Crash cymbals

Zildjian A Custom Fast Crash.
This is one of my options when it comes to choosing cymbals for jazz & fusion-oriented music. Primarily, I wanted these cymbals because they produce a nice warm sound with a short decay. And they have just the right amount of attack to be called a "crash-cymbal". Size: Thin.

Zildjian Z Custom Medium (and rock) Crash.
Loud, penetrating, and not to mention; they last for a long time. Excellent for getting through the music in live situations. Very good cymbals for Rock/Metal/Progressive oriented music. But bear in mind that you'll need other crashes if you wanna play easier styles; the Z Customs are too tough. These cymbals are a bit rough in traditional studio settings. I've experienced that they literally kill the drum sound in the studio. You should consider optional cymbals when you attend a studio session.

Zildjian A Medium Crash.
This is a great crash with a nice sound. It's also adaptable to any musical setting. I've used mine in both metal and old school blues. Probably the most used cymbal among professional drummers throughout the world. According to Zildjian, the A series were the first cymbals ever to be produced. It costs about the same as the Z Custom Crashes.

Zildjian ZBT Crash.
I've played for a short time with a 16" Scimitar Bronze Crash Cymbal. I didn't feel any control when playing this cymbal, and the sound was kinda spongy if you didn't hit it hard. It's a cheap cymbal though, and probably good if you're a beginning drummer or just want to practise a lot.

Zildjian Edge Crash
The edge cymbals are very suitable for the beginning drummer as they cost less than half the price of the A series. Nevertheless, I had a problem with these cymbals: When I was 16-17 years old, I crushed them into pieces in 3 months. Nowadays I play softer and far more controlled, but experience tells me that they'll definitively not stand up with hard-hitting drummers. They have a nice cutting sound for rock music.

Sabian AAX Studio Crash
This is a very controlled cymbal with a quick response. I primarily use this cymbal in studio or fusion/jazz/blues settings. It reminds me of the Zildjian A Customs, and has a warm sound.

Sabian AA Medium Crash
Heavy and loud cymbal. Plenty of presence. It's a great optional cymbal in any setup. Use it whenever there's loud dynamics. Perfect for live situations without overhead micing. Average price.

Sabian AA Metal-X Crash
Aggressive, very heavy and loud cymbal. Extreme sustain. I also enjoyed the large bell on this cymbal. It provides a basis for creative sticking patterns. Bear in mind: this cymbal was made to be punched with great vengeance and furious anger. Soft sticking and cosy hitting will not sound good on this metal.

Paiste Alpha Crash
I had a 16" crash for about 5 months. It had an allright attack with great versatility. And it wasn't too expensive. However, I couldn't stand some of the overtones produced by this cymbal. Recommended for beginner/to experienced drummers. Medium/thin.

Ufip Bionic Crash.
Loud and powerful with plenty of warmth. These cymbals produce a great sound when muted (i.e. accents in metal-oriented music). I particulary enjoy the feeling of completeness that this cymbal brings to the music. Hard surfaces and thick construction. I currently use a 19" crash.

Percussion Plus Crash.
This is the worst crap I've ever "laid my sticks on". It produced a squeaky, irritating, spongy and overtoned bright crash. I managed to crush this cymbal into 11 pieces during 2 months. The P-Plus producers said it was a flaw in the production. - I got a new one, which I crushed in less time. Absolutely not recommended!

Splash/China

Ufip Natural Splash.
Forget what you know about splashes! This is "the splash". It's exactly how you want any splash to sound! Quick sound, no decay and great warmth! There is no such phrase as "stick against metal" or spongy sound when you play this cymbal.

Zildjian A Custom Splash.
This is a great splash. Nice musical and quick sound. I'd prefer Ufip Natural Splash, but these are nevertheless good splashes.

Zildjian Oriental Trash Splash.
A good alternative if you want to add special effects to your kit. This one has a great cutting, special, "oriental" kinda sound. The oriental sound through a western perspective.

Paiste 2002 Splash.
Classic splash sound. Warm and bright with a short decay. No overtones. Good for pop and rock.

Zildjian Edge Splash
This splash cymbal did not provide a real splash sound. It sounded more like a spongy, bright, sticky sound. The Edge cymbals are cheap, and probably a good choice for beginning and young drummers. Nevertheless, I must admit that I did not enjoy to play with this.

