My second kit was a Tama Swingstar drums: it was black and, particular that still I like, it had the 8” tom tom. How many time I missed it when I was playing…

I remember I used to play with three toms and a floor tom. Everytime the question was: ”Damn, I don’t know where to put the ride cymbal!” I like to use it. Many rock/metal drummers prefer an hi-hat on the right to keep the groove. I grew up listening to drummers as Nicko McBrain, Ian Paice, Cozy Powell, so the sound of that cymbal is familiar with my way of playing drums.

Now I got a Tama Starclassic Performer: what can I say, it has an amazing sound with a great attack! If I had enough money I think I would buy a Ludwing drumkit: it has that vintage taste that I love. IMHO Tama drums are the best for heavy metal and I don’t know if I would be able to change this brand.

Having played in many festivals, I could not always bring my drums: I remember I tried a Pearl Measter Custom Drums during a gig at Woodstock Club in Como. It was fantastic even without mics!! The sound was so big, perfect for Hard Rock (in fact the other band was an AC/DC tribute). Another good drums I tried was a Mapex but I don’t remember what kind it was, maybe an Orion one. Perfect control of the tom’s harmonics and a powerful sound from the base drum.

Well, this could make me think to change but everytime I played with a Tama, there were something more than a matter of sound or technical matters: it was love.

Aloha!

Grave

I fell in love with Meinl Cymbals. I was a fan of Paiste and still I am, but sometimes come the moments of changes and I was looking for something similar. Meinl fits very well to me.

You can find further infos about the manufactoring here.

I like the powerful and brilliant sound of the Soundcaster custom crashers: they’re made with bronze and a trace of silver. The interesting thing is that the tone is also rich and warm so I can use the cymbals both for strong accents and softer parts. However I chose the medium size obviously because of the kind of music I play with F.I.T., I can’t afford broken cymbals every six months!

My ride is a 21” MB10 Medium Ride: I like the big and penetrating sound of the bell! The cymbal has a good balance between pure tone and glassy ping.

It’s almost entirely made with copper.

My lastest purchase is the “Generation X-Treme Stacks Cymbals 12”/14”, you can hear his sound in this video. The drummer who plays is Felix Lehrmann, extremely groovy!!!

The Generation X series is an innovative and modern line of cymbals developed with such artists as Johnny Rabb, Benny Greb, and Thomas Lang.

The only shop where I could find the Meinl cymbals is the “Esse Music Store” in Montebelluna (TV). A little far from where I live but there aren’t any other shops which have the Meinl Cymbals for sale. They have good prices and a very interesting variety.

My hi-hat is a Paiste and the China is an UFIP. I had a meinl hi-hat, I remember it was an MB 20: nice but too heavy for me and my way of playing.

Well, I’m not a drummer who knows every kind of alloy or have tried any kind of cymbal: I have an idea of how my set should play according with the kind of music.

When I’ll be rich I’m gonna buy any cymbal I like!

Bye

Grave

Well, I want to talk a little about my drumkit and what I think about metal drummers.

First of all I use a Tama Starclassic Performer: it has an aggressive sound and it’s perfect for Rock/Metal! In this particular case I choosed a drum birch wood because it gives a warmer sound, especially during the songs with low dynamics. I tried some Mapex drums too, and I found them amazing. During live gigs they have an incredible sound control (I think it was a Mapex Orion).

Perhaps I’m still in love with Tama and when I saw the “Performer” I made my choice.

I use only two toms: a 10” tom tom and a 16” floor tom. Base drum is 22”.

That’s the reason of the headline.

I like to study, and still I do, every kind of style: from funk, R&B, hip-hop to jazz and latin.

However I feel the best vibes when I’m playing hard rock. I grew up with bands like Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Cream and then Iron Maiden, Metallica, Megadeth. I have to say that my first love has been for The Beatles.

During a gig I tried a Dw Drum. A fantastic set and a very hot sound: the “problem” was that IMHO it didn’t fit to well with Heavy Metal. It hadn’t the same attack compared to Tama or Pearl.

I remember initially I didn’t like to much Pearl drums. Then a friend of mine bought the Master Custom series and let me play with it. Amazing and amusing!

But my choice had been already done…

Yeah, but why a small kit? It makes me focus on the groove!

Let me say that in my opinion I played too much in “Fit to Die”: there are too much fills and sometimes I can’t feel a strong base for the other instruments. Indeed I cannot wait to record the next album because I know well how to play the tunes and where to let flow my own style.

Anyway, it’s just an opinion.

I like to talk with drummers but many times we talk about drums brand or famous drummers: I prefer talking about what they feel playing a song, what they think of the drumming and what they want to communicate with it. Playing drums could be hard or easy, playing a song it’s another thing.

So, feel free to join the discussion!

Bye

Grave

I don’t use at all the single coil in the middle, so I choosed to shut it up by changing the original 5-ways switch with a silver Fender 3-ways one. It helps me changing the pickup selection really fast when I play live!

The EMG 89 can be splitted into a single coil with a push pull switch in the tone knob. This is the only thing I use that knob for! However, this single coil is quite as brilliant as a Fender one, but it’s too noisy for the live shows, IMHO. However, it’s very good for the recordings. As an humbucker, the EMG 89 has a very warm clean, which I like a lot.

Then I changed the original crappy Floyd Rose-like bridge with a Schaller one, and the machine heads with Grover ones. These are very good components, which make a real difference. The Schaller bridge helps by giving the guitar a good sustain for a Floyd bridge and reduces the detuning when you bend a string.

This is the final result:

The main reason for the rusted strings is MY OWN BLOOD!!! This happens because I use the pick in a very strange way, and when I play a little harder I end up covering in blood the strings…

However, during the last 10 years I had the chance to try tons of guitar, since my needs slightly changed. Therefore, I defined my ideal guitar’s requirements:

- Mahogany bolt on body

- Ebony fingerboard (the rosewood emphasizes frequencies around 6KHz, which are bad with a very heavy distortion)

- EMG 81 & 85 pickups (the 89 one is good, but I think that the 85 pairs better with the 81)

- Schaller bridge with auto-lock tuners. (Yes, I need far more sustain!)

- Piezoelectric pickup (useful for the live shows)

- Active booster for mid frequencies, like this one (never listened to it, but I’m really curious about)

My good friend Raffaello is now endorser for VGS Guitars. He made me try the Pro Series Eruption Europe MP-1, Roland Grapow signature. I don’t like signature models too much, I think they affect the musician’s personality, but this one is a really good instrument. I feel really tempted.

Anyway, the technical specs are:

• Solid Mahogany body, solid Flamed Maple top (AAA selection)
• 24,75″ scale, 43 mm graphite nut
• Set Maple neck, Ebony fingerboard with binding with 22 Dunlop Accu-Fret 6000 frets
• VGS-V fingerboard inlays in mother-of-pearl
• 2 active EMG humbucker 81 & 85 chrome covered
• 2 volume, 1 tone control, 3-way switch
• Schaller GTM Tune-O-Matic bridge, Stop-Tailpiece
• Schaller M6 locking machine heads
• Chrome hardware
• Made in Europe

Not bad! I could install the piezoelectric pickup and the mid booster later. I don’t know why they embed the booster in a push pull switch rather then a push push one. How could someone find a push pull comfortable? With a push push I could at least punch the knob! It’s fast! It’s spectacular!

Well, this is the guitar:

Very Gibson style, I like it! I don’t appreciate that much this kind of pickup switch, but I think I can live with it.

I’d like to read what you, fellow guitarists, think about it!

Take care

Gadjet