Drums
Dom's Drums
Dom had an exclusivity contract with Tama drums. He has had many kits several of which have been destroyed during performances. Here it all is. All drums with chrome hardware unless otherwise stated. As of The Resistance Era Dom has apparently switched contracts to DW.
Unknown Period
- This section is for drums whose time of life is unknown.
- British racing green Starclassic Maple kit
- Brown fade Starclassic Maple kit
- Marigold sparkle Starclassic Maple kit with chrome hardware
- As Seen On: Hullabaloo DVD2
- Unidentifiable low-end black Pearl kit (Forum, perhaps)
Early Days
- Black Tama Starclassic Performer
- Used: Live, As Seen On: Muscle Museum II clip, Fate: mortal wound dealt by Matthew
- Red w/ silver stripe on kick DW
- Used: Live, As Seen On: Muscle Museum II clip, Fate: guitared in the face by Matthew
- Unidentifiable yellow kit
- Used: Live, As Seen On: Muscle Museum II clip, Fate: unknown but the smart money says that Matt thoroughly owned it
- Brown Peavey kit ( possibly a Peavey Radial Pro 1000 ) with distinctive collars around the tom bearing edges (Peavey logo can be seen in this image: [1])
- Used: Live, As Seen On: Muscle Museum II clip, Fate: as above
- Black Yamaha Recording Custom kit
- Used: Uno clip, As Seen On: Uno clip, Fate: Unknown
- Nondescript DW kick drum and 14x5.5 matching snare
- Used: Sunburn clip, As Seen On: Sunburn clip, Fate: Unknown
![[1]](http://www.musewiki.org/images/Dom_peavey_drums.jpg){kind=link}
Origin Of Symmetry period
- Matte Black Pearl Masters kit and 14x6.5 LB417 Ludwig Black Beauty snare
- Used: New Born clip, As Seen On: New Born clip, Fate: Unknown
- Silver Sparkle Sparkle Tama Starclassic Maple kit and 14x5.5 matching snare
- Used: Live, recording Origin of Symmetry, Plug In Baby, Hyper Music and Feeling Good clips, As Seen On: Plug In Baby, Hyper Music and Feeling Good clips, Fate: Brokeded by Matt and Chris
- 22x16,12x10,14x14,16x16
- White Matte Starclassic Maple Kit with hollographic tama emblem.
- Used: As with the silver sparkle tama, the white starclassic was used during the origin of symmetry tour of japan in 2001, Fate: Dismembered by matt and chris during bliss in their final show of the tour.
- Blue and Red DW kit and Orange 14x5.5 DW snare
- Used: Recording Origin of Symmetry
- Blue: 22x18,14x12 Red: 12x8,16x14
Dead Star/In Your World period
- Blue Sparkle Tama Starclassic Maple kit and 14x6.5 Ludwig Black Beauty snare (hammered shell, Imperial lugs)
- Used: Dead Star and In Your World clips and live, As Seen On: Dead Star and In Your World clips and Hullabaloo DVD1, Fate: demolished by Matt
- 22x16,12x9,14x14,16x16
Absolution period
- Amber, Red, Yellow and Blue Vistalite kit
- Used: Stockholm Syndrome USA clip, As Seen On: Stockholm Syndrome USA clip, Fate: Unknown)
- 12x8,13x9,16x16,22x16
- Custom Chrome Tama Starclassic Maple kit with custom black powdercoated hardware and matching 14x6.5 snare
- Used: live, As Seen On: Absolution Tour DVD, Fate: Matthewed many times (this kit was reincarnated at least thrice).
- 22x18,12x8,14x12,16x13
- Yamaha Maple Custom Advantage kit and 14x5.5 Yamaha Brass snare
- Used: Time Is Running Out Clip, As Seen On: Time Is Running Out clip, Fate: Unknown
- Blue DW kit and matching 14x5 snare
- Used: sessions for Apocalypse Please, Time Is Running Out, The Small Print, Thoughts of A Dying Athiest, Sing For Absolution and Fury, As Seen On: Absolution Bonus DVD, Fate: Unknown
- Composite Kit
- Used: recording Apocalypse Please march, As Seen On: Absolution Bonus DVD
- 22x18 black walnut satin Ayotte, 22x18 blue opal DW
- Composite Kit
- Used: recording Ruled By Secrecy, As Seen On: Absolution Bonus DVD)
- 22x18 black walnut satin Ayotte, 12x9 and 16x16 blue sparkle Tama Starclassic Maple toms, 14x5 silver DW snare
- Composite Kit
- Used: practicing before recording Ruled By Secrecy, As Seen On: Absolution Bonus DVD
- 22x18 black walnut satin Ayotte, 14x5.5 silver sparkle Tama Starclassic Maple snare
Black Holes and Revelations period
- Composite kit
- Used: recording the album
- Wooden kick, 12x8, 14x12 and 16x14 clear Ludwig Vistalite toms
- Crystal Ice (clear acrylic) Tama Starclassic Mirage kit with custom white powdercoated hardware and matching 14x6 snare or 14x6.5 Tama Power Metal Brass snare
- Used: live, Supermassive Black Hole and Knights Of Cydonia clips, As Seen On: Supermassive Black Hole and Knights of Cydonia clips
- 24x18(w/Tama Power Kick Bass Muffler),12x8,14x12,16x14,20x14 Mirage gong bass
Fate: Sold as part of an Auction for Oxfam
- Bubinga Tama Starclassic kit (Black Metalic w/ Gold Inlay) with black nickel hardware and Tama Power Metal Brass snare.
