I first started playing the drums when I was ten years old, which means I’ve been playing for almost two decades.
I have a lot of equipment that I use to various degrees, depending on what I’m playing and with whom I’m playing. I currently play Tama Starclassic Maple shells, Aquarian drum heads, Vic Firth sticks, DW pedals/hi-hats, and Sabian cymbals.
Here’s a picture of what this mess looks like when it’s all thrown together in a pile:
When completely assembled into one large kit, it looks like this:
The above kit is designed solely for ostinato-style playing and to practice four-limb interdependence. There are 9 pedals total (only 8 shown); 4 cable hi-hats, 2 bass drum pedals, 2 effects pedals, 1 standard hi-hat. There are 10 maple drums, 2 bass drums, 1 snare, 4 rack toms, 2 floor toms, and one gong bass, which is a very unique single sided drum tuned like a tympani and played with a stick, not a bass pedal as the name implies.
I have over 40 different cymbals, including a custom made 56 centimeter Sabian HH Rock Ride cymbal in brilliant finish. Some of my funkier effects cymbals include 3 Mike Portnoy stacks (stax), all 6 Terry Bozzio splashes & cup chimes (which are unlathed & radially scored), a Will Calhoun Alien Disc (solid bronze with rivets), an Evolution O-Zone crash cymbal, and the complete line-up of the now-discontinued V-FX cymbals, including this rare V-FX distortion hi-hat combination:
In addition to all of that, I have a full octave of Tama Octobans, and several pieces of Latin Percussion gear.
Naturally, I don’t bring even a quarter of that gear with me when I play out. My gig kits max out at around 7 pieces, sometimes as small as 4.
Again, it really all depends on the music & the band. If I’m playing progressive rock, I’m going to bring more with me. Jazz, I’ll bring a bass drum, snare, a floor tom, maybe one rack tom, a few cymbals & some brushes.
In the future, I hope to put some recordings and exercises here. In the mean time, the pictures will have to do. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask and I’ll do my best to answer.