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Electronic Kit

Yamaha DTXtreme III Special
£2985

Roland's TD-9K looked a strong contender for this year's top electronic set-up but it was pipped to the post by Yamaha's DTXtreme III on almost every level. Its brain is bigger (and cleverer), its pads and cymbals feel fantastic and the rack system is easy to use and ready for the bumpiest of roads. A well-deserved ekit of the year award for Yamaha…

Cymbals

Sabian APX Cymbals
From £97

The first of our double-whammy of top cymbal picks is Sabian's APX Series. And "wham" is an appropriate word to use here. These are the loudest cymbals we've heard in a long time. Seriously, they break sound barriers. But that's not enough to garner a 'best of' award: they offer a mix of assertiveness, trashiness and speed while complimenting most rock set-ups with ease.Just remember the ear protection…

Dream Bliss Cymbals
From £35

It's been a bumper year for Dream with its Contact range and – our favourites – the Bliss collection making a lasting impression on the cymbal market. Manufactured in China but not mass produced, these versatile discs are full of character and can proudly stand up against any other brand. Judge with your ears and you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Metal snares

Worldmax Snare Drums
From £215

Ok, so this year's cream of the metal snare crop was actually Craviotto's Diamond Series. Gorgeous drums which blew us away in every department. Unfortunately, they cost £1800 a pop so, unless you're Chad Smith (who funnily enough owns the first Craviotto Diamond ever made) they're unobtainable. Instead, try Worldmax's latest and massively-improved collection of snares: responsive, powerful and - above all - affordable. Highwood's Hammer models are a worthy runner-up, too.

Wooden snares

Yamaha Wooden Snares
From £362

The only real problem we have with Yamaha's latest collection of oak and maple units is the amount of choice. There's too much! Into metal? Check out the Loud Series. Jazz? Try the Vintage – if you know what you want, there's something here for you. Reasonably priced, flawlessly constructed and impeccably stylish…

Percussion

Remo key-tuned djembe
From £199

As far as percussion gear goes (or more specifically djembes) Remo's key-tuned models slay their competition with gusto. Second to none playability, an array of beautiful sounds and a price tag you'll be hard-pushed to beat. Meinl also scored highly this year for its innovative new range of hand percussion. The exceedingly nice UFO shakers of which are pictured right…

Software

Toontrack Superior Drummer 2.0
£189

Hilarious 'dumb drummer' jokes aside, drum software has come a long way in recent years and Toontrack's Superior 2.0 is a shining example of a powerful yet easy to use package. The fact that - for the price of a low-end snare drum - you can enjoy the sound of a high-end, expertly tuned kit recorded in a great room using expensive studio equipment, almost makes us wonder why we bother with the real thing. Almost.

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