4246 4-piece Shell Pack - Burnt Orange Sparkle - Sweetwater Exclusive Reviews

This is a fantastic drum kit from Gretsch! It looks great and sounds great. Have played it for band practices here at home and on two band gigs so far. It has passed with flying colors. Burnt Orange sparkling colors to be exact! Have had a lot of compliments on how these drums look and sound. They are inspiring and very much fun to play! Some fat sounding drums for sure! Highly recommended! Thank you Josh Sackett and all Sweetwater employees who helped me get this entire purchase completed. Success! A win and kudos to all of you. Thank you so much!

The Gretsch Renown kit currently serves as the "house kit" for my church. People look forward to playing it every week. Rather than a normal "one up, one down" tom arrangement, the additional 16" floor tom adds great depth and low end info for fills or songs with heavy tom rhythms. It tunes well, plays well, and looks outstanding. For our environment, it strikes the right balance of projecting out into the room without overpowering our PA/singers. Thank you Sweetwater for delivering that great Gretsch sound at a fair price! Would 100% buy again.

I've been eyeballing this Gretsch kit ever since I saw Nick's review of it. It's simply gorgeous. Depending on the lighting, it's a beautiful burnt orange sparkle, or even a deep red sparkle. The sound! The drums are so easy to tune, I'm guessing it's the 30 degree bearing edges but whatever it is, these drums sound enormous. I have a Tama Starclassic Walnut Birch and they sound great as well but the resonance on this Gretsch kit is cavernous. You can tune that out or dampen it but I love the longer sustain. The drums can be loud and aggressive if you tune the heads for more attack, or you can tune them to be rich and warm. I have them miked and running through my Behringer X-18 with just a little compression for a cohesive sound and a tad bit of gating to roll off the long sustain which I love. This is my first foray into Gretsch and I'm impressed. If you're on the verge of getting this set, just do it. They sound as good as any high end kit I've played or heard. Of course I love Sweetwater for their fast shipping and financing options. I'm not a guy with a lot of money but their options allow me to get high end equipment in an affordable manner. Shout out to Jozy my rep!

Purchased to gig with working country band and other projects/genres. I bought the shell pack and added the 8x10 tom. I use a Ludwig 6.5x14 Supraphonic snare. We use a pro sound service with different sound engineers. Feedback from multiple engineers, "...nicest sounding drums I've heard in long time" and "these drums are easy to mic and sound amazing." The band leader has only had his previous drummer(s) use a four piece kit (one up/one down). For my first gig I brought the 10, 12 and 14. He asked how many toms do you have? After the third song, he turned to me and said, "bring as many toms as you want, these things sound incredible!" I now use 10, 12, 14 and 16 when the stage allows.

Also bought new Gibraltar hardware and this set-up allows for multiple configurations depending on stage/club size. I am extremely pleased with the sound and quality of these drums for the money. I have played Gretsch USA and vintage 3 ply Ludwigs my whole career (40 yrs). I love hitting these drums. They are responsive, punchy and project well.

I am playing the stock heads on all the drums. I have been playing the bass drum open with only a felt strip in the reso... it is thunderous. I will be putting a hole (and EQ pillow) to tone it down for the band. My personal signature is an open bass drum, and this drum accomplishes that sound.

The drums arrived well packed and it was a lot of fun assembling. As a working drummer, very pleased with this Gretsch shell pack and the first class service from Sweetwater.

I was looking for a professional maple drumkit under $3,000. This kit exceeded my expectations in every way. The bass drum is the perfect size. Its punchy and resonates beautifully. The finish is superb! The color varies according to lighting. At times it looks more reddish than orange. The 302 hoops make it easy to tune. All in all, this is truly my dream drumset. I highly recommend.

Let's start with the outside. It is 100% painting, it is not wrap. The color is a shower of glitter, mostly it looks like sparkle red. Bass drum hoops are painted on the outside and inside. The hardware is strong. I find the suspension tom system perfect in terms of size since it is not too big. Floor tom legs are robust and the bass drum spurs are strong. My first time that I have a drumset with 302 hoops 3mm thick. Their design produces a slightly more open and ambient sound. The new redesigned round badges looks good although all Gretsch badges are beautiful.

Let's continue with the interior. All shells interiors are Silver Sealer, a Gretsch hallmark. This makes it look somewhat elegant and professional. It makes the perfect drum look inside and help in sound projection.

Two additional facts about the shells is that they are classic Gretsch formula 7-ply maple shells with 30-degree bearing edges.

