Just a few days ago, we hosted drummer Tomek Nawrocki in our studio. He is the man behind the drum kit in singer Piotr Cugowski’s band. Our task was to record educational material, which you will soon be able to see on our new learning platform.
This coincided with a massive delivery which we were sent from the distributor of the legendary Gretsch brand. In two sizable packages, there were as many as six snare drums! We asked Tom to test them for us, and we meticulously recorded everything.
🎥 We test a 14×6.5″ Gretsch Full Range Stave Walnut Snare Drum
It’s a snare drum 100% made of walnut staves, protected on the inside with 8mm reinforcement rings. The instrument is loud, sounds powerful and dark, with a rather short sustain. As befits Gretsch, we get 30° bearing edges. According to the designers, such a cut provides a sharp punch and great projection – and indeed, this can be heard perfectly on our recordings.
3 mm triple-flanged hoops are perfect for rimshots. They are neither too high nor too low, which results in a very comfortable feeling when playing. Snare cracks sound really pleasant.
The snare wires are classic Tilco – they don’t sound bad, but when replaced with a higher model, the selectivity and clarity of the sound can certainly be further improved. The snare wire tension mechanism (Throw-Off & Butt Plate) is a classic solution – it works smoothly, tension adjustment and engaging/disengaging are done without any problems.
The snare is tuned quite quickly, but – unfortunately – it also detunes just as swiftly. Perhaps this is the effect of the new head we put on (Remo Ambassador), and the fact that Tom played using rimshots a lot. So it’s worth getting some tension rod locks, which will solve the problem.
Visually, the whole instrument makes a great impression – the chrome hardware, matte satin finish and stylish Gretsch badge do the job.
🥁 Technical specs
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Size: 14 × 6.5″
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Shell material: Walnut staves
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Reinforcement rings: Yes, 8 mm
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Bearing edges: 30°
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Hoops: 3 mm, triple-flanged
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Snare wires: Tilco
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Snare wire tension mechanism: classic Throw‑Off / Butt Plate system
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Hardware: Chrome
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Heads: Remo Ambassador (factory-mounted)
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Finish: Satin Natural Lacquer
🔊 Sound qualities
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Dark, warm tone, shorter sustain
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Great projection and articulation thanks to stave design
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Versatility – from jazz to rock and fusion
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Loud, dynamic, sensitive to articulation and rimshots
✅ Summary
The 14×6.5″ Gretsch Full Range Walnut snare drum is a great combination of classic warm wood tone with modern stave shell construction and sturdy hardware. Although the throw-off mechanism works flawlessly, it doesn’t impress with the its finish. Neither do the Tilco snare wires, which could be replaced with something better. Nevertheless, for the price of about $575 you get a truly versatile instrument that can successfully serve in the studio as well as on stage.
The total rating is: 5
(It could have been TOP 5 if it weren’t for the mediocre throw-off and snare wires)
Check out our video test!
