Skip to main content
Music Radar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Artist news
  • Guitar Amps
  • Guitar Pedals
  • Synths
  • Guitars
  • Drums
  • Keyboards & Pianos
  • Controllers
  • Software & Apps
  • More
    • Recording
    • DJ Gear
    • Acoustic Guitars
    • Bass Guitars
    • Tech
    • Tutorials
    • Reviews
    • Buying Guides
    • About Us
More
  • EVH trance state
  • Antonoff on Please Please Please
  • “Mick looked peeved. The Beatles had upstaged him”
  • 95k+ free music samples

Recommended reading

A collection of single and double Tama Iron Cobra pedals on a silver corrugated metal sheet
Drum Pedals Best bass drum pedals 2025: single and double bass pedals for every budget
DrumCraft Urban Beats
Drum Kits “A good-looking kit which won’t break the bank”: DrumCraft Urban Beats review
Drumcraft Bell Brass Snare
Snare Drums “An excellent entry point into the world of cast-shell drums”: DrumCraft Bell Brass Snare review
Alesis Crimson III
Electronic Drums Alesis’ popular Crimson e-kit just got an upgrade with version III sporting new heads and a new BFD-powered drum brain
Metronome on some sheet music
Gear & Gadgets Best metronomes 2025: The top mechanical and digital metronomes for musicians
Superbooth 2025
Synths 12 new instruments and effects you need to know about from Superbooth 2025
Roland DrumLink
Drum Gear Roland's V-Drums go wireless for new simple and seamless WT-10 sensor and DH-10 hub DrumLink system
  1. Drums
  2. Drum Gear

The best drum gear of the year: 2013

News
By Rich Chamberlain published 19 December 2013

MusicRadar's top kits, e-drums, snares, cymbals, percussion and more

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Drum kit of the year

Drum kit of the year

After back-to-back wins for the Black Panther range in our kit of the year category, DW has finally broken Mapex’s dominance.

The Design Series is DW’s latest line of wares that take the company’s boutique approach to creating top quality drums, but these gorgeous shells come with a more wallet-friendly price tag than the US firm’s Collector’s Series. We were wowed by the kit’s superb build quality and stunning sound.

The win is all the more impressive as there were some seriously tasty kits released this year. A particularly honourable mention must go to Sonor’s deliciously dark Prolite kit.

5 out of 5

Read: DW Design Series kit review

Also in the running

Sonor Prolite kit

Page 1 of 9
Page 1 of 9
Budget drum kit of the year (under £1,000)

Budget drum kit of the year (under £1,000)

Finding a killer kit for under £1,000 is impressive. Getting one with change from £500 is a darn right steal.

Ludwig offered just that this year with the launch of the Breakbeats kit. Designed in conjunction with The Roots’ sticksman Questlove, the diminutive kit was built with ease of transportation in mind, with Questlove wanting a set-up that could easily be shoved in the back of a New York cab on the way to a gig. Don’t worry, it’s also perfect for being lugged into the back of an old Ford KA en route to your local.

We must also doff our hats to the re-launched Pearl Export, which allows drummers to get their hands on an iconic range for sub £700.

4 out of 5

Read: Ludwig Questlove Breakbeats kit review

Also in the running

Pearl Export Series kit

Page 2 of 9
Page 2 of 9
Electronic drum kit of the year

Electronic drum kit of the year

Yamaha treated us with a brace of new e-kits this year, the budget conscious DTX522 and the slightly more bells and whistles-laden DTX562.

Both kits come into Yamaha’s mid-price range, utilising the new DTX502 module. The DTX526K really caught our eye thanks, in part, to the excellent response we got from the kit’s textured cellular silicone playing surfaces and the fact that it’ll all set you back just a whisker over £1,500.

Even better, the new and improved module features more than double the memory and around 250 more sounds than its predecessor.

4 out of 5

Read: Yamaha DTX562 review

Page 3 of 9
Page 3 of 9
Budget electronic drum kit of the year (Under £1,000)

Budget electronic drum kit of the year (Under £1,000)

Last year Roland impressed us with the mind-bogglingly pricey TD-30KV, this year we love a kit right at the other end of the spectrum.

The titchy TD-4KP is one hell of an option for newbies, or simply those with limited space. The P in the name stands for portable, and this rig is certainly that. The entire kit can be neatly folded away and packed down into the provided gig bag, which is perfect for jumping on the bus with to your next gig.

Now, you couldn’t do that with a Terry Bozzio-esque acoustic set-up, could you? Not without causing some serious back pain, anyway.

4 out of 5

Read: Roland TD-4KP review

Page 4 of 9
Page 4 of 9
Cymbals of the year

Cymbals of the year

Paiste takes our Cymbal of the Year gong for the second year in succession. This time it’s the Paiste Precision range that has impressed us.

These metals share many characteristics of Paiste’s iconic Signature line. They are, in fact, made from the same phosphor bronze as the Signature cymbals but come in around 20-percent less expensive. And that cheaper price point doesn’t mean a sub-standard product, we loved the Precision range for its brilliant warm sound and cutting clarity.

4 out of 5

Read: Paiste Precision Series review

Page 5 of 9
Page 5 of 9
Snare of the year

Snare of the year

Premier has done a whole heap of work in the last few years in returning to the top table of the drum world, and the One series snares only added to its resurgence.

The latest snares to be made by Premier’s UK-based drum building guru Keith Keough, the One range impresses thanks to sheer scope.

With a seemingly never-ending array of exotic woods and finishes to choose from, this line of one-off drums is a bold undertaking by Premier, but deserves to be a massive success, and one that sees Premier reclaim its place as a major player on a global scale.

