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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.
Rebuilding Double Bass Chops
As in any area of drumming, there are no shortcuts to building chops. You have to invest a considerable amount of time and make sure you’re practicing efficiently and effectively, with proper mechanics. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO…
In Memoriam: Remo Belli 1927–2016
Remo Belli started out like most of us: a humble drummer, looking to make a difference on the scene. Even he could not have predicted that, in time, that scene would encompass all of humankind. In this special tribute, players…
An Editor's Overview - Follow Your Heart
There are multiple reasons we go down particular paths of drumming education. Our first teacher introduces us to Stick Control, and we start getting our hands together. We hear “Achilles Last Stand,” and John Bonham’s right foot becomes the new…
Kit of the Month - The Dream Police Kit
This vintage gold sparkle kit comes to us from Minnetonka, Minnesota, reader Rob Gilboe, who explains that the set was custom-built by drum tech Paul Jamieson and manufacturer Patrick Foley for former Cheap Trick drummer Bun E. Carlos in the…
And Editor's Overview - Signal to Noise
When I first started playing drums, the challenge was finding enough credible content, whether in the form of method books, magazine articles, or instructional videos, to help me understand exactly what skills and tools I would need in order to…
Kit Of The Month - Cocktail Convenience
For Toronto-based drummer Sekou Lumumba, this simplified rig packs more than enough punch into a small space when backing such artists as Canadian multi-platinum songwriter Serena Ryder. And when first thinking about his approach to this kit, the drummer considered…
Encore - Blue Öyster Cult’s Agents of Fortune
On the one hand, “(Don’t Fear) the Reaper” has kept B.Ö.C.—a hard rock band that bikers, rock critics, and record-store nerds can all seem to agree on—and drummer Albert Bouchard’s percussive prowess alive in the public’s consciousness. At the same…
Kit of the Month - Spirit of America
This American-made, fourteen-piece monster comes to us from percussionist, educator, and collector Mike “Mickey” Jones of Birmingham, Alabama. Jones commissioned the kit more than four years ago from Bridgeport, Connecticut, drum manufacturer RCI Starlite. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE…
An Editor's Overview - Adapting to Change
While I worked on a piece in this month’s News section about the latest Radian record, On Dark Silent Off, MD editorial director Adam Budofsky dropped one of the band’s earlier CDs, 2004’s Juxtaposition, on my desk. Checking it out…
An Editor's Overview - The Uncommon Man
Hello, everyone! We’re already well into the new year, and I always like to take the opportunity around this time to thank readers, drum industry members, and everyone else who has supported Modern Drummer over the past forty-one years. Some…
Kit of the Month - The Eliminator
When searching for the inspiration to build this month’s featured kit, Travis Wenzel of Elk Mound, Wisconsin, looked no further than his band’s rehearsal space. “This project started out as a 125th-anniversary Sonor Force 2001 drumset,” Wenzel says. “At the…
In Memoriam - Robert Zildjian
Robert Zildjian, who died this past March 28 at the age of eighty-nine, was many things. He was an astute and aggressive businessman, a devoted and revered family patriarch, and a walking compendium of percussion-industry history. TO READ THE FULL…
It's Questionable - I Want My Old Drums Back
I recently received a promotion at my day job, so I decided to treat myself to a new set of drums. I was thrilled at first, but then I started to wish I hadn’t sold my old kit. I now…
It's Questionable - What's This Ride?
"I bought this Meinl ride on Craigslist, and I’ve been wondering if it’s a rare cymbal. The writing on it says it’s a Byzance series 21" Dry ride, but when I searched for that exact model I couldn’t find anything.…
