I’ve long maintained the majority of times we’re attracted to a [new] snare drum is initially because of the way it looks.  Yes, it is possible these days - in fact, more so now than ever - that we can come across a visual and recording on any social platform and see and hear a

Yamaha’s FP9 Series of bass drum pedals have been out for a little while now and, from what I can see, gained a lot of interest in that time. The FP9 pedals are available in single and double versions (lefty too) in direct drive and double chain variations. There’s no single chain version if that’s

So a couple of updates ago I looked at some new arrivals for 2020 from Zildjian. The one remaining item from those new 2020 pieces were these, Zildjian’s new In Ear Monitors. Zildjian says that these monitors are designed to deliver high quality sound for musicians on stage, in the studio, or practice. They are built

So. Muffling drums. Sometimes you just have to muffle your drums, probably most often when you’re doing some recording, but it’s something we all need to do at some point. Now, there are - and have been for a long time - many products that we use to muffle our drums, and indeed, sometimes cymbals

So, while I was actually given these wires a good while ago, I hadn’t looked at them until the last few days. The joys of having lots of things to review, I guess! Now, the reason I mention this is because of the snare drum I used for the test/video. The drum in question is

Ok, so in case you didn’t know, Zildjian owns Vic Firth which should now explain why this is a joint review. Now that’s done with, lets look at the new gear… These are new products the two companies have introduced for 2020. I should note that Zildjian has also released some new in-ear monitors as

Remo’s White Suede heads have been out for a while but I thought I’d take a look at them as they’re a little different and not something I’ve seen a lot of people use. And, from experience, I also happen to think they’re a great alternative to coated heads. I’ve been using White Suede Emperors

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,

A new year and some new cymbals. So first off, this new line replaces the ZBT series which has now been discontinued. Zildjian says that this new line features modern weights and profiles as well as some new sounds. The cymbals I was sent were from the gig pack (14” hihats, 16 & 18” crashes