5 out of 5

Read: Premier One Series review

Page 6 of 9
Page 6 of 9
Acoustic percussion of the year

Acoustic percussion of the year

Ever since global giant Marshall took over the Natal brand back in 2010 we’ve seen plenty of stunning kits and snares from the rejuvenated company, but not so much in what Natal built its name on - percussion.

This year that all changed. As well as a smattering of cajons, bongos and cowbells (the ridiculously affordable Natal NSTC line particularly excelled on the latter front), Natal unleashed these frankly beautiful Classic Series fibreglass congas.

The stunning gloss white finish piqued our interest, but it was the rich tones that the congas delivered and their wide tuning range that really impressed.

4 out of 5

Read: Natal Classic Series fibreglass congas review

Page 7 of 9
Page 7 of 9
Electric percussion of the year

Electric percussion of the year

We’ve seen a veritable feast of Wavedrums launched from the Korg stable since the electro percussion device was re-introduced in 2010 - the Oriental, Mini, Black and now the Global.

While so many updates in three years may seem excessive, the Global is a damn fine device in its own right. And what a versatile instrument it is.

You can just about do what the hell you want with it - play it like an acoustic drum, hit it with sticks, tap it with mallets or bash it with your own fine hands to access some of the many sounds on board.

Speaking of sounds, there’s loads of them jammed into the Wavedrum Global, with 140 loop phases, reverb and delay effects and plenty more.

Yes, at £599 it does carry a premium price tag, but if you want quality you, more often than not, need to put your hand in your pocket and shell out a wad of cold, hard cash.

4 out of 5

Read: Korg Wavedrum Global Edition review

Page 8 of 9
Page 8 of 9
Drum heads of the year

Drum heads of the year

It’s pretty rare that any drum company completely overhauls its production methods, but that’s what Evans did with its Level 360 revolution.

Now, each and every head to come out of Evans’ New York factory features the Level 360 design, which utilises a newly-designed collar that gives a snug fit on drums of all shapes, sizes, makes and vintages.

In turn, this means that your days of over tensioning heads just to get the things to sit evenly are over. You certainly won’t want to go back to your old heads after giving these a whirl. And for that, we salute Evans.

5 out of 5

Read: Evans Level 360 drum heads review

Page 9 of 9
Page 9 of 9
Rich Chamberlain
Rich Chamberlain

Rich is a teacher, one time Rhythm staff writer and experienced freelance journalist who has interviewed countless revered musicians, engineers, producers and stars for the our world-leading music making portfolio, including such titles as Rhythm, Total Guitar, Guitarist, Guitar World, and MusicRadar. His victims include such luminaries as Ice T, Mark Guilani and Jamie Oliver (the drumming one).

Read more
A collection of single and double Tama Iron Cobra pedals on a silver corrugated metal sheet
Best bass drum pedals 2025: single and double bass pedals for every budget
DrumCraft Urban Beats
“A good-looking kit which won’t break the bank”: DrumCraft Urban Beats review
Drumcraft Bell Brass Snare
“An excellent entry point into the world of cast-shell drums”: DrumCraft Bell Brass Snare review
Alesis Crimson III
Alesis’ popular Crimson e-kit just got an upgrade with version III sporting new heads and a new BFD-powered drum brain
Metronome on some sheet music
Best metronomes 2025: The top mechanical and digital metronomes for musicians
Superbooth 2025
12 new instruments and effects you need to know about from Superbooth 2025
Latest in Drum Gear
Sleep Token drummer II Drumeo
“I’ve taken inspiration from the UK dance music scene": Mixwave put Sleep Token’s drummer in a plugin
DW SonicPly
Neil Peart called him 'the Wood Whisperer' and now he's blended metal and timber in DW's new SonicPly shells
Zultan Cymbals
"Crafted from Heritage. Tuned for Tomorrow": Zultan Cymbals celebrate their 25th birthday with a new high-end 25 series
Roland DrumLink
Roland's V-Drums go wireless for new simple and seamless WT-10 sensor and DH-10 hub DrumLink system
Millenium Drums book
Millenium launches new book for drummers of all ages and abilities
Alesis Strata Club
With the same mesh-head playability and powerful new Strata module as its bigger brothers, Alesis Strata Club brings a new compact form to its best-selling range
Latest in News
Gretsch Broadkaster Jr LX Center Block with Bigsby
Gretsch’s unveils new MIJ high-end semi-hollows with redesigned bodies and Pro Twin Six humbuckers
Sabrina Carpenter
Sabrina Carpenter on her musical heroes, and why she decided to release a new album so soon... and Rush
Fred Armisen as George Ross, Amy Poehler as Carolyn Kepcher, Donald Trump during "The Apprentice Band" skit on April 3, 2004
“I could’ve been a flutist”: Donald Trump is claiming he has an aptitude for music
Jackson X and JS Series Surfcasters: the long-awaited offset electric guitar is now being offered in white, satin black and metallic black, and and at the entry-level JS price point and the mid-priced X Series.
“A bold new take on a classic metal machine”: Having ridden the wave of popular demand, Jackson’s Surfcaster offset has landed – and it’s built for speed
Line 6 Helix Stadium XL: The new flagship amp modeller and multi-effects unit is a dramatic expansion of the Helix framework with a suite of state-of-the-art features
Line 6 debuts all-new AI tech as it supercharges its amp modelling platform with the Helix Stadium
Benmont Tench and Rick Rubin
Tom Petty keyboard player Benmont Tench says that being produced by Rick Rubin was like solving a puzzle

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...