As all musicians know, one important goal in playing music is to find your "sound". And, though most of that is found in our finger tips, how we strike or pluck a string, draw a bow, the shape of our lips and how we blow a note or breath, or even how we hit a head, just as important is the equipment we use. Working at The Music Loft for 23 years gave me the opportunity to experiment with a variety of equipment and accessories. I'll share with you some of the equipment and accessories I use to get my sound. At this moment I use three different drumkits: a 6 piece set of Drum Workshops for general-purpose gigs (that's any gig or recording that's not a jazz gig), a 5 piece set of Yamaha Maple Customs, and a Sonor Jungle Kit. On the DW's I use Evans coated G2's for the toms, clear G1's for bottoms, and on the snare (13"x 5-1/2" standard Collectors Series) a coated G1. The bass drum head is an EQ2 (BD22GB2). Though I continue to experiment with the tuning and head selection for the kick, I'm pretty satisfied with the sound of my toms. I like an open and full sound, and I like what the coating does for the initial attack. An Evans head is a fairly bright head; so they cut through. And by the way, I have an AKG D112 Mays Miking System installed in the bass drum. When DW initially installed it, they put the mic in about 2"-3" away from the batter head. What were they thinking; this sounded awful! Now I've re-installed it with the back end of the mic about an inch from the front head at the 4 o'clock position pointing slightly off center. Now it sounds fat and punchy with plenty of low-end. I highly recommend this setup for anyone." The Maple Customs were harder to get a sound that I was satisfied with. Maple shelled drums are usually very warm, open, and have a nice resonance to them. Not these. The shells on 'em are thicker (7-plys on the toms & 10-plys on the kick.) They were too bright and without a lot of low-end, especially the kick. And it seemed you had to hit them really hard to get 'em to sing; regardless of the type of head I used. I wanted these for a strictly jazz tone; very tonal, almost to pitch, tuned up high but not too tight or choked, capable of singing with a soft touch as well as a solid hit. The first thing I did was replacing their Triple-flange steel DynaHoops with Yamaha Vintage Wood Hoops. These are 19-ply Maple hoops that not only look really cool, but they don't have the high-end ring that the steel hoops do. They add a little mid-low tone to the sound. The heads I use on the toms are Aquarian Modern Vintage-Mediums (MOTC-M.) Aquarian heads tend to be on the "darker" side of tone and are a little tighter right out of the box. Volume was never a problem, but now they have a fuller, and punchier tone than before; and not as thin. The kick drum (a 20") batter head is an Aquarian Super Kick I (SK-I) and the front or resonant head is a solid white Regulator (RF.) I'm very happy with the way that sounds. For most of the jazz gigs, I play one of two snares: either a 1966 14"x5-1/2" Ludwig Supra-Phonic or a 14"x4" Maple Custom with the Vintage wood hoops. I use the MOTC-M on these drums and they are both warm and fat! I bought the Sonor kit because lately I've found myself going to rehearsals either on the second floor or that had a difficult load-in. And since then, I've used 'em on a couple of small gigs. The Jungle Kit includes a 16x16 kick drum, a 10x8 mounted tom, and a 14x12 floor tom. I use a Toca Jingle snare drum attached to the hi hat stand. The batter head on the kick drum is a clear Remo Powerstroke II. I use coated Ambassadors on the mounted and floor toms. And with one cymbal stand with an attached cymbal stacker, kick pedal, and throne all in one hardware bag, I can usually load in with just 2 trips! Now when it comes to drumsticks, I'm still (and probably always will be…) experimenting. There's only one thing for sure: I like Hickory. It has the strength and just the right amount of flexibility. Oak is just too hard for me; it feels like I'm playing with steel rods. That's not good for my wrist or arms. I was using Vic Firth SD4 Combos on my jazz gigs. I love the barrel tip, the flexibility, the feel, and the way they made my cymbals sound. But Maple sticks prove to be too soft; unfortunately the tips kept developing these "dead spots" after one or two gigs. Now for the jazz gigs I'll either use Zildjian Bill Stewart Signatures or Pro Mark Hickory 5A round wood tips. And for the other gig where a heavier stick is needed, I'll use either the Pro Mark Hickory 5A Round wood tips or Vater Rikki Rocket "Bottlenecks." Though they're a little longer than I usually like, the balance is perfect and when you side stick 'em with the butt end, that cuts through. Cymbals are my weakness. I have too many. (Is there such a thing!!!) But I'll make this short and sweet: Zildjian. I use A's, K's, K-Customs, and A-Customs. Just depends on the gig. Usually K's for the jazz stuff and A-Customs for everything else. Yeah, I have a couple of Sabian and Paiste pieces that I'll use occasionally, but I love my Zildjians. At some point, I'll get me a set of Paiste Signatures, but I'll have to wait until I strike oil or something. As I stated earlier, to achieve a good tone, most of that is in the player and their technique. But good equipment can make it easier. And of course, what I like and use is totally subjective. So experiment. Don't be hung up by brand names. Try it all.