I have never owned a Gretsch kit,but have owned a couple vintage Ludwig,and currently own a 1967 Rogers.

I like vintage kits,but I think Rogers 1963 to 1969 were the best engineered ,best build quality,

and best QA over all of the 60's era kits.

I have heard that oak lawn era Camcos had great build quality and QA also,but I have never owned or played one for that matter.

My Rogers have been well taken care of but gigged heavily and the only problem I have had is one lug casing crack on the inside and one of the shell mounts is a little loosey goosey,but for a 45 year old kit that is a pretty good indicator of the Quality.

Gretsch kits from that era can sound great and have unique sound and a very good tuning range but they are pricey to me,considering that a lot of them are over sized and hard to fit modern heads on,the FT legs can rattle against the rims,you can make a gasket to fix that cheaply though,and the hardware does not stand the test of time like a Rogers,so you can end up spending a bit more money getting one back to playing condition,whereas you can buy a less expensive used rogers collector or player grade kit today that is ready to gig tomorrow.

Just my opinion,all the vintage brands have something to offer,not putting down any ones favorite.

Thanks for the great reply. As I learn more about Rogers, those details help shape what I'm looking for.

are you trying to pick a fight? just kidding :) I have no experience or input about Gretsch or Rogers. Just wanted to say Welcome

Never had any Rogers drums, but I have done a little restoration stuff on the Swiv-o-matic pedals and hi hats. The quality is terrific. Mechanically unique and clever design -- good quality materials and manufacturing. A please to work on...once I figured out that hi hat cross piece thing!

I don't know what era these are from, but the pedals are the 'patent pending' era....

But I have a Gretsch New Classic and think it's great. Obviously your preference is the deciding factor... but IMHO the Gretsch is perfect for jazz,

Good post. I think all four of the major US manufacturers made great drums in their heyday. I think the issue a lot of drummers had with Gretsch was that their hardware was pretty pitiful: specifically their tom mounts. That was really the basis of the negative comments I heard back then and it was a reputation pretty well earned. Rogers probably had the best and most innovative hardware. Ludwig and Slingerland fell in between. Of course these are just opinions but I bet theses opinions hold up better than Gretsch tom mounts.

Thanks guys. Good stuff in here.

tnsquint: very useful opinions. And I hear the gretsch hardware complaints on more as I talk to people about vintage gear. Thanks..

bfulton: I just got a new classic kit a couple of weeks ago. Finally replaced my pawn shop kit of unknown type (best guess: an asian slingerland knock off). I love the new classics-I've got coated ambassadors on both sides of every drum. very nice tones.

schuykill: lol, definitely. thanks!

Hey, if you get the itch, may try Fiberskyns. I've never much liked them, but on the NC kit, tuned up pretty tight, they sound good. A friend said "you just changed my mind about Fiberskyns."

No guarantee you'll love them... just putting it out there. The coated Ambys ALSO sound great.

Ah, hell.... the kit just sounds great!!

Tnsquint's opinions are facts. In the 60s it was common practice to replace the Luddy, Slingy, and especially Gretsch,tom mounts with the innovative Rogers mount. The fleet drum sets (mostly Ludwig kits) in the US Navy were eventually all fitted with Rogers tom holders. You will also see those Rogers tom mounts (much to Bill Ludwig's dismay) on Some Luddys played by key Ludwig endorsers including Ringo Starr and John Bonham.

In my opinion, the WMP "Buddy Rich style" Rogers kit, like the one owned by VDF guru TommyP is the quintessential All American drum set. Check Tommys' kit out below (hope you don't mind TP)

Man. That is a beautiful kit. I agree with you. A-1 quality, sound, and appearance.

Wow.