Describing each drum, the bass drum. My first time with a 14" deep bass drum and after doing some research on 22"x14" I took the opportunity and WOW… you feel the kick with that powerful punch and it is because you move less amount of air. Although I would like them to make it 22"x18" to have another depth and sound, but later I will be emphasizing this and several other things. It comes with a clear Remo Powerstroke 3 on the batter side, I changed it to an Evans EMAD2 but it's a matter of taste because they both sound great. On the resonant side it comes with a drumhead coated with the Gretsch logo and I also changed it for an evans EMAD Resonant black and I liked how it looks with the black drumhead but I come back and say it's a matter of taste. The drumkit does not come with a Bass Drum Hoop Protector or guard to prevent the pedal from damaging the paint and I recommend it as an extra.
Rack Tom 12"x8". Like the first time with this depth since I always had 12"x9" or 12"x10" but the truth is that it sounds spectacular and I had the opportunity to put it next to another 12"x9" and you don't lose any resonance or projection. I add a 10" tom and this tom sing at any tuning. Another distinctive feature of Gretsch is that it has 5-lugs and when you have to tune how easy and convenient it is. Comes with Remo Emperor Clear on the batter side.
Floor toms 14"x14" and 16"x16" are the depths that I like because you feel like you shoot lightning and you feel like that sound takes up a lot of space. Both come with Remo Emperor Clear on the batter side.

In general the drumkit works for any genre of music, you will have a set where you will sound like a 4K+ set for less than half. Its projection and resonance is great. The color is very striking and everyone has to look at it.

As a suggestion, you should expand the size menu of this exclusive Sweetwater color (Burnt Orange Sparkle), for example
Rack Tom: 8", 13"
Floor Tom: 18"
Bass Drum: 18"x14", 22"x18", 24" Bass Drum
In order to expand the sound possibilities. But these are just suggestions and apart from that I am very pleased and give it 5/5. I highly recommend it.

This is a follow-up from my original review, "Believe the hype" from March 7th.

So, a lot of rehearsals and a few gigs later and I'm totally smitten. These drums play WITH you, not just for you. From a whisper to a scream the feedback is lovely, you can just feel them when you play. Nick was right, they're inspiring and I don't want to stop playing them, or staring at them.

I'm a Gretsch convert, I never set a stick on them until recently when I played a house kit of Renowns. Now I'd be a liar if I said I don't aspire to a set of Brooklyns or Broadcasters, but I've bonded with these and I'm contented to the point that a US kit might not feel the same or sound better anyway, at least I'll tell myself that for now.

So there's my take. Don't hesitate, they're special me thinks. When you feel that kick up to your knee, or crush those floors and they don't choke; you will smile. The tom's beautiful too, mounted off a cymbal stand it's got a lot of give but it's never mushy, even tuned low (that's me) it never chokes, it just sings like a lark. It's a beautiful thing. Buy them… Now.

I can believe how great looking and sounding these Gretsch Renown's are! Beautiful lacquer finish!
I would like to thank Cliff at Sweetwater, for his assistance with making my experience joyful.
I also want to thank Nick D'Virgilio for making a very helpful and informative video on these Sweetwater exclusive Gretsch Renown kit! An amazing musician!
Lou

The traditional sizes and configuration got me hooked, doing a lot of research and watching Nick's video (several times) reeled me in. There's Gretsch DNA in their imported offerings, almost to a flaw with the Renowns. Brooklyn or USA Customs are not in my budget and even if they were I'd be hard pressed when you look at what's on offer here…

Fit and finish and build quality is top notch. The sparkle lacquer is pretty much flawless and the hardware is heavy duty and modern. All pro level stuff at an amazing price.

They tune like butter and resonate forever if need be, two sure signs the shells have been made in-round and the edges are true, I didn't even check them on glass. They've got a lot of attack with the supplied emperors and they're loud but not too pushy, I'm sure they'll respond to other skin choices accurately because the shell quality is that good.

I'm impressed with the isolation mount on the rack, it's understated and doesn't look out of place. There's a little bit of sag but not nearly as much as a traditional RIMs mount and it doesn't block out the shell - it looks like it belongs on the drum. I've installed an Atlas arch mount with INDe lab's BR3s, it's a good look but I'm tempted to keep it all Gretsch and install the classic square mount on the bass drum for the tom and get the traditional Gretsch embossed clip-on for the upright. I've already installed some NOS claws… all I need is some vintage badges and I'll have a nice, pro-level tribute kit that I can gig with and not baby (too much).

