Current kit
I’ve had my current kit since 2005 and the set-up hasn’t really changed all that much over the years. Sure I’ve made minor adjustments to tom and snare angles as well as to my cymbal set-up, but you’d be surprised how minor these have been.
I’ve played open-handed since 2002 as it simply makes the most sense to me. I’m left-handed, but I’ve always played drums leading with my right side.
Pearl Session Studio birch drums
- 2 x 22” kicks
- 8”, 10”, 12” toms
- 14” and 16” floor toms
- 14” Pearl Reference snare
- 14” Chad Smith signature snare
Cymbals (left to right)
- Sabian 20” AAX Metal ride
- Sabian 16” AAX china
- Sabian 17” AA Fast crash
- Sabian 14” AAX Studio hats
- Sabian 10” AA splash
- Sabian 8” AA splash
- Sabian 13” AAX Fusion hats
- Sabian 18” Vault crash
- Sabian 18” Vault Holy china
- Istanbul 20” Alchemy Ride Custom Rock
- Sabian 16” HHX Evolution crash
Every now and then my crashes and chinas change due to relentless beating (although they take it very well), but I usually go with AAX chinas and AAX, Vault or (recently) HHX crashes.
I also have 10” and 13” Sabian Vault Fierce hats, 20” Sabian HHX Evolution ride, two Rhythm Tech Ribbon crashers as well as two Zildjian and two LP bells.
Pedals
Pearl Eliminators, belt, black cam, maximum spring tension, PowerShifter at middle, chain pulled all the way up and a nice, big beater angle.
I switched to Eliminators in June 2010 and haven’t looked back. Before that I played with Axis A Longboards for seven years. I also have a pair of Pearl Demon Drives, but Eliminators just feel right at the moment. My first real pedals were Tama Camco’s.
Sticks
Since fall 2011 I’ve been using Vater 5B Nylon sticks. Before that I played with Vic Firths for roughly 10 years, gradually moving from 7AN through 5AN to 5BN. I still think Vic Firths are excellent sticks, but I was curious to try something new. In a way still consider myself just trying Vaters out – might stick with ‘em, might go back to Vic Firth.
Others
I mainly use Remo heads and usually have clear Emperors as tom batter and clear Ambassadors as tom resonant heads, CS on snare and PowerStroke 3 on bass drums.
I love my FinFonic ER custom hearing protectors and use them with Fonic headphones for in-ear monitoring.
In live setting I use Ddrum bass drum triggers that I run through Alesis DM5.
Terve!
En huomannu mitään mainintaa siitä, että käytäkö metronomia keikoilla? Jos käytät niin mitä käytät?
Ja mitä käytät yleinsä reenatessa?
-juuso
En käytä keikoilla, mutta treenikämpällä Boss DB 90 on palvellut jo useamman vuoden.
Are you still using the Powershifters currently? I think that it’s really great that there are some guys playing death metal with such power and speed as you on classic belt drive pedals! :D
Absolutely! I’m a firm believer in using the right tools for the job. Unnecessary product hype leads to uninformed decisions among musicians who believe a product, such as a pedal, will make them a better musician. This easily results in a great deal of frustration and mindless focus on “fixing a broken technique” when really they just have the wrong pedal. As for manufacturers, crazy hype leads to crazy sales, which could in turn stall their R&D as they’re under the impression that they have a perfect product.
That said, I’m curious about the Demon Chain and I also just learned that one can simply change the belt drive from Powershifters to Demons as well as put the Demon direct drive into Powershifters. Will be trying this out, but I’m also not going to fix what’s not broken. If it feels right, I’ll keep it, if not Powershifters with belt will be my weapon of bass destruction in the future as well.