I once heard a story from Billy Ward that he took a lesson with Elvin Jones on a trip to New York City when he was a kid.  The drum studio had this beat up kit and when Elvin sat down at it and played it, the kit sounded like a million bucks.  Moral?  It’s NOT the kit, it’s the player.  That said, a nice kit sure makes your music making experience more fun and often times, more inspiring.  I love drum gear – LOVE IT.  As such, I have a fair bit of it kicking around. Of course, what I use depends on the gig, but here’s a list of goodies you might see at a gig or session.

Drum Workshop Collectors Maple
Finish: Broken Glass Sizes:
Bass drum 16x18, 18x20, 16x24
Tom Toms 7x8, 7x10, and 8x12
Floor Toms 12x14 and 14x16 (both with legs)

or

Yamaha Hip Gig Jr.
Finish: Silky Silver Sizes:
Bass drum 16x14
Tom Tom 7x10
Floor Tom 13x13 (with legs)

or

Dominion Ash Pocket Kit
Finish: Java Sparkle Sizes:
Bass drum 20x16
Tom Tom 8x12
Floor Toms 12x14 and 12x16 (both with legs)

On the snare drum front, it's silly. I love snare drums. It's an addiction... there are worse to have.

Snare Drums (a very partial list):
Drum Workshop Craviotto 5.5x13
Drum Workshop Collectors Maple 6x14, 5x14, 6x12
Drum Workshop Collectors Birch 5x14, 6x10
Drum Workshop Cast Aluminum 5x13
Drum Workshop Copper 5x14
Brady Jarah Ply 5.5x14, 8x14
Yamaha Bamboo w/ Wood hoops 6.5x14
Ludwig Black Beauty w/ Tube Lugs 5x14
Tempus Carbon Fibre 4.5x14
Tempus Carbon Fibre 8x14
Tempus Carbon Fibre 6.5x15
Tempus Carbon Kevlar 9x15


Cymbals: Istanbul Agop
Scott Liken is a cymbal guru. He knows how to listen to a cymbal and how to pick them out when you're wading through a couple of thousand options. My really cherish these cymbals and look forward to more good stuff in the future.

I've got a lot of cymbals too. A lot. It's another addiction that is far better than some available... anyway...

I tend to use Istanbul Agop Traditional, Sultan, Vezir, and Agop series as well as their Alchemy line in various sizes:
thins and medium thins for crashes (17-20")
medium and regular for hi-hats (14-17")
medium for rides (20-24")
thin to medium thin for splashes, trash hits, and effects (6-22")

Istanbul cymbals are dark and yet have a great amount of cut to them. I have loved pretty much everything I've heard from day one and am constantly amazed whenever I visit at the sheer amount of ideas in metal form they have to hit! Brilliant!!!

Heads: Attack
Jim and Carmen and everyone at Universal are not only incredibly knowledgeable, but also very kind to have offered my first professional endorsement. I've been very pleased with the consistency of these heads from order to order and their durability is fantastic. I use a lot of their models, but below is what I tend to use on the drums for most situations
Bass Drums Bozzio No Overtone (coated) Front and Back
Toms and Floors Bozzio coated or clear on top and clear on bottom
Snares Bozzio Coated on top and snare side (thin) on bottom


Sticks: Vater
10 plus years of bliss using Vater stuff. These sticks feel so natural in my hands. Below are the models I use depending on the gig, or how I feel!
Recording
5A’s
Session
Josh Freese’s H-220
Oval Cymbal Stick (maple)
Splashsticks, mallets, brushes, jingle rings, etc.


B-Band Drum Contact Mic system
B-Band has really come up with an amazing idea based on acoustic guitar and bass pick-ups - tweak the frequency responses and create the same concept for drums. It works brilliantly and is very low profile so it doesn't look like I have an erector set hanging off of my toms and snare drums. These are wonderfully designed and sound beautiful. I also use their cajon contact mic/pick-up and get a huge sound out of it.



Factory Metal Percussion goodies
Celtic Bells (6”, 8”, 10”)
Cross Crasherz (10”)
Cross Benderz (18" with jingles)
Hi-hat Jingler


Percussion goodies:
cajon PO Percussion Big Bass Box
bongos Meinl Free Ride model
shakers various
ibo/udu drums Meinl Fiberglass
dumbeks various
log drums various
tambourines various