Equipment setups

Occasionally someone will ask what equipment I use in performance. Whereas I discourage the excessive consumption of this sort of information, I am glad to provide the following.

I play two Gretsch drum kits fitted with Remo Diplomat FiberSkyn heads, Powerstroke P3 Felt Tone FiberSkyn bass-drum heads, and Hazy Ambassador snare-side heads (Brooklyn Micro Kit: 4.5" x 13" wood snare, 12" x 16" bass, 7" x 10" and 12" x 13" toms in Satin Mahogany; USA Custom jazz kit: 5" x 14" wood snare, 14" x 18" bass, 8" x 12" and 14" x 14" toms in Caribbean Blue Gloss); Paiste cymbals (I choose from a collection of 8" and 10" splashes, 14" hi-hats, 16" and 18" crashes, and 20" and 22" rides from the dark Masters line); Drum Workshop bass-drum pedals, hi-hats, and hardware; and Vic Firth sticks, mallets, and brushes. For a special occasion I might add Zildjian F, F#, G, G# finger cymbals; a 7" UFIP Icebell; a Mecart chime tree; Sarna attar, camel, elephant, and temple bells; generic sleigh bells; a small Alan Abel triangle; an 8" Paiste Roto Sound Disc; 14" and 22" Wuhan gongs; a Studio 200 bell plate; a Pakistan bell tree; small and large Buddha temple bells; and Latin Percussion small percussion. I rarely use a large setup; for a typical gig I take a four-piece and a few cymbals. (In November 2023 I expect to receive my "gold watch," presumably the last of many Gretsch drum sets, identical to the Caribbean Blue kit but in Antique Maple Gloss. At that point I will reserve the Brooklyn Micro Kit for occasions when I must leave drums on stage overnight.)

I would need a warehouse to store all the drums, cymbals, timpani, mallet instruments, keyboards, guitars, basses, amplifiers, recording and processing devices, fiber and ATA cases, leather and nylon gig bags, and other gear I have owned over the years. In all situations I travel as light as possible.