May 2022 – Volume 46 • Number 5

Donn Bennett’s Drum Vault

Ringo Starr Ludwig “Pizza” Drum Set The impact that Ringo Starr has made on the drum world cannot be overstated. He inspired generations of drummers to pick up the sticks. His drums and drumming have inspired endless research into the…

Tommy Clufetos’ Black Sabbath Tour Kit

Black Sabbath’s tours always combined the heaviest of heavy metal sounds with the most outrageous spectacle possible. The kits created for Tommy Clufetos by Drum Workshop for those stores reflect that spectacular approach Although the finish of Tommy kits changed…

Michael Stasiak of Widowspeak

talks about their new record The Jacket Widowspeak is undeniably a very nostalgic band. With a feeling of 60’s psych pop Americana the band hits a unique niche in modern music. The creation of Molly Hamilton and Robert Earl Thomas,…

Zoom Introduces the H4n Pro, Offering Superior Performance and Upgraded Features

Zoom North America has unveiled the new H4n Pro Handy Recorder. With the H4n Pro, Zoom has taken everything creators love about the original H4n and brought it to the next level. Featuring advanced microphones, high performance mic preamps, and…

Alexander Sowinski of BADBADNOTGOOD

Making a name for oneself as a modern jazz drummer can be quite tough. With such a long and illustrious history, sounding fresh and innovative in jazz can almost seem impossible. BADBADNOTGOOD, based out of Toronto, Ontario, has reinvented current…

My Manne, Shelly

Shelly Manne was one of my first drum heroes, and he remains a hero to this day. A swinging drummer in any context, he personified eclecticism while remaining a singularly unique musician. Shelly could do it all. Since the term…

DW & LP Named New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival Official Drums

Drum Workshop, Inc. (DW) in conjunction with Latin Percussion (LP) are delighted to be gear support sponsors for the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (Jazz Fest) 2022. Jazz Fest takes place over two weekends, 29th April to 1st May…

Mapex takes the Saturn Series to a New Level with New Finishes

The Saturn Series has become synonymous with the Mapex brand, serving as a cornerstone of the lineup for decades. Known for producing rich, warm and punchy drum tones that are now woven through multiple genres of modern music from live…

Taylor Hawkins

On March 25, 2022 musicians, drummers, and music fans around the world were devastated to learn that drummer Taylor Hawkins had died. Hawkins was a good friend of Modern Drummer, and we join in the deep sorrow of losing such…

Behind the Legends

There have been a few new LEGENDS books in the last year: Danny Seraphine, Kenny Aronoff, Peter Erskine, and now Steve Smith. In an article called Behind the Legends in last month’s Modern Drummer, we introduced what makes the LEGENDS…

Essential Factors for success in the gym: Lessons learned in the Practice Room

In the last issue, we examined the myth of the muscle-bound concept. This instilled an unwarranted fear into many drummers and percussionists alike: Don’t lift weights, as it can impair dexterity and hinder your ability to play drums. Intuitively, we…

Recording from Home and Wearing Three Hats

Last month we talked about the challenges of picking up the drumsticks for the first time, studying, and the process of learning to become a good drummer. This month we take a big jump forward in your drumming journey. My…

May 2022 - Volume 46 • Number 5

Radical Hybrid Drumming “Behind the Scenes” with the Essential Rudiments

There is a range of percussion midi functionality essential to all electronic percussion controllers. In this month’s column, I am going to use several of my custom hybrid drum kits (and a new song) to demonstrate the key features that…

Ghost Rack

This month’s Modern Drummer Kit of the Month comes from Steve Barone of Erie, PA. I’ve always liked using a drum rack, but over the years I’ve tried to find ways to reduce mass and shave weight from my hardware…

Vic Firth Bluetooth Isolation Headphones

Like many of you reading this, I have been using the Vic Firth Stereo Isolation Headphones for years now, and my ears have been thanking me. With the success of the original design, it was a logical next step for…

Carmine and Taylor

Taylor Hawkins has mentioned in several interviews, that along with playing along to songs off of the radio, some of the first beats that he learned, came from his next-door neighbor showing him the first page of the Carmine Appice…

TnR TrueVibes

TrueVibe isolation mounts provide a cushioning that allows your drums to get off the ground. Not losing vibration to the floor and hardware makes a bigger difference than one may realize. This includes improved resonance, organized overtones, and less muffling…

Tribute To Taylor

Although much of what I’ll share here in this month’s overview is echoed over and over throughout this issue, I’ll speak on behalf of my team and me, the inside Modern Drummer family, many of whom were close to Taylor.…

Bob Moses Drum Wisdom: The Eight Points

In last month’s Modern Drummer, we reintroduced Bob Moses’ fabulous notion that he calls “The 8/8 Concept” from his book Drum Wisdom. Bob’s concept of feeling music in 8/8 leads naturally into another concept that Bob calls “The Eight Points.”…