PDP Bass Drum Pedal Selection More recently, I’ve been trying out some more new pedals from PDP; the single and double versions of the 700, 800 and Concept series. The 700 series is a single chain design. The pedal features a large bass plate, a two-way beater and a concentric cam. The hoop clamp is a

Trick Aluminium Drum Kit And Copper Snare   Most people have to be reasonably aware of, or at least familiar with, the Trick GS007 snare strainer; it’s been included on so many high end drums for years that you have to at least have seen one.  And then there’s Trick’s pedals; if you’re into playing

Meinl Pure Alloy Custom and Polyphonic Selection I really enjoy the variety of cymbals that Meinl produce and that I’ve been able to try so many of these different models and ideas over the years; there’s been a lot off them and I can’t really think of any that I’ve disliked. Recently, I was given

Tama Charlie Benante 14x6.5" Signature Snare DrumI find it strange that I seem to have never reviewed this drum before, but it appears I haven’t. I say I find it strange because I’ve owned one for years, and it’s one of my favourite snare drums, and has been from the moment I tried it. It’s

Trick Dominator Bass Drum Pedal   I have been a fan of Trick products for a long time, mainly because their GS007 snare mechanism is my favourite currently on the market. I also like that the company makes premium products utilising precision engineering which look like they’ve really been thought out. Some background.....Trick’s premier pedal

The FlexBeater - A Dynamic Beater I don’t think in all the time I’ve been doing these reviews that I’ve looked at an early version of something and then went on to also see the later model too, but that’s where we are with this. I first tried the Flex Beater back in 2019. I really

Ebenor Percussion Snare Drums Back in 2021, I looked at a beautiful Applewood snare drum from Ebenor Percussion and was thoroughly impressed with it. You can find my thoughts on that drum here -  http://mikedolbear.com/reviews/ebenor-applewood-snare/ I really liked that snare drum; it was both beautiful and sounded/played wonderfully. Having kept up with what Ebenor has been

Sabian AAX Crystal Thin Crashes We were recently sent some of Sabian’s AAX Crystal Thin Crashes to try out. Sabian says about these cymbals that: Through an extensive development process we have discovered that the combination of high polish buffing and added lathing creates an added punch to the high end “crystal” attack of this

Useful Things For Drummers! (And not particularly ‘gift ideas’) Yep, it’s after Christmas, so the concept of ‘gift ideas for drummers’ is a little pointless. But, I’m not going to be distracted by that sort of thing, so here are a few little bits and pieces which are both useful and can be cool to have. It’s important

Pearl Matt Mcguire signature snare drum Ok, two things I’m going to say at the top of this review, both of which are absolutely true. Number one; I have no idea who Matt McGuire is and I’ve never heard his band, The Chainsmokers. Number two; from experience, I’m not the biggest fan of steel snare