Consequence’s Drum Week extends with our list of five of the best drum kits, items, and accessories to check out for drummers of all experience levels. Check out our list of the 100 Best Drummers of All Time, our drummer survey of your 65 favorite drummers’ favorite drummers, as well as additional Drum Week favorites like our Crate Digging features with Mike Portnoy, Charlie Benante, and David Lovering.
Guitarists and bassists show up to gigs with their instrument, an amp, and maybe a pedal board. Singers show up with just a mic and their vocal cords, and perhaps a cup of hot tea with honey and lemon. Drummers show up with what feels like an arsenal. Bass drums, snares, toms, cymbal stands, hi-hats, rides, crashes, sticks, bass pedals, hi-hat clutches, drum heads, drum keys… each time a drummer sets up to play, it’s like assembling a science project.
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But when a drummer finds the right pieces of gear, setting up a kit feels a little less daunting. Like all musicians, drummers have a plethora of pride in their choice of equipment. The longer they play, the more specific their kits become. For instance, RUSH legend Neil Peart wasn’t playing his bewildering, 360-degree mega set from day one; it was a long process of trial and error, as Peart got extremely particular about the kinds of sounds he wanted to offer.
With so many different pieces of gear to accrue, it takes time to hone those tastes, from setting out to learn to becoming a fully-formed rockstar drummer. Along the way, you’ll want to get a starter kit to develop your skills on, a couple important upgrades, and eventually, all the bells and whistles that can give you the drum sound of your dreams. Pretty soon, all of the individual components of your drum kit will feel less like puzzle pieces and more like paints on a palette.
So to guide you in the quest for the perfect gear, read on for five drummer-approved kits and accessories that will take your drumming to the next level. Many of these instruments are used by musicians on our 100 Best Drummers of All Time; if they’re used by the best, you know they’re good!