Simply stated, this kit sounds amazing. I work with a pretty well renown instructor (pun intended) who has 14 different kits. You name the high-end brand, he has it: Craviotto, Noble and Cooley, George Way, Bucks County, Ludwig, etc. He said this kit sounds as good as all of those. The first time I heard someone else play my kit and was able to stand in front and truly hear the sound I was blown away. The bass drum flat out thumps. 14 x 22 is a great size that can do it all and this thing has kick and punch! The toms sound incredible. They sing with good sustain, but not too much. Of course, depends what heads you use, dampening, etc. I have Evans UV2 coated on top and clear G1's on bottom. Don't need any muffling, sounds incredible. The color and finish look great. This is a high quality kit that sounds like kits priced two to three times more. Hardware is sturdy and looks great. I highly recommend this. Can definitely duplicate a vintage sound if that's what you're going for, or just as easily produce a more modern sound. Since it was a limited edition, I bought the 10 inch tom and the snare as well. Great job Gretsch and Sweetwater.

You can not beat this kit. The price is incredible. The quality blew me away! These drums sing just amazingly. They tune so easily. The lacquer finish is better tha I anticipated. I honestly can go on and on. I can promise you when they say great Gretsch sound it really is something else.

After many hours spent studying drums and watching nick d vergillio's drum demos, I took the plunge and got this kit with the matching snare drum. This kit does not disappoint, the kick drum is big and punchy, and the 14x22 size is exactly what I wanted, the toms tune up nicely and sing!! They resonate with incredible sustain and the feeling you get bouncing off of these drums is a lot of fun! The Little hardware that you do get is well made.

I don't have anything bad to say about this kit, it's gorgeous and sounds great!

I never really do reviews but here we go: I was very interested in these due to the virgin bass drum as it seems like this sorta a rare thing f for Gretsch to do now. I used to work in a big box store and drum dept years ago and always thought the renown's held up to really any thing in our shop and always sounded the best in my humble opinion. Two things on this kit I was skeptical of and I'm being honest is 1. The small depth of the bass drum. I'd love a 16 or 18 depth but this sounds great and you don't loose really any low end like I had worked myself up over. 2. The burnt orange sparkle, I'll be honest I'm not a fan of orange but due to the YouTube video on the set they appeared to me most of the time to looks almost cinnamon or candy apple tint to them. When I got them they're beautiful and certainly under the different lighting you'll see the orange but again from different perspectives it'll go back to different shades. Prob the thing that amazed me most on this kit is the ease of tuning. I'll be honest again I've had this kit a few months and have not been able to set it up and play it until recently the drums just sing and the tone is amazing. These drums will stand up to really anything out there. They sound great, look classy and of course extremely versatile. I'd also recommend grabbing some drum bags or cases to protect your investment!

If I Could Only Keep One Kit...

The musicality of this kit is delightful. It thrives in recorded and live settings; inspiring my creativity and desire to woodshed because these drums are so fun to play! Even without mics the kit sounds fantastic in the room.

IThe bass drum was "deeply" satisfying with plenty of punch, warmth, and power. Utilizing my typical EQ settings for this combo the kick sits perfectly in the mix while delivering a magic combination of bottom end drive and just enough beater click for articulation and definition.

How are the toms? Über musical with an amazing combination of openness, stick articulation, forward drive, and refinement. I am also loving how the toms sit in the mix. The 16" tom is ridiculous good; conveying phenomenal bottom end, emotional content, and growl (when tuned for that desired effect). Upon first hearing me strike the 12" and 16" toms a well-seasoned guitarist mate (who is also familiar with the recorded and live sound of my three other kits) commented on how great the toms sounded: particularly the 16. Sitting in between the 12" and 16" in the one-up-two-down configuration the 14" fits in the mix like a glove. In a one-up-one down configuration (sans the 16) the 14" floor tom leaves me wanting: regardless of tuning (unless tuned high for straight ahead jazz).

Speaking of snare drums... one is not saddled with a 10" tom or a snare that one might not otherwise utilize yet both of these drums are available at reasonable prices from Sweetwater as additions.

The Burnt Orange Sparkle lacquer finish is stunning. Photos and video simply cannot convey the beauty and nuance of this finish. At other times the classy burnt orange is more prominent; though never too brown nor too brightly orange. Whether under stage lighting or sunlight these drums dazzle. The fit and finish of these drums and hardware far exceeds what one might preconceive about drums at this price point or country of assembly.

If I could only keep one kit it would be this Burnt Orange Sparkle Gretsch Renown — regardless of price — so this kit scores high on the value-for-money scale.countless times for gear research? It's practically the Wikipedia of pro music gear.

