I think with Pearl’s Custom Z line, you either had to be there at the time it was around or just know about it. This Japanese-made, late 80s line only ran for five years (1989 to 1994) before it was discontinued, but seems to have made a lasting impression on many players, which lasts through
Ok, so this isn’t exactly a new release as such. That said, lightweight hardware is still a growing interest to many, especially those of us starting to get on in years. For about 15 years I did hundreds of gigs with Yamaha’s (at the time I bought them) lowest end disappearing boom 700 series cymbal
I’m sitting here writing this review a good few months after doing the accompanying video, nothing particularly unusual about that. However, I mention this because, listening back to the audio side of things, I’d actually forgotten how good these drums sounded in relation to the price point. These aren’t expensive drums, but to be honest,
When Mike told me he had a new British Drum Company snare for me to check out, I was really interested. That said, when I finally got it home, it didn’t actually turn out to be exactly the drum I was expecting, but as it happens, it was a happy misunderstanding and I certainly wasn’t disappointed.
Ever since I first saw one in the pages of Rhythm magazine in the early 1990s, I wanted a Premier Signia, even if it was just a snare. And it had to be in cherrywood. Had to. I don’t know why, but I think it was probably because that was the first one I saw
Sabian had a big year, what with the logo change and all, but they also found time to release some new models in the AAX range too… The review cymbals we were sent were 15” medium hi hats, 18 and 19” thin crashes, 20” stage crash, and 20” medium and heavy rides. They all had
I think it’s fair to say that most people have heard of the band Bon Jovi and have therefore heard Tico Torres play. So ok, that might be true, but why make this a snare drum of the month? Well, in my view - and others too it seems - this drum is a bit
Vater recently sent us some sticks to try out. These are all from the 'Classics' range which are apparently all more 'old school' designs, based on the original designs that Vater made before they became Vater (when them made sticks for another very well known stick company), meaning they are slightly different from the current
I’ll come clean straight away; I’m a fan of the UV1 line. I have been since I tried them. When I tried the UV1 heads back in mid 2018 - http://mikedolbear.com/reviews/uv1-drum-heads/ - I pretty much instantly liked them and I’ve been buying them ever since to put on my toms and snares. The funny thing
The first drum I ever saw and thought, ‘if I ever had the money…’ was a Craviotto Timeless Timber snare. Ok, it wasn’t this snare, but was one very much like it, although dare I say it, this one is better looking and more collectible. It was in my local drum shop about twenty years ago, in
