Should I buy this?

I see a Gretsch Catalina Elite used on Craigslist for $450, and the price is negotiable - I'm assuming 400 is where it would end up.

It's 5 piece, 3 toms, bass, and snare. He's also including a Paiste Ride, a Zildjian Crash, and two sets of hats, plus stands, a throne, stix, stick bag, etc...

I'm trying to figure out the models of the Cymbals - he'll get back to me with the details, but it looks to be an A series crash.

Anyway, I currently have a set of used Tama Rockstars. Would this be a nice upgrade? I could probably break even at least selling my old set. Is this a good kit? What are the sizes of the drums - like is this a decent all around set, or is it a specialty jazz-type set or something?

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks

I might be in the minority but I don't feel that the Catalinas are an upgrade from your Rockstars. I have a set of Rockstar Customs for a house kit and they are great. A student of mine has Catalinas and has had lots of problems with them. Plus they just sound boxy and lifeless to me.

It could be a minor upgrade, depending on what you're looking for. But man with some decent tuning and the right set of heads you can make those rockstars sing like nobody's business. So i think sitting on it for a little longer and aiming toward getting the most out of your Rockstars would be a wise thing to do. Money would be better spent on a good snare and some good cymbals.

wd

Well here's the deal,

I've been upgrading my kit little by little. I've not got a set of 14" New Beat Hi Hats, a 21" Zildjian Sweet Ride and a 16" A Medium thin crash. Unfortunately, I still have a ZBT 18" crash which I want to replace. That's how I found this kit in the first place - it looks like it might include an 18" A crash.

The only problem with my Rockstars is that the 10" won't accept an Evans EC2 head - it just won't fit. Amazingly enough, the remaining 2 toms hold Evans heads fine. So I don't know if it's a bad rim, or Startcast mount of what. But I've got a brand new set of heads that I can't use right now unless I mix and match heads. Also, the Rockstars are a dark midnight blue which looks ok.

The Gretsch sounded attractive because they are Mahogany, are stained a deep wine red, and are generally a more expensive kit. Also they should fit my heads fine I'd think. Toss in a few nice cymbals, and it's a good deal. I think I could probably sell my Rockstars plus some of the extra cymbals and break even or even make a few dollars thanks to Craigslist.

The Rockstars do sound nice though.

BTW, what kind of heads would you recommend? I'm still up in the air on a replacement set. I could go anywhere from say Pinstripes to even Aquarian PerformanceIIs.

my favorite heads are remo suedes or pinstripes.

In general, what are peoples thoughts on the Drum Set? Are the Catalina Elites good?

For $450, you could do better...and it's not much/if at all an upgrade over your current kit. I've heard some Catalinas that were good little kits, and others that were terrible.