Zildjian Oriental China Trash
Oh yeah! This is power. Power! This one hits the spot for rock/metal/progressive music. A lot of volume and a great cutting sound. Used by a lot of drummers worldwide. Personally, I don't like to overplay these cymbals; I prefer using them to add the final touch musically. This is the ultimate china, I've never used anything else.

Ride/Hihat

Zildjian Earth Ride
This is a great ride cymbal, especially for music that needs a cutting ping and a large bell sound. It sounds great live and doesn't get lost behind the rest of the music. The overwhelming ping definition might however be too tough in some musical settings. I wouldn't recommend this cymbal for other than rock and metal oriented styles. I use a 20" and I'm very satisfied with this ride. Size: Extra Heavy.

Paiste 2002 Ride
My setup includes two rides and the second is a Paiste 2002 20" ride. It's a marvellous ride cymbal, although more suitable for fusion, easy rock and jazzy stuff than metal/progressive rock. The sustain lasts longer than my earth ride. There's also a touch of natural sizzle in this cymbal.

Sabian AAX Metal hats
This Hihat is exactly what I've been looking for. It's very controlled and can be both loud and agressive as well as easy and defined. Half-open it has got a really great sound for Rock and Heavy. But closed this hihat has a defined sound for fusion/funk and even slow ballads. Heavy top/extra heavy bottom. Great!

Zildjian Scimitar HiHat
I like having this as my secondary hihat. It creates a more crisp and raw sound than my AAX. That being said, I wouldn't prefer having this as my primary choice, I like this hihat basically because of the contrast created by it.

Drumsticks

Vic Firth (5B)
I use Vic Firth sticks for both wooden sticks and filt mallets. They are durable sticks with good weight and balance. Maybe the most popular sticks on the market? The brushes are also a good choice. But this is very individual. The 5B American Classic is my drumkit choice. Aas you can see at the picture to the left, I got several buckets with broken pairs. Pretty expensive!

Vater
I tested Vater Rock drumsticks for a short period of time. But I found them to be too heavy. Later I tried the Vater 5b, but they were too light and didn't posess quite the balance I was looking for. So Vic Firth AC 5B was the thing for me. But Vater drum sticks are durable, so if you're comfortable with the weight; use them.

Aquarian
I've tested the Aquarian Power Sleeve drumsticks. But I didn't like them at all. They were too heavy for my taste, and I don't care for Nylon tips either. I also tested the Aquarian Formula X10 Rock drumsticks with red shock grips, and these drumsticks are the strongest drumsticks I've ever tested. I use approx 1 pair of wooden drumsticks every week. But I used only one pair of these in 4 months. Unfortunately they lacked the great sound produced by wood, and the stick to cymbal sound was awful. You should check'em out yourself.

Grover
Grover are very good at making cymbal mallets and glockenspiel sticks. I'm very satisfied with these sticks. I used to play with some Zildjian Cymbal mallets, but I found Grover as the better choice.

Drumkits

Premier
I grew up playing a Premier Royale drumkit. It had a lively blue finnish. Premier are not manufacturing these drumkits anymore, but I think Royale was a mix of the '90s APK and XPK. In 2001 I bought myself a used Premier XPK kit with a "wooden" finnish. Good british maple, and I use this kit exclusively for practising.
The design and achitecture of Premier's kits are easy recognizable by their solid hardware and their special tom-holder solution, and I have nothing but good experiences with these drums.

Yamaha
Yamaha was my friend for 8 years (Back in the time when I played with brassbands). That kit had lasted for over 15 years. And that's kinda incredible considering what those drums had been exposed to; thrown into planes, trains and buses up to 10 times every year. I think Yamaha creates good kits, with great durability, design and sound.

Pearl
When I attended the Sound Engineering school in 99/2000, I had regularly access to a Pearl Export kit. It's an ok kit, but somehow I never got the real kicks out of it. Visually, I'm not really into Pearl. There's something I don't like about the design. Not quite sure what it is.

