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Modern Drummer is the world’s most widely read drum magazine, is dedicated entirely to the art of drumming and caters to the needs of amateur, semi-pro, and professional drummers.

Rufus “Speedy” Jones’ Slingerland White Marine Pearl double bass kit

Rufus “Speedy” Jones earned his nickname while playing for the big bands of Count Basie and Duke Ellington. Rufus was never an overly subtle player; he could always be counted on to light a fire under other players. Rufus used…

Modern Drummer
May 31, 2023

OUT NOW!

Modern Drummer is spotlighting certain new recordings that have the drums at the center of their sound. These recordings might be drummer-led, or just include a high-quality, special, or unique drumming and musical performance from the drummer and/or musicians in…

Modern Drummer
May 31, 2023

Christian McBride

We all know the old saying, “Drummers don’t hire drummers, other musicians hire drummers.” So it makes sense to listen to other musician’s opinions of drummers. It doesn’t take much to get bassist Christian McBride to discuss drummers. As a…

By Mark Griffith
May 31, 2023

Behind the Curtain

After Sarah Jones’ interview this month, we started talking about the Beatles movie Get Back. Sarah asked me, “Did you see the Beatles movie Get Back? I thought Ringo was amazing in that movie. He was so calm when things…

Modern Drummer
May 31, 2023

Taurus Lovely’s “Crown of Thorns” kit

Taurus Lovely is the touring drummer for the Tina Turner Broadway show entitled Tina. For Modern Drummer’s Kit of the Month, Taurus has brought us his Treehouse custom “Crown of Thorns” drum kit. It is an all-Maple shell kit with…

Modern Drummer
May 31, 2023

Knowing When to Say Goodbye

A life-long commitment to any job or ideal is noble. But sometimes it’s just time to pack up your things, say “thanks, bye,” and hit the road. While folding the cards and getting up from the table might seem like…

By Peter Erskine
May 31, 2023

Going Above and Beyond

In Robert Girouard’s excellent interview this month with Ed Sheeran’s drummer Mark Pusey, they talk about “having more skills than you need for the job.” I was extremely happy to see Mark mention this, as it is something that I…

Modern Drummer
Apr 30, 2023

Sonor and Paiste Beauty from the UK

For this month’s Kit of the Month, Modern Drummer brings you London, England’s Arnaldo “Arnie” Rogano’s drum set that he uses with his band Madre Sun. His drums are Sonor, his cymbals are Paiste Rude’s, his heads are Remo, his…

Modern Drummer
Apr 30, 2023

The Big Drum-Off

The name Rodger Fox may not ring a bell for some readers outside of New Zealand or Los Angeles, but he is very well known by just about everyone in the Land of the Long White Cloud (“Aotearoa,” the Maori…

By Peter Erskine
Apr 30, 2023

Warren Huart Home Studio Recording, The Complete Guide

Drummers are musicians, and today more musicians are also engineers and producers. But that isn’t always a natural progression. Learning about music production and engineering can be very confusing. There are many different ways to record and mix music, and…

By Mark Griffith
Apr 30, 2023

OUT NOW!

Modern Drummer is spotlighting certain new recordings that have the drums at the center of their sound. These recordings might be drummer-led, or just include a high-quality, special, or unique drumming and musical performance from the drummer and/or musicians in…

Modern Drummer
Apr 30, 2023

Art Blakey’s Gretsch 1960s Custom Moon Glow Flame kit

Art Blakey was an individualist in every way, including the look of his drum kit. The Gretsch kit shown here features a 14×20 bass drum, 8×12 and 9×13 rack toms, a 16×16 floor tom, and a 5×14 metal snare. The…

Modern Drummer
Apr 30, 2023

Allan, Chick, Edward, Jeff, and Wayne

One of my favorite sayings is “great drumming lives within music” or simply “music contains drumming (and hopefully Drumming Contains Music.)” In the last few years many of my favorite musicians have died. Throughout their careers these musicians have invited…

Modern Drummer
Mar 31, 2023

Drake’s Avengers kit

Cassie Birchmeier has submitted a cool little kit, and a nice story for Modern Drummer’s April Kit of the Month. She writes, “My son, Drake, has the coolest kit around. He is seven years old, and we bought him a…

Modern Drummer
Mar 31, 2023