Gear Reviews
Detailed assessments of the latest drum kits and accessories
Celebrating America’s 250th Anniversary… with Drums
This year, The Chicago Drum Show hosted my museum exhibit celebrating America’s 250th Year Anniversary. The exhibit featured drums that I have collected dating from 1780 to 1976, the time of the American Revolution to the Bicentennial of 1976. The…
OCDP ADRIAN YOUNG SIGNATURE SNARE, SABIAN STRATUS DRY COLLECTION, DW HARDWARE, BEYERDYNAMIC PROFESSIONAL IN-EAR MONITORS, AKAI STANDALONE MPC SYSTEMS
Limited Edition Adrian Young Signature Snare Launching exclusively at Guitar Center, the Adrian Young Signature OCDP Snare is a limited-edition, USA-made collaboration designed from scratch with the No Doubt drummer. Inspired by Adrian’s Tragic Kingdom-era touring kit, the snare features…
Yamaha Recording Custom Drums: Redefining the Classic, Signature Sound!
Yamaha drums have made a huge impact on the drumming world since its inception about 60 years ago. From the get-go, the Recording Custom kits were always a top pick for recording drummers and performers alike. But for a period,…
JC Drumsticks: Celebrating the USA’s 250th Anniversary
John Crocken, the mastermind behind JC Drumsticks, recently sent Modern Drummer a set of the newly minted, handmade, commemorative America 250th Anniversary Drumsticks. The sticks are made of solid ebony wood measuring at 17” in length. They have a shaft…
Elvin Jones’ First Set of 1982 American K Zildjians with Embossed Bag
Shortly after Elvin Jones passed in 2004, his wife Keiko invited me to help her with the massive collection of drum gear Elvin had amassed throughout his career. The collection filled an entire apartment in their New York City apartment…
Speed-A-Beat: Universal Bass Drum Pedal Roller-Ball Module
Can you double your foot speed? That’s what John Crocken’s Speed-A-Beat sets out to answer. The patented module is built around a single mechanical idea: replace the friction between foot and footboard with a bed of free-spinning steel bearings and see what happens. John Crocken, known…
YAMAHA EAD50, NEW PORTER & DAVIES USERS, NEW AKAI SOFTWARE UPDATE
New Yamaha EAD50 Yamaha is proud to introduce two exciting additions now available to drummers: the EAD50 Electronic Acoustic Drum Module, a high‑spec next‑generation model that expands on the EAD10 concept, and the DSU50 stereo condenser microphone, included with the…
Yamaha EAD50 Part 2: It Feels Like Home
In Part 1 of this series, David Frangioni and I brought the Yamaha EAD50 into Markee Music in Deerfield Beach, Florida, to evaluate its most basic configuration in a professional studio environment. With the DSU50 drum sensor mounted to the bass drum, the system…
The History of Parade, Circus, and Vaudeville Drums
Parade, circus, and vaudeville drums share a common DNA rooted in military tradition, but each evolved with their own personality as they moved into the world of entertainment. Here is some history of these types of drums and their uses.…
OCDP: Orange County Drum & Percussion, The Loudest Name in Drums Returns!
Guitar Center has resurrected the Orange County Drum & Percussion brand with the help of original OCDP founder Daniel Jensen and No Doubt’s Adrian Young. Together they will reclaim the brand’s custom shop legacy as they mark its 35th anniversary.…
Ebenor Quality Percussion: Noranda Copper Snares
Modern Drummer received an extremely cool snare from Ebenor’s Noranda Copper Collection to see what we thought of this high-end offering in the world of snare drums. Ebenor is a high-end, custom shop located in St-Sebastien, Quebec, Canada, and their…
SOFTWARE UPDATES FOR SPD-SX PRO V 2.0, LP IMPROVES THE CYCLOPS, THE NEW GRAHAM PEDAL, DW SOUNDWORKS METAL LEGACY 2
Roland is announcing the Version 2.0 update for the SPD-SX PRO sampling pad. Offering customizable trigger LEDs, multiple audio outputs and trigger inputs, massive onboard memory, and much more, the rugged and reliable SPD-SX PRO is the ultimate solution for professional…
Steve Ferrone Drum Collection
In the world of “first call” drummers, Steve Ferrone is the first one they call. Just ask Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, George Harrison, Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, Rick James, Slash, Chaka Khan, Bee Gees, Al Jarreau, Mick Jagger, or Johnny Cash. When iconic bands like Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Average White Band, Duran Duran and Aerosmith needed…
Yamaha EAD50 – Part 1: Redefining the Starting Point
Where does drum recording begin? The fundamentals haven’t changed; however, Yamaha’s Electronic Acoustic Drum (EAD) concept has quietly reshaped how drummers approach recording. With the introduction of the EAD10, capturing a full kit sound quickly and musically, without the demands of a multi-mic setup, became a practical…