- Used: Live Williamsberg, supporting My Chemical Romance
- Fate: Likely retired, as with above
- Vintage Gretsch Jazz Kit in a Champagne Sparkle Finish
- Used: Wembley Stadium 16th and 17th June - Soldier's Poem, Unintended and Blackout
The Resistance period
- Dom now endorses DW drums.
- According to an interview during the studio tour with Zane Lowe, drumkit on The Resistance has been used in the studio since the very first album.
- 8-ply Maple (possibly VLT), either Gold sparkle with Gold hardware or Silver custom finish with Chrome hardware (he has been spotted using both live) with a 14x6.5 Aluminum DW snare or Ludwig *LB417 Black Beauty of the same size
- Used: Live
- 22x20, 12x10, 14x14, 16x16, 21x16 Gong bass
- As of The Resistance tour his drum throne is a "Pork Pie Big Boy Silver / Zebra"
- Dom uses a Roland TD20kx V-Drums kit for Undisclosed Desires
- He also uses two Timpani (Kettle) drums live during Exogenesis Pt1
Fate: Active duty
The 2nd Law Period
- During the recording of The 2nd Law, Dom used the Resistance tour drum kit in the studio, as well as several miscellaneous drums such as a Ludwig Vistalite orange floor tom. He also used a vintage drum kit on some songs. The Resistance tour kit was also used for the first few concerts of the era, and was replaced by the new drumkit at the beginning of the UK arena tour.
- He has tweeted a photo with him, playing Tablas in the recording studio.
- According to a Tweet he appears to be using chequerplatedrums, although these were never aired in public.
Dom's touring drumkit was a DW Jazz Series kit, in a custom Spiral Glitter finish. It consisted of:
- 22x20" bass drum, 12x10" tom, 15x15" and 16x16" floor toms, and an 18x16" floor tom on the snare side. His snare was a 14x6.5″ Collector’s Series Snare (knurled black nickel over steel)[2]
- His drum throne remained a Pork Pie Big Boy Silver/Zebra.
- Also present are two Roland H PD-8 pads, used in Madness, a mounted tambourine, RhythmTech ribbon crasher and TreeWorks Classic Bar Chimes, used in Explorers.
- Used: Live
Drones Period
- When recording the album, Dom used two drum sets, both from DW.
Touring
- Dom switched to Q Drums
- Updated his drum skins, now using Remo Controlled Sound heads with white dots which he replaced with the black dot version later during the tour
- Mahogany Q Drum kit (black colour with white double-stripe)
- 22" kick, 12", 14" and 16" toms, 18" gong drum
- Q Drums 14x7" aluminum plate snare
- Used: Live (Psycho UK & US Tour, 2015 & 2016 Festivals Tour, South America Tour, Asia Tour, La Cigale By Request gig, 2017 Japan & Australia Tour); New Kind of Kick, Mercy music videos; Reapers, Defector, The Handler lyric videos
- Stainless steel Q Drums kit with white double-stripe.
- Same config as the mahogany kit.
- Replaced the Roland electronic pads with a Roland Octapad
- Included an additional Roland SPD-SX used for Undisclosed Desires and Take a Bow
- Used: Drones World Tour (Mexico, Canada, U.S.A.)
- Copper with wood hoops Q Drums kit with black double-stripe.
- Same config as the previous kits, but with a 24" instead of a 22" kick
- Custom made light-up electronic pads (replaced the ribbon crasher and the tambourine)
- Used: Live (2017 Summer Amphitheatre tour, 2017 Festivals tour, Shepherd's Bush By Request gig)
Notes:
- For the Psycho UK Tour he didn't use the Roland drum pads or the Roland Octapad. He also dropped the splash cymbal and hasn't included it back since then.
- Used different resonant kick drum heads. A standard metallic and a standard white Q Drums logo head, a Psycho artwork head, a Drones artwork head, a Revolt artwork head (used for the Revolt music video only), a transparent head with white Drones-men and a transparent head with palm trees.
