My Set Up

I've had a few people ask me about my set up, and preferences when it comes to cymbals, drums, heads, and sticks. First, i will list my personal preferences, with a few reasons why.

Drums: I love DW/Pacific drums. They are quality built, offer unique sizes on the toms. I play a PDP x7 maple kit. This is a top of the line DW/Pacific kit. I use the 8x10" and 9x12" rack toms, 12x14" floor tom, 5x14" wooden snare, and the 18x22" bass drum, and chose a very cool silver/blue to black sparkle finish on the shells. These drums offer a ton of options for set up. The Suspension rack tom mounts, along with smaller tom sizes make it really easy to set up in whatever way is comfortable for you. These drums also hold a beautiful tune!!

Heads: I use all Remo heads. On my toms I use the Remo black suede heads. they add tons of warmth, and bottom end to the toms. On my bass drum I use a Remo Powersonic clear head. It has a very unique built in dampening system, that gives the bass drum a very clean sound. On my Snare I use a Remo Sound Control White Coated head with a reverse black dot in the center. This head allows for a tight, crisp pop on the snare. I feel that Remo has always offered me the best variety of drum heads for each drum sound!

Cymbals: I would like to say that I play all Zildjian K Custom cymbals, but right now, it is a slow process in switching all of my cymbals up to that price range. So hear are the cymbals that i do use currently. I have a 16" Zildjian K Custom Hybrid Crash. This cymbal has amazing cut, and sound, that has the perfect amount of decay. I also have a 18" Zildjian K Custom Fast Crash. This cymbal is bright, and has a nice, quick decay on it. (I do not use a ride cymbal) I use a 19" Zildjian Z Custom Rock Crash. This cymbal is BIG. It is a very heavy crash, with a nice sized bell on it. I use this as a crash, and a ride. This is one of my favorite cymbals. The quality of sound, and the years of life that this cymbal has is great! I have been beating it up for years, and it look and sounds great! I use 13" Sabian Xs High Hats. I play smaller hats for a brighter, clean sound. I use a Zildjian 8" transformer on top of an old Sabian Xs splash for a nice trashy little effects cymbal. I use a Sabian Alu Bell, this is a very raw, and long sounding effects cymbal. Last on my kit is a 18" Zildjian ZXT Total China. This is one of the best chinas i have ever owned. Great sound, and decay.

Sticks: The last year, I have been using Vic Firth 7AN sticks. Unlike most "Rock" drummers, I prefer to use lighter sticks. For years I used 7As, but in hoping to find a stick that had a little longer life in it, i stumble upon these Vic Firth 7ANs. They are still lighter than your typical rock stick, but offer a little more thickness, and length than the normal 7A. This is the stick size L =15 1/2", Dia. =.540". and the sticks are made from American Classic Hickory (Nylon Tip)

As for my set up: I play everything flat. No angled drums or cymbals for me!!! My first rack tom is flat, about 2 inches higher than my Snare head. My second floor tom actually goes to my right in the floor tom 1 space, and my floor tom is out in a floor tom 2 position. My 16" crash is on the left side, between highhats, and rack tom. right above my rack tom are my transformer, and Alu bell effects cymbals. To the right, above my bass drum, is my 19" crash (taking the place of a ride) and above my second rack tom (first floor tom) is my 18" china. My 18" crash is just to the right of my china, above my second floor tom. I set my highhats up quite a bit higher than a lot of drummers as well.