G round badges are nice kits to play anything on,but are going to cost more,even for a player kit,and it will harder to find a kit with functional original hardware,but great kits none the less.

I have a cleveland/dayton era rogers,20 12 14.I really like them,they sound different than a Gretsch,but are versatile and work well with different head combos,and I think they are some of the best 20 inch kicks around,across the board,and have plenty of punch ,and you can get some pretty good low end also with the right head combo.

The Rogers swivo hardware is great stuff and holds up great and you should be able to find a player or unmodified kit with all the hardware in working order pretty easily.

If you are going to gig this kit,you can easily find a collectors or players rogers kit that you can buy today and gig tommorow.

Eamesuser - Thanks for the feedback!

I own/have owned both and for the music you are playing I'd go with the Rogers. If you can pick up a wood Powertone snare it would fit right in!

Walking

I have owned Gretsch and play Rogers every Thursday at a jam space. For my money, and all else being equal [era, cool wrap, faucet T-rods], I'd choose Rogers over Gretsch every time. I find the combination of 3-ply shells with re-rings and triple-flange rims to be far more accommodating of higher and lower tunings than the Gretsch shell with diecast hoops. Just my opinion of course...

Mitch

Rogers are more modern, hi-fi sounding. Gretsch RB are warm and punchy with less sustain, unless they're lacquer finish. The wrapped drums also sometimes are a bit oversized and heads don't fit well, although I have a few and this isn't a problem with mine. Gretsch can be a bit finicky in tuning, but overall I think they have more character than Rogers.

All great info, thanks. I'm kind of leaning towards a Gretsch and scheduled to look at an RB that could be a decent price because it has a double tom mount that was added the bass drum later (probably the 70s). It originally was drilled for a rail consolette and those holes are still there. I know this kills it from a collector standpoint, but as a player's kit will that double mount hole in the BD really affect the sound? I was considering putting a rail back on because I only play one up one down.

Thanks.