Gear Reviews
Detailed assessments of the latest drum kits and accessories
1938-41 Slingerland Hollywood Boulevard Outfit
Most of today’s drumkits include at least one rack tom, a floor tom, a hi-hat, and a ride cymbal. But back in 1938, renowned American drum manufacturer Slingerland’s most popular setup, the Hollywood Boulevard Outfit, came only with a bass…
RTOM - Black Hole Practice System
Snap-on mesh heads that convert an acoustic kit to a low-volume rehearsal set in seconds.
Remo - Classic Fit and P3 Felt Tone Drumheads
No more struggling to fit skins on oversized vintage snare and tom shells or wrestling with testy felt strips to achieve a classic fluffy/punchy kick tone.
UFIP - Class and Vibra Series Cymbals
Centrifuge-cast for the purest B20-bronze tone possible.
Yamaha - DTX760K Electronic Drumset
Expanded sounds, more customization, and a responsive, natural feel.
Medeski, Martin and Wood’s Billy Martin
We recently visited MMW co-founder Billy Martin at his home studio, which is a custom-built shed on the drummer’s New Jersey property that he uses to teach, compose, practice, and conduct workshops. The simple, beautiful, four-piece drumkit that lives in…
Bucks County - Semi-Solid Mahogany/Poplar Drumset
Unhappy with the quality of drums that were available to him at the time, lifelong woodworker Chris Carr put his years of experience to use and started building his own drums in 2005. After selling a few kits to other…
Nord Drum - 3P Multipad
These days, Swedish company Nord is most known for its distinctive red-colored keyboards. But the company’s founders, Hans Nordelius and Mikael Carlsson, originally collaborated in 1983 to create the world’s first commercial-grade digital drum, the Digital Percussion Plate 1. An…
Brass Ball Drums - Stave-Shell Snares
Every so often, established drum shell designs are revisited for different reasons—to achieve increased resonance, to offer distinctive appearances, or to incorporate unconventional materials for construction. From the mind of a career woodworker in Buda, Texas, Brass Ball Drums is…
Vic Firth - Modern Jazz Collection
The Modern Jazz Collection is another collaborative effort, but this time the company forwent signatures for simple monikers (MJC1, MJC2, MJC3, MJC4, and MJC5) to increase appeal among all drummers. Let’s check them out! TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE…
Zildjian - K Custom Special Dry Series
Zildjian originally released a limited range of Special Dry series cymbals in 2003, and many drummers flocked to them for their unique mix of quick attack, dark tone, and short sustain. This year, Zildjian revived and redesigned the series to…
Sunhouse - Sensory Percussion Electronic System
The goal for Sunhouse’s super-advanced Sensory Percussion system is to, as much as possible, remove machinery from the experience of performing with electronics. With no buttons to push, pads to strike, or knobs to twist, Sensory Percussion is designed to…
A&F Drum Co. - 4x14 Raw Brass Snare
There’s a new player on the high-end drum scene. The Antoun and Family Drum Company was founded in 2012 in Austin, Texas, and entered the market in early 2016. A&F began as a collaboration between drummer/designer Ramy Antoun (Seal, Black…
Evans - UV1 Drumheads
A new silkscreened coating cured with ultraviolet light for increased consistency and durability. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG IN