Years ago, when a studio owner I was recording with referred me to my now Sweetwater Sales Engineer Jason Koons, it was a significant upgrade to my pro gear acquisition experience. I bow to Jason's service for gear that I have purchased from him (and for purchases averted after consulting with him); for his honest opinions about gear that he was not able to sell me because I had a line on an endorsement or pro deal or was going to be purchasing used; and for his graceful navigation of this crazy terrain over the years. Whether I've referred seasoned professionals, prosumers, or green amateurs to Jason, he and his team have treated them all with equal respect and service. Thank you, Jason! I appreciate you and this spectacular Gretsch kit that you sold

The Renowns have been known for a long time as an affordable pro level kit, and its for good reason. The ease of tuning, tuning stability, fit, and finish are off the charts. Out of the box they tuned quickly, the toms were thunderous, and the kick shook my walls. And the Burnt Orange Sparkle is beautiful. Depending on lighting, it ranges from shades of red, to almost pink, and mostly a nice dark orange. It will definitely grab attention under stage lighting.

I usually play a 4 piece kit for hat and ride placement, and the one up two down gives that extra voice. The 22x14 is an amazing size. Its fast, punchy, and the low end is amazing. I wish more kits were offered in these sizes, One up two down is a prime set up in my humble opinion.

My only issue was the Emperor on the 16, the plies were not uniformly applied leaving a slight wrinkle at any reasonable tuning in one spot, and throwing odd overtones anywhere above JAW. It still growled while tuned to JAW so I left it there. This doesn't affect my overall rating as it is a Remo thing. It is serviceable until I can get new heads. The 16 is still thunderous.

I had wanted a Renown kit for some time and finally took the plunge when Sweetwater offered the burnt orange 4 piece kit. I expected that they would sound good but even with that expectation I was absolutely floored when I played my first gig on the kit today. They were unbelievable. They felt good to play-very responsive. They had wonderful tone. The band was smiling when I did a solo and told me that the drum sounded "thunderous", even with no mics. On our first break I got lots of compliments on the drums, both regarding their sound and looks. I looked at them on the stage from about 75 feet away and the burnt orange sparkle was stunning. I've been playing for a number of years and I have multiple kits (including 5 Gretsch) by different manufacturers. Most of my kits are high end. Even my favorite Gretsch kit, a '66 round badge, doesn't sound quite as good as these new Renowns. Had I known that the Renowns would sound this good I would have bought them long ago. Thanks, Sweetwater, for tempting me enough to take the plunge!!

This set exceeded my expectations. Quality is top notch the finish is amazing and the sound is thunderous. Super easy to tune.

This is a great kit in looks and sound. I did change out the heads and that is just a preference thing. Just 4 stars because it had a crack in the finish of the bass drum. I have to give kudos to Chris Smith my tech guy and Hunter Keith customer service for the great service and quick replacement.

I play in a band that does large company functions and destination weddings. I really needed to step up my drum sound but as with everything these days, cost was an issue. After intently listening to the audio of Nick's amazing review video, I gave Michael a call at Sweetwater and made this thing happen. I love that this kit comes with traditional sizes just like the ones I played as a kid. Therefore the sound and the feel of the instrument is just so natural and intuitive. So what do you sacrifice at this price point? Absolutely freaking nothing. This is literally the least expensive way for you to purchase an artist grade set of drums. As a former Nashville session guy I'm extremely picky about my sound and these drums lack nothing. I would use these on any session or any show in a heartbeat and I love the sound of these drums so much, I have an older Renown kit in my home studio as well. If you've been on the fence about buying this particular model don't clown around because everybody else is on the fence too, grab them up right now. This is the best-looking, best sounding set of drums I've had in 30 years. The only reason why I'm giving four stars is because, as is the case with most drum Hardware from Taiwan these days, the tension rods and swivel nuts are kind of gritty. If you have a sticky lug you're never going to get the drum in tune. My solution in this case was to Simply open a can of wheel bearing Grease and dip each screw into the can, and then run it all the way in and all the way out. Now the drums are able to tune precisely and quickly. Also, the design of the Tom suspension Hardware is not to my liking because the lugs to which it mounts don't have swivel nuts and therefore they don't flex when you're trying to tune up the drum and that also caused tuning problems. I replaced those lugs with standard Gretsch lugs and put the 8 by 12 Tom on a snare stand. Don't laugh, it actually was more resonant in this way and did not choke at all! This was my first time owning a set with 302 hoops. They do everything the company claims and again these drums just sound completely insane. Also, the floor tom legs design is amazing and allows the floor Tom's to fully resonate without any choking at all. The legs are 12.7 mm and that allowed me to mount cymbals right off of the legs using Ludwig scissor lifts. So after writing a novel about this drum kit hopefully I've convinced you to grab it. You won't regret it.