I always use Ludwig drums.  I’m endorser for Ludwig since 2007, and i have to say… this is it.  I’ve got a Ludwig Classic Maple, the Ringo Starr edition.  It has everything i look for in a drumkit, and i just LOVE it.  It sounds a little bit vintage (some call it “the new vintage”).  The whole drumkit actually sounds fantastic !  The exact specs of my drumkit are as follows:

• Bass Drum 14 x 22″
• Tom 9 x1 3″
• Floor Tom 16 x 16″
• Snare Drum 14″ (depth varies depending on wich snare i use)

I use Remo Emperor Coated on top, and Remo Ambassador Coated on the bottom.  I did some experiments during the recording-session.  For “Varnish” i muffled my toms and snare like i never did before, and tuned my snaredrum really really low.  I also changed bassdrum-muffling for some of the songs…

Let’s talk about my snaredrums.  I’ve got a Ludwig Black Beauty, but for the asoQ-recordings i also used a titanium Dunnett and a Bronze Sonor Signature snaredrum (the real big & heavy one, 8″ deep and 20 kg !)

I’m also endorser for Sabian Cymbals, and have never been so happy with my cymbal setup like i am now.  I use the HHX-series (15″ groove Hats, 21″ Groove Ride, 18″ Xtreme Crash and 20″ Stage Ride, wich i use as a Crash).  They really sound like they have to sound… not too agressive, cuts through the music, but still sounds a bit dark-ish… i like it.

Here’s a pic of my drumkit with my Black Beauty snaredrum.

Top View:

Cymbals:

And here’s the Dunnett in Close-up.  Next to it is a Sonor Designer Maple Snaredrum that i’ve been using since i was 15

If you want to know more about the gear i’m using, you might find these links interesting:

www.ludwig-drums.com
www.sabian.com
www.dunnett.com
www.vicfirth.com

Cheers.