The Studio

Drums

I started at five years old and never really stopped, which means the kits arrived in the order a drummer’s kits usually do: something to learn on, something serious, and something that turned out to be the right one.

• CB

  The first real kit. Entry-level, and exactly what an entry-level kit is for — you learn what a drum is supposed to do by playing one that doesn’t do it very well.

• DW

  The step up, and the first time the shells sounded like the records did. A DW kit is a lesson in how much of “good drum sound” was never about the drummer.

• Mapex Pro M

  The one I’d take. Maple shells, focused and even across the toms, and forgiving to record — it sits in a mix without a fight, which is more than can be said for a lot of kits that sound better on their own.

Playing this long changes what you do at the computer, too. The programmed drum parts on the Recordings page are written by someone who knows what a human physically cannot reach, and that constraint is most of what makes a programmed part sound played rather than typed.

Amps and cabinets

Revv is where I landed and where I’ve stayed — amps, cabinets, and especially the pedals. The gain channel on the Revv pedals is the whole reason: the purple channel is the sound I keep reaching for. Tight, articulate high gain that doesn’t turn to mush when you play a chord instead of a single note, and that stays defined when you actually record it rather than only sounding enormous in the room.

That last part matters more than it gets credit for. Plenty of high-gain tones are thrilling to stand in front of and unusable in a mix — too much low-mid, no note definition, nothing left once the bass and drums arrive. The purple channel survives the mix, which is why it ends up on things.