There is a comparison to the old Gretsch, but like comparing a 1958 Maserati to a 2012 Maserati.
The nice rounded, clear, but flat, not much ring, die cast sound is there, but the Canopus drums are just so much easier to play and the sound projects so well.
Also, they sound and feel consistent in many acoustic settings and have a more versatile tuning range, which was a big problem for all the older drums especially Gretsch.
The older 18″ Gretsch bass drums (and all the others Ludwig, Sling, etc) were not easy to tune in different acoustic settings. Medium to loose tunings did not produce great bass response or resonance, the 18’s sounded best tuned pretty high, young Tony Williams. Some nights they sounded great and then you’d go to another gig and they’d sound terrible, no resonance.
The 14×20’s were easier to get a consistent sound out of. The 18″ NV Canopus is amazing for depth of bass sound, much different than old American companies, hard to believe it’s only an 18″.
Eliot Zigmund