Mapex
Mapex Saturn Pro is the drumkit of my dreams. All the drums are made from 6-ply North American maple and walnut, and the finnish consists of eight coats of hand-applied lacquer. The sound is just astonishing. I'm a big fan of punchy drums with less sustain, and the Saturns rule this area. The colour and design are exceptional, and the price is very favourable compared to many other brands. There's really not much more to say about these drums. I highly recommend Mapex Saturn Pro. Check out the my photos section for pictures of this beauty!

Books

"Master Studies" by Joe Morello
Master Studies is a workbook with tons of different exercises. Mainly for developing the hands with better technique and control. When I first leafed through this book, I found the exercises pretty easy. But when I accelerated them up to speed, I found myself being very wrong. Basically, it's all 4th, 8th and 16th notes applied in various patterns; a lot of paradidle- and triplet work brought to a new level. This is a great book for beginner to intermediate drummers.

"Up close " by Steve Gadd

Steve Gadd - also known as "The most influential drummer ever".
Up Close covers many important aspects of drumming; learning to groove, filling, drum-marching as well as a variety of latin--stuff. A good book, and very educational for new drummers eager to learn and practise new stuff. Comes with a cassette or cd.

"Advanced Concepts " by Kim Plainfield

This book comes with 2 cd's, which contains a lot of different rudiments, exercises and grooves. - A fabulous feature and I found it very helpful. All tracks are executed by Kim Plainfield, independent drummer and teacher at the New York's Drummers Collective. This book covers an extremely wide variety of drumming aspects; ranging from contemporary styles, rhythmical concepts, polyrhythms, afrocuban rhythms, shuffle, latin stuff, odd ruffs, linear phrasing and much more. EXCELLENT BOOK! Recommended for intermediate to advanced drummers.

Video

"Power Drumming " by Virgil Donati

Donati is one of the most technical and progressive musicians I've ever heard. What he does is not easy describing. This VHS/DVD features 2 main parts; 1) play along and 2) Donati soloing
In the first part you and Virgil are going through a variety of exercises on the drumkit. Mainly for enhancing your endurance, power and speed. It works! The next part is gonna blow you away as Donati performs a set of solos with exterme technicality and innovation. This VHS is worth buying just to get the second part!!! :)

"Private Lesson" by Gregg Bisonette

This VHS covers a lot of different topics, and is amongst the most educational video I've ever seen. Gregg Bisonette executes a variety of grooves and neat things to know about the drumkit; playing with brushes, songo, double bass, jazz, clave, just to mention a few. And he's got a fantastic groove. Great Video!

"Serious Moves " by Dennis Chambers

I didn't quite think of this as an educational video. It's more in the direction of a jazz music video - featuring Dennis Chambers, John Scofield, Gary Grainger and Jim Beard. Nevertheless, it covers a few matters; showing how to build up grooves, working with the bassplayer, and some solomaterial.
The way Dennis Chambers moves his hands over the drumkit is incredible. An enormous speed, power and agility. Buy this if you would like a cool music/solo VHS.

"Double Bass Drumming" - Various artists

Joe Franco, Terry Bozzio, Rod Morgenstein and Simon Phillips share some of their most valuable tips concerning double bass drumming. It's informative for the "beginning-double-bass-drummer", but there's not much for intermediate or advanced double-bassdrum players. If you're new to double-bass - Buy this, and you'll learn some neat tips & trix. Otherwise, don't!

"The next step" by Dave Weckl

"The next step" is Dave Weckl's 2nd instructional-movie. Mr. Weckl, known for playing with the likes of Chick Corea, Michel Camilo and Mike Stern, covers a lot of aspects I've not seen in any instructional-movie before. He focuses on groove understanding, and talks alot about what he's experienced through his years of drumming; like soloing over grooves, off grooves, practising, playing live, in the studio, breaking up parts etc. Very informative! This should be in every drummers collection!

"Progressive Concepts " by Mike Portnoy

Mike Portnoy takes you through the world of progressive music. In this movie he shows you how to think progressive, break up parts, filling, double bass, and soloing. There's also a guest apperance by Derek Sherinian and John Myung. Together they break up intricate Dream Theater parts, and Portnoy explains how he executes the various concepts. An allright video, but not suitable for experienced progressive drummers.

Disclaimer

Do not get insulted because I don't share your opinion on your choice of cymbals or favorite video. I don't claim to posess the correct answers on these matters, I'm just stating my opinion.