Have you owned a Gretsch Round Badge Bop Kit? :)

I would think a Rogers kit with an 18" BD is harder to find.

As a former Rogers player my opinion is that they were great drums, I just prefer "That Great Gretsch Sound".

Uuuuuuuhhhh, Gretsch: Drum Makers Since 1883. Rogers.......not so much.

Rogers are "Dirty drums". :-)

B

Laughing HLaughing HLaughing H

"The Rogers company was started in 1849 by an Irish immigrant from Dublin named Joseph Rogers."

I Engineer and Record Vintage Drums- I owned and recorded Round Badges.

Love both sounds- But lean more towards Rogers- (Again.......Preference) No offense

Oh boy! This is going to be interesting. When you post, remember we're all family and to be civil. :)

I've never owned a Rogers kit, but I can tell you those Gretsch shells can sing. I've seen it from other's posts and heard it with my own ears, the Gretsch 12x8 tom-tom is perfection. :D

I've seen a lot of posts about Gretsch snare drums having a choked sound. I think it had something to do with the snare bed design and choice of wires.

As far as matching drums to music style. I think there was a tenancy to link Gretsch to jazz and Rogers to rock, but I think it had more to do with the sizes of the drums. On the first Doors album, John Densmore used a Gretsch kit, but then switched to Ludwig. Mitch Mitchell also used Gretsch during his time with Jimi Hendrix, but he also switched to Ludwig. Of course, these styles are heavy on fused jazz and rock. As these drummer's styles evolved, so did their choice in drums.

-Tim

Apples and Oranges!!!!

Both are superb. I own both in the 12,14,20 configuration. here is my very limited take on it.

Gretsch: MOJO. I don't think the gum does as much to the sound as their die cast rims and reverse rounded bearing edges. The sound is all Blue Note: Lots of tone with a quick decay. Likes a lot of notes. To me, they have a real earthy tone like it came out of the ground or something. Round Badge kits can have issues such as lifting wrap, oversize shells and less than stellar metal work. I've found that my kit likes to be tuned on the higher side. When I sit down to play, I feel tempted to just tap out melodies or play a light jazzy type of passage.

Rogers: Sustain. I'm new to the Rogers world but I really like these drums. Sharp bearing edges and undersize shells contribute to a big sound. Easier to tune in my opinion but choke out in ultra high tunings in my limited experience when comparing to Gretsch. I like higher tunings (not bebop) and the Rogers go there very well. Top notch chrome and hardware too on Cleveland era stuff. Issues I've heard about is cracking wrap and reinforcement hoop issues. When I sit down to play these drums, I often want to lay down a groove. The toms ring longer than the Gretsch so I don't feel the need to play a lot of notes on them. I like to hear the toms ring. These drums have a more modern sound but the age of the wood mellows them out. And very important: The heads fit!!!!!

Just my limited opinion!!!!!!

neither luddys all the way

Yeah. My thoughts, too. I have owned all 3 in 12/14/20 sizes, and played them side-by-side-by-side. Luddies all the way...

"Gretsch-Drum makers since 1883" sums it up pretty well...

From a monetary standpoint,RB Gretsch rules in a 18,12,14 setup..They hit what,$7-10K pretty often..

I have had 4 sets of them,and 2/3rds of a 5th one!

I have only had one 18,12,14 Rogers ever,and got $3,500 for it,but that was at least 10 years ago also...

I have been talking drums with people around the world for 25 years now,and I have heard NUMEROUS times "Gretsch are the best..blows away my Yamaha RC, StarClassics" etc etc..

Rogers lug style just appears a bit gaudy to me. Their drums are nice, as long as I don't look at them.