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Raymond Herrera first wowed the metal community with his cutting-edge sound and technique on 1992's Soul Of A New Machine and has continued to do so ever since. He's a pioneer of drum trigger technology and a master of double kick work…

"I've been with Tama for years," he told Rhythm magazine. "I went for the bigger drum kit because of Stephen (Carpenter) from the Deftones, who I was in a band called Kush with. He came down to Tama with me and helped me choose the kit."

"I used to tune higher when I triggered my toms because if the drums are too loose the sensitivity goes out of whack with the triggers," Raymond Herrera on tuning

Triggers

Raymond is renowned for his use of triggers to achieve his defined drum sound but he now only triggers his 20"x18" bass drums with ddrum 4s, so his tuning has changed. "I used 22"s for a long time but I moved on to 20"s. I seem to get a tighter sound and I feel like I can play faster on 20"s. I don't know if it's a mental thing?"

"My tuning is very standard too. I used to tune higher when I triggered my toms because if the drums are too loose the sensitivity goes out of whack with the triggers."

Zildjian

Raymond also has a passion for all things Zildjian. "Anything that Zildjian makes I pretty much love," he says. "I normally go with New Beat hi-hats and the Earth ride because it's really heavy. As for crashes, everything Zildjian makes is incredible, from the Darks to the Avedis line."

Next page: Raymond Herrera's drum setup detail