Drummers in the house! What are you playing?!

[BlixaFan]

Any drum nerds here that want to talk nerdy drum stuff? Mainly a guitarist but my dad is a professional drummer and I finally leaned into my drumming in my late 20s.

Been playing drums in a band for a few years, got a great early 90s Tama Granstar last year, been steadily upgrading things as I go, and really liking where I’m at now

I got a new double pedal the other day, direct drive Yamaha FP9, and am really liking the direct drive feel after playing chain drives all the time. Also got a drop clutch; tried the Gibraltar one and it was garbage, so I returned it and got the DW one.

My kit


Tama Granstar

Snares - various; currently going back and forth between a DrumCraft Bronze, and a Grohl style Tama Superstar 8x14. For gigs I usually just stick to my Supraphonic. Works for everything, easy and always sounds good.

Cymbals - vintage 22” Zildjian ride, Sabian HHX Legacy 18” crash, Sabian HHX Complex Medium 20” crash, Sabian 19” AAX Xtreme China, Zildjian K Hybrid 18” Crash, Sabian Artisan 15” hi hats. Have some compression hats too that are good for some things. (Can you tell I’m a Tomas Haake fan?)

Accessories and hardware are mixed, mostly Tama, with some Pearl cymbal stands.

Favorite drummers in no particular order: Grohl, Jon Theodore, Tomas Haake, Terry Bozzio, Phil Collins, Thomas Pridgen, Mario Duplantier, Krimh, Mark Giuliana, Kenny Grohowski, I could go on…

What kits are you playing?? Favorite pieces of hardware or drummers?

[marqueemoon]

I have played drums in a few bands in the past including this band. I got to drum and sing backing vocals like a few of my drumming heroes (though not as well), so that was fun. Also bashed myself in the teeth with the vocal mic more times than I care to remember.

I still keep my kit set up in the basement for my son to play, though he never does. It's nothing special. Just a Premier APK in jazz sizes 12/14/18. I like small drums. They are a little punchier and help keep the stage volume down. I like to play indie/power pop/songwriter type stuff, so I don't need a big booming drum sound.

The original snare is pretty warped, so have a piccolo depth snare made by a local builder that I usually play these days. Various Zildjian cymbals and a mutt mix of hardware, maybe the most oddball being an Axis kick pedal. Even though I'm not remotely a metal person I like the linkage thing a lot better than chain or strap drive kick pedals.

I'm playing guitar and bass in bands these days which keeps me pretty busy, so I only play drums for fun every once in a while now. The thought of lugging drums out of a club at 1am is not appealing at the moment.

A few favorite drummers:

John McEntire (Tortoise/The Sea & Cake), Alan "Reni" Wren (The Stone Roses), Brendon Canty (Fugazi), Jody Stephens (Big Star), Max Roach, Ringo

[Futuron]

My main drum kit is a Pearl Masters. I like 14, 12, 13, 16, 22 as my drum sizes but I prefer to ditch the 13 tom to get the ride cymbal in closer. I put the snare drum as low to the ground as I can get it, so I get a big whack on the rim-shot.

I love Zildjian A Custom & K Custom cymbals. I have heaps. Favourite hi-hats are 13 K Custom Hybrids with the reverse Mastersound edges. They sound excellent in every genre with all sticks/rods/brushes. My 13 K/Z Combos are amazing for metal but not much else, I sit them next to the others for some contrasting sounds. (My New Beats don't get much use these days.) Only proper ride I have is a 21 A Sweet Ride. I really love splashes since listening to Manu Katche, and will put out as many as I can. Same for FX cymbals.

Favourite crash that I have is 18 K Custom Cluster, a fair bit like the K Sweets but with extra hammer clusters. Sounds so interesting. Completely lost in the mix of course, but I can hear it in the earphones! I have a dozen or so crashes.

For hardware I like the top-of-the-range Pearl, it is really solid but far less clunky & industrial-looking than the alternatives. I use belt drive pedals for the bass drum.

I mostly play guitar these days, but at one point I was the drummer for 4 bands - all of different genres.

[Plumerai]

Mainly a bassist, but dabbled with drums off/on since the 90's. I have a black Pearl Masters kit w/ hardware from my first kit (Pearl Export): 22 kick, 18 floor, 14 rack. Currently using a Ludwig Supraphonic, but was using a Ludwig Coliseum (8x14). Cymbals are all Zildjian (14" hh, 16" crash, 18" crash/ride).

Fave drummers: Budgie (Banshees/Creatures), Boris Williams (Cure/Shelleyan Orphan), Dave Lombardo (Slayer), Clive Burr (Iron Maiden), Jim Shaw (Cranes) & Thomas Wylder (Bad Seeds)

[BlixaFan]

Love this! Cool setups!

My main drum kit is a Pearl Masters. I like 14, 12, 13, 16, 22 as my drum sizes but I prefer to ditch the 13 tom to get the ride cymbal in closer. I put the snare drum as low to the ground as I can get it, so I get a big whack on the rim-shot.

I love Zildjian A Custom & K Custom cymbals. I have heaps. Favourite hi-hats are 13 K Custom Hybrids with the reverse Mastersound edges. They sound excellent in every genre with all sticks/rods/brushes. My 13 K/Z Combos are amazing for metal but not much else, I sit them next to the others for some contrasting sounds. (My New Beats don't get much use these days.) Only proper ride I have is a 21 A Sweet Ride. I really love splashes since listening to Manu Katche, and will put out as many as I can. Same for FX cymbals.

Favourite crash that I have is 18 K Custom Cluster, a fair bit like the K Sweets but with extra hammer clusters. Sounds so interesting. Completely lost in the mix of course, but I can hear it in the earphones! I have a dozen or so crashes.

For hardware I like the top-of-the-range Pearl, it is really solid but far less clunky & industrial-looking than the alternatives. I use belt drive pedals for the bass drum.

I mostly play guitar these days, but at one point I was the drummer for 4 bands - all of different genres.

Lots of excellent stuff here! Honestly I find you can’t go wrong with K customs, or HHXs on the Sabian side. I tried one of those cluster crashes and really liked it, though I ended up getting an 18 Hybrid crash instead since it was more in line with the cymbals I already had.

How do you like belt drive compared to chain or direct? Happy medium between the two?

Also how could I forget Manu Katche. Absolutely one of my top guys!

When it comes to rimshots, I’m a big rimshot guy. My dad, the proper professional drummer in the family, is envious of my rimshot (I play open handed so I think that’s part of it). I used to ride my snare as low as possible like that too, but have found I sit upright much more these days, brought the throne up, and everything else as a result.
I have my cymbals high up when recording for minimizing bleed etc but I like them quite low otherwise. I don’t love reaching and wasting energy if I don’t have to