New gear galore: The hottest drum products coming your way

There’s no time for rest in the drum world. 

We have recently brought you massess of new gear inveiled at the NAMM and Musikmesse shows, but here we present even more stunning new products coming your way this year. We kick off with…

Yamaha 50th Anniversary Kits

From the Recording Custom to the YESS mounting system, Yamaha has packed a lot into its 50 innovative years of drum building and design. 

To mark the half-century, the celebrated drum company has released a pair of limited edition Absolute Hybrid maple kits in striking finishes. Shells will feature either Birdseye maple in an amber sunburst finish or curly maple in an antique natural finish, and each set will be adorned with gold lugs and a laser-cut 50th anniversary badge. 

The 6.15mm maple/walnut hybrid, 7-ply Sabre is a new addition to Mapex’s affordable, workhorse Armory snare range. 

The drum also features 45° Soniclear bearing edges, gorgeous Black Widow finish and 2.3mm powerhoops.

Pearl has managed to inject a fresh new visual spin on the traditional box drum with a stunning CNC-cut green tree design. 

What’s more, for the 3D Tree cajon, Pearl has shortened the snare wires and raised their position to make the bass zone on the frontplate much easier to reach. There’s a clear lacquer on the frontplate to boost snare response too. 

Sonor’s SQ2 system allows drummers to build their dream kit down to the last detail. 

This year the German brand is expanding to make the most popular SQ2 finishes and configurations available via the SQ2 Pre-Configured program. 

At launch it’s possible to order vintage maple shells with chrome hardware in a variety of popular sizes and finishes; namely dark satin or American walnut semi-gloss, and White Marine Pearl wrap. And the best news? Because the kits will be made in production batches, they’ll work out cheaper than building an SQ2 kit from scratch. 

The Swiss cymbal maker has teamed up with Jack White’s beat master Daru Jones to create a portable cymbal set for jams, sit-ins and hip-hop sessions. 

The result is the PST X DJS 45 set, a compact trio consisting of 12" crash, 12" ride and 12" hats. The PST X series lends itself to the fast, tight and dry sounds Daru was looking for, and the DJ theme is carried right through to the vinyl look of the ride cymbal. 

Vic Firth has been sitting on a number of unique prototype sticks which this year the company is unleashing under the modern Jazz Collection banner. 

There are five models to choose from, including the MJC2, which is slightly thinner than a 5a with an extra long taper. The MJC4 is a maple stick with a 5B diameter and long taper to promote rebound, and the MJC5 has an 8d shaft with a medium taper for great balance, plus a nylon tip. 

Another new product bearing the Twenty One Pilots drummer’s name, the Josh Dun artist stick features a beefed up 5a shaft with extra length to boost reach, and a .585" diameter. 

Elsewhere, Thomas Pridgen’s new stick is designed with a short taper to position more weight at the front of the stick, making it feel somewhere between a 5a and 5B. 

The New Brunswick company’s new stick is a hybrid model that sits between a 5a and 7a and boasts an olive tip which will help to produce a full-bodied, low sound. 

The 77a would be ideal for drummers who hit hard. The stick is 161⁄4" in length, giving it a longer reach than a lot of other sticks. 

While some might argue that nothing beats drumming in a trusty pair of Converse or bare feet, Urbann Boards certainly present a convincing case for the benefits of drumming-specific shoes. 

The new model, aimed at female drummers, features all the best bits of the original shoe, including a flexible, high performance inner sole and natural rubber sole for extra grip, plus they’re available in a killer gold finish. 

This is a quirky little number. Dixon describes the little roomer as ‘the perfect, extremely portable solution for low volume, limited space performance situations’, and we’d be inclined to agree. 

Used in combination with a cajon and cajon pedal, the Little Roomer comes complete with a 10"x3.5" snare with jingles, a 10"x7" mounted tom and 13"x10" floor tom with legs. There’s an optional hardware pack and travel bags too. 

Inspired by violinist Antonio Stradivari and in celebration of DW’s 45th year, this limited edition six-piece drum kit and snare drum (limited to 145 pieces each) is constructed from a combination of rare, hand-picked Norwegian spruce and exotic European sycamore. 

Laser-cut ‘F’-hole inlays complement a classy Natural-to-Candy Black lacquer speciality finish, rounded off with nickel hardware and a special 45th anniversary badge.