Are there any drummers on here?

What’s your price range and planned usage (certain genre, home vs. studio vs. live etc.)?

It’s hard to buy a bad kit once you get to the $2k range. If limited strictly to those 2 brands, I think Yamaha is criminally underrated. I’ve never played or heard a bad Yamaha kit, personally. They’re also pretty tough and can take a beating.

My experience with Gretsch has been hit or miss. They seemed hard to tune and just felt…floppy? Hard to explain.

As the two previous posters said, it primarily depends on your price point. If I were in the market for a Yamaha kit, I’d get an older MIJ (“Made In Japan”) shell pack instead of the newer Chinese-made packs. I’ve sat in on an early-90s MIJ Stage Custom kit that sounded amazing.

My main gigging kit right now is a Gretsch Catalina Maple, made in Taiwan. My expectations were low because the 3-piece shell pack (13” rack, 16” floor, 24” kick) was only $600 but I’ve been really pleasantly surprised. They’re big tubs with plenty of low end, so they sound great when tuned way down.

I love and appreciate drums and drummers. Watched a video with Danny Carrey. Just talking about Tool and drums. The variables are endless. Drum brand then brand of drum heads. Brand of bottom drum heads. Cymbals, new or vintage. Snare drum. Snare heads. How to tune a snare. Not tune a snare. Turn off the snare or disable it. Tuning all the drums to the key of the songs!!!?????

Then he kept individual Tom’s and floor Tom’s. Some brand new from his drum of choice. One he talked about has been with him since the band began.

Very creative drummer and super intellectual. He's a master at odd times.

Right on! What series Yamaha is that ?

I love my Gretsch kit. The catalina shells are great. Cymbals on the other hand….$$$$