Swamp Dawg is a new member of the Gretsch gold drum series. You are looking at a drum with a diameter of 14 inches and a depth of 8 inches. This is the depth that caught your eye first, and if you have never had a crack on an 8-inch deep drum, then you have missed it-if it is low enough on your snare rack. Features of this drum include a 6-layer mahogany shell with 30-degree supporting edges-slightly rounder than the standard 45-degree. The hardware includes a 2.3 mm triple flange hoop, eight chrome-plated tube lugs and a fully adjustable flick with a fixed backing plate. The fun doesn't stop there. This particular drum is equipped with the Remo Coated Emperor, and the kick drum is a huge 42-strand snare drum line. Of course, you will get a depth of eight inches. Have I mentioned it already? The appearance of the mahogany shell is very simple, the natural dark wood grain appearance complements the slender tubular lugs and the exquisite golden Gretsch badge. charming.

You would think that this drum can produce a full tone, and you are right. Turn down-as the actual intention-Marsh Doug becomes dirty and filthy. You can get a real pop sound from it, but the 8-ear setting does mean you need to be a bit careful when tuning, because one ear can make a big difference. However, whether there is a little damping or not, there is a very ideal sound available​​. Joe Mazza from Gretsch said that this snare drum can produce "a hoarse, low-fidelity sound, reminiscent of historical recordings in the 70s..." I agree with him here. There is a momentary desire to use this drum to lower it a bit, to pursue that kind of fullness, openness and "muddy" atmosphere. It will be happy to accommodate.

Having said that, the drum responds very well throughout the tuning range, providing a good blend of depth and cut in mid-tone tuning, and more cracks in high pitches. But it is crucial that the existence of depth always exists. As mentioned earlier, I just need to pay attention to the adjustment to get the best results. Although a tight resonant head is feasible, a little looser is usually good. Another noteworthy feature is the sensitivity level of this snare drum. The huge 42-strand cord increases the available crispness/cut and keeps checking at low speeds, but they do provide a response at a softer volume and speed. This is a popular feature.

Overall, Swamp Dawg is a cute thing, unique to any drummer. There is no doubt that the recording effect of this drum will be very good, and in live performances, there are many choices due to the tuning range. If you have a microphone, low, wide, and "swamp" (pun intended) would be great, and it would make a special second-level snare drum in this way. Un-mic'd, you can turn it up a bit to get more cuts and use it as your main snare drum. You can also try different damping levels, but full open with a certain overtone is still a great sound, and it will produce more volume, so less damping may be a good thing. It certainly depends on your taste.

The overall craftsmanship and quality of the drum are very high. As mentioned earlier, people want to play it as soon as they see it. This is not a heavy drum, so it would be nice to live with it every day. You need to make sure that your snare drum stand can adapt/lower enough depth to get extra depth. It won't fit every situation, but I can think of many snare drum applications like this. Look at Doug the Marsh. This is a ripper.