Finally, finally, finally…

As long-time readers of Ensight will know, I’ve been pining after a drumkit (pun, sadly, intended) for more than a year.

As a drummer, I’ve been playing for nearly 10 years. I’ve played all kinds of music, in all kinds of venues to all kinds of crowds (as large as 5000). Music is in me, and is as much a part of me as anything else I can imagine. I’ve been without a kit for about 4 years now. While I was in Winnipeg that wasn’t such a big deal, as music felt pushed down. But here on the east coast, music is very much a part of the culture, and is a huge part of the community I’m in.

As a result, the desire to get a drumkit had been revived. Almost immediately upon arriving here, I started scouting out for the perfect kit. I looked at the RMV kit I’d wanted last year but it just didn’t feel right.

Eventually I settled on a Gretsch kit, specifically their Catalina Birch line. Here’s their schpiel on it:

Catalina Birch
Gretsch’s first Birch wood drum set, Catalina Birch Series takes the Gretsch Drums philosophy in a new direction and sets the standard for semi-professional sets.

Features Include:
* 8-Ply Birch shells for all drums
* UV gloss wood-grain finishes
* 12.7mm mounts on all toms
* Professional EVANS batter heads on all drums.

It’s a fantastic kit, with great everything. Gretsch always makes great drums, and it truly satisfies all my desires: fusion sizing (toms aren’t as deep), great finishes, fantastic hardware, great floating tom system… All around they’re just fantastic kits.

Well, after the sale of Wealthy Blogger (which went through on Monday), I finally picked up a 5-piece Gretsch Catalina Birch Fusion kit in Dark Walnut:

Gretsch Catalina Birch

This picture isn’t actually the fusion sizing (I couldn’t any of those online), but it’s the right line, company and colour, so it’s close enough for non-drummers and drummers alike to gawk at.

The amazing thing? This puppy lists for about 1500$ CDN, and I got it for a whopping 600$ (plus tax, shipping and duty, so really about 900$). It was an amazing sale that Jake somehow randomly found. It took a few days for the Wealthy Blogger sale to go through, but now that it has, the kit is finally on its way. It should be here by next Friday!

Musically, this is a huge step for me. Now all that’s really left for me to have the ‘basic’ kit together is to get a kick pedal, a stand, and new cymbals. It’s about 2000$ in expenses, but considering I’ve now got about 5000$ in gear (drums, rack, custom snare, 2 sets of great hi-hats), it’s coming along really, really nicely.

Speaking of coming along, we’ve had some new band names. Do any of the following grab anyone?

Midnigt Audition
Undisclosed
Underexposed