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John Hammond



About the Artist

John Hammond began his professional music career almost 30 years ago touring with Grammy Award winning artist Russ Taff. Since that time he has recorded or performed with such renowned artists as Vince Gill, Jewel, Faith Hill, Olivia Newton-John, Barry Manilow, Whitney Houston, Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana), Peter Cetera, Cliff Richard, Amy Grant, Avalon, Aaron Neville, Danny Gokey, SHeDAISY, Melinda Doolittle, Larry Carlton, Christopher Cross, Michael McDonald and Reba McEntire to name a few. In addition, he continues a demanding studio career with a variety of clients that includes Sony Music, Disney and many others.

John's work has also been featured on several movie soundtracks including the animated feature Anastasia, Robert Duvall's The Apostle, Steven Spielberg's The Prince of Egypt and Ellen DeGeneres' Mr. Wrong. he has performed with various artists on The Today Show, The Tonight Show, Pepsi Smash and has held house band positions for the Gospel Music Association's Dove Awards broadcast (4 times) and CeCe's Place, a live music variety show hosted by CeCe Winans and featuring a multitude of artists from all genres of music. He has appeared in telecasts for various musical productions including Manilow Country, a nationwide television special featuring Barry Manilow. In addition, he has enjoyed the privilege of performing for the President of the United States at Ford's Theatre in Washington D.C. and again as part of a command performance at the White House. He has also been part of the house band accompanying the Nashville Symphony in various productions in the area.

John was also a member of the house band for the entire run of the Ryman Auditorium's variety program, Sam's Place. There he had the pleasure of working with a wide variety of Contemporary Christian and country artists including Wynonna, Sara Evans, Kathy Mattea, Chet Atkins, Michael W. Smith, Ricky Skaggs, Steve Curtis Chapman, Bryan White and many others. This live performance show featured two nationally televised specials and was a nationally syndicated radio broadcast as well.

Prio to his professional career, John won a coveted appointment to study with then Principal Percussionist of the Atlanta Symphony, Jack Bell.

We asked... Why Gretsch?

The Gretsch sound is legendary and fantastic. I can name countless recordings that influenced me that were recorded with Gretsch drums.

Advice

Learn to play your instrument. Listen to and imitate the greats!

Gretsch USA Custom

Hand-crafted every step of the way

The epitome and legend of "That Great Gretsch Sound." The USA Custom series is hand-crafted every step of the way in our Ridgeland, SC factory by highly experienced and skilled drumsmiths. Our legendary Gretsch formula 6-ply shell is the cornerstone of our legendary sound. Shells are completed with 30-degree bearing edges, Silver Sealer, die-cast hoops and custom finishes - ingredients all combined to make a sound long recognized for its classic clear timbre, balanced tone and explosive projection. Custom design your Gretsch dream kit "a la cart" by choosing your desired drum sizes, colors and hardware options. The Gretsch legend continues.

The NEW Gretsch USA Custom Order Guide will explain the many options that are available to help you design a drum set that matches your individual voice as a drummer.

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Catalina Maple

Carefully developed to produce tones that explode a balanced amount of warm low end frequencies

The Catalina Maple series starts with the Gretsch maple formula shell. We carefully developed the maple shell specification to produce tones that explode with attack and volume and project a balanced amount of warm, low-end frequencies. All Catalina Maple shells are 7-ply, 7.2mm.

The Catalina Maples are available in two configurations - a 6-piece shell pack set and a 5-piece shell pack set. Add-on drums are also available to allow for further drum set expansion.

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