Tubs & Tubes

For Pop, Rock, & Big Band

For Small Group Jazz & Pop

Yamaha 'Recording Series'
(Cherry Wood finish)
• Bass Drum: 20” (small hole at about 5 O'clock, and a small pillow inside)
• Toms: 10”, 12”, 14”
• Snare: 14” Yamaha Piccolo (3" deep)
• Pedal: Yamaha Flying Dragon double, direct drive
• Stands: A mix of Tama & Yamaha
• Cymbals: A mix of what’s listed below
• Throne: (burgundy) Roc 'n Soc, regular base, w/backrest

Mapex 'Venus Voyager' Series
(Blue Satin Flame wrap)
• Bass Drum: 18"
• Toms: 8”, 10”, 12” (Toms converted to Yamaha mounts)
• Snare: 14” Yamaha Recording Series (6½" deep)
• Pedal: Yamaha Flying Dragon single, direct drive
• Stands: A mix of Yamaha & Tama
• Cymbals: A mix of what’s listed below
• Throne: (blue) Roc 'n Soc, regular base, w/backrest

Tins

Zildjian

Bizance

Paiste

• 18" Dark Crash (used as a washy ride)

• 16” 604(?) crash
• 8” mutt splash

Tools

Sticks

Brushes

Other

Regal Tip
• Main stick: 'Lewis Nash' model, wood tip/unfinishished (I like having a finish on there, but since these sticks only come in bare wood anymore, I have to put a couple coats of polyurethane on)

Regal Tip
• Regular retractable model, w/rubber sleeve and metal loop on end
• Wood handle model, non-retractable
• “Clayton Cameron” model
• “Jeff Hamilton” model

Zildjian
• Zildjian retractable model, w/rubber sleeve

Other
• Pro-Mark “Cool Rods”
• Musser yellow yarn xylophone mallets
• Vic Firth ‘jazz’ stick w/yarn mallet ball attached to big end

Toys

Drumkit Miking

Portable Recording Setup

Equipment listed below is normally used only when doing big-band or rock/pop work; small-group jazz doesn't usually require drum amplification.I don't like close micing, so I try to position things for a general full kit sound, not individual drums.
Mic Setup:
• Shure SM57: Pointed btwn the SD and HH, about a foot out from the kit
• Shure SM57: Hooked to BD rim, positioned slightly inside thru hole in front head
• Audix 'Fusion' f12: Btwn 14" tom and 12" tom, pointed towards me
• CAD CM217 stereo pair overhead (picks up 10", 12" toms and cyms)
Mixer:
• Mackie 1402-VLX mixing board (no effects)
(I do my own drum mix, then the PA engineer gets a stereo L/R submix from my board.)

Monitor System
• TBD...

Why do I need a monitor system? Well, from where I sit within the band, the horns aren't aimed at me, they're aimed into the audience. Since I'm usually positioned either to the side of the horns or in back of them, their indirect sound isn't enough to clearly cut through my own noise (from cyms, SD, HH, etc.). When you rely on horn kicks in the chart, that's a big problem. Even though I sometimes have a house monitor, it usually only feeds vocals/keys/bass, not the horns. Right now I'm trying to find or build a system that's easy to set up and cheap.

M-Audio
• Microtrack 24/96

Shure
• Microphone: SM57 (connected to the bodypak transmitter thru an XLR transformer)
• PG14 Wireless Guitar system (UHF diversity, 10-channel selectable)


If possible, I try to record gigs - listening back is the best tool available to accurately critique your playing. To be useful for a drummer, however, you should be recorded from the audience perspective, not from behind the kit. My mic + bodypack transmitter are positioned unobtrusively somewhere in front of the band, while the wireless rcvr and Microtrack are back by me. Normally I just use one mic, but I can use a second mic (for a stereo recording) if desired. The Microtrack records to a wav or mp3 file which I can just listen to or transfer to my computer for editing.

Totes

Yamaha Kit

Mapex Kit

Trap Case
• SKB 44" stand case, medium diameter (12")
(This is indeed a golf club case, as many people have noted. You can get this size thru music stores/catalogs, but it's cheaper at sporting goods stores. These cases are nice because you don't have to break down stands as much, so set-up/tear-down is much quicker.)

Bass Drum
• Humes & Berg 'Enduro' hardshell, ugly grey

Toms
• Humes & Berg 'Tuxedo' padded bags, burgundy

Snare Drum
• Protechtor square hardshell case, 4" deep

BD Pedals
• Vinyl gym bag

Cymbals
• Beato multi-pocket padded cordura bag

Trap Case
• SKB 44" stand case, small diameter (10")
(This is also a golf club case, but I couldn't find this size in-stock at sporting goods stores. This was my original SKB hardware case - I got it mail-order thru a music catalog. These cases are nice because you don't have to break down stands as much, so set-up/tear-down is much quicker.)

Bass Drum
• Humes & Berg 'Enduro' hardshell, burgundy

Toms
• Humes & Berg 'Tuxedo' padded bags, black

Snare Drum
• Impact square hardshell case

BD Pedal
• Canvas gym bag

Cymbals
• Impact multi-pocket padded nylon bag

Transport

Rolling Cart - Used for all drumsets
• Rock-N-Roller Multi-Cart, Micro-size

I've had this cart, which can be converted into a hand cart, rolling cart with end handles, and change length, for approximately 15 years. It was the best money I ever spent, and I HIGHLY recommend this to any gigging musician who has equipment to haul around!