- Since the 2017 summer festivals tour, he replaced the ribbon crasher and the tambourine with two custom made light-up electronic pads
- For the last few summer shows, before the Simulation theory period, he ditched the 14" tom (and the china cymbal)
Simulation Theory Period
In the studio, Dom mainly used the birch wood Q Drum Co. set, with additional Q Drum drum pieces thrown in for certain songs. He used various tom models (Q Drums, DW and Yamaha) for tom dubs.
He also used a set of 8 roto-toms for the 80s inspired tom fills on songs like The Dark Side and Algorithm.
Another light-up pad was added to his kit.
Touring
- High polished sainless steel Q Drum Co. kit with white double-stripe
- 24"x16" kick, 12"x9" and 16"x16" toms, 18"x18" gong tom.
- Q Drum Co. 14x7" Gentlemen's series copper snare
- Three custom light-up electronic pads made by Q Drum Co.
- Used: SImulation Theory Promo Shows
- Copper DW Drums set
- 22"x16" kick, 12"x9" and 16"x14" toms, 18"x16" gong tom (presumably)
- DW Performance 14"x5,5" Snare (presumably)
- Two custom light-up electronic pads
- Used: NRJ Music Awards 2018
- Matte white birch Q Drum Co. kit with acrylic double-stripe accent for lighting effects
- 24"x16" kick, 12"x9" and 16"x16" toms, 16"x18" gong tom
- Q Drum Co. 14x7" Gentlemen's series copper snare
- Roland electronic pads
- Used: Simulation Theory World Tour (US legs)
- Stainless steel finish birch Q Drum Co. kit with acrylic double-stripe accent for lighting effects
- 24"x16" kick, 12"x9" and 16"x16" toms, 16"x18" gong tom
- Q Drum Co. 14x7" Gentlemen's series copper snare
- Roland electronic pads
- Used: Simulation Theory World Tour (EU legs)
Howard stated, in an interview for a french drum magazine "Batterie", that he would like to install LED lights onto the kit for the 2019 headlining tour, which he later did.
For the headlining tour, Q Drum Co. built Dom and Chris two 5' concert drums fitted with LED light
A small electronic/hybrid drum kit was also made for the headlining tour (similar to those using for Undisclosed Desires during The Resistance and The 2nd Law tours). It includes a snare drum, two semi-transparent matte white toms and a cymbal all with triggers and a Roland SPD-SX. A duplicate of that kit was also build for the B-Stage, but it's transparent, as opposed to the main stage kit being white. The matte white kit's also fitted with LED lights allowing it to light up. He's using the two kits for Alogrithm (alternate reality version), Propaganda and Dig Down (acoustic). Four semi-transparent matte white toms are also used by the performers (two per performer) during Uprising and Thought Contagion, allthough they are probably not miked.
A Roland V-Drums TD-50 was also spotted laying behind him during the Simulation Theory headlining tour.
Notes:
- Two black Roland pads above the gong tom were used during the latest rehearsals, but removed for the live shows. According to Dom, he was going to use them for the headlining tour, allthough he never incorporated them.
- A copper-wood hoop Q Drums kit was used during rehearsals for the headlining tour.
- The three white light-up electronic pads, were replaced with regular black Roland drum pads for the headlining tour.
Dom is left handed
As Dom is left handed he sets his drums up with the hi-hats on his right and floor toms on the left. If you're right handed look in a mirror basically.
Cymbals
See Cymbals.
Hardware
He used a Tama Iron Cobra Lever Glide Hi-Hat, and is currently using the DW 9000 series Hi-Hat pedal. He also used to use Iron Cobra Power Glide double and single bass drum pedals interchangeably depending on the setlist (few songs require the double, Cave live, for example) he also used to use the Chrome Cobra single. With his new DW contract/endorsement he uses a DW 9000 Series Single kick pedal.
His hardware is now all DW, although it used to be Tama Roadpro, his throne was a Tama First Chair with back-rest, and is now a Pork Pie Big Boy Silver / Zebra. He has used Zildjian Dennis Chambers signature series drumsticks, Shaw 5BN drumsticks (Hullabaloo) and Promark TX5BNs (Live 8, and BH&R tour), Marco Minneman signature sticks, as well as many others. Dom also has had his own signature drumstick released through Promark, and it is currently available to the public for sale in the UK, and by special order in the US. Recently, Dom has been using Vic Firth sticks, as can be seen in the Austin City Limits concert of 2013 and Rome Olympic Stadium DVD. He most likely uses Vic Firth American Jazz 2 stick.
Heads
He uses Remo and Aquarian heads. Dom generally uses the classic combination of clear Emperors over clear Ambassadors on his toms (coated Emperor in the OoS period), but has been seen with Pinstripe batter heads (on the Peavey kit). In 2015, he switched to the Remo Controlled Sound White Dot batter head on the gong tom and the Remo Controlled Sound Black Dot batters on other toms.
The following combinations have been seen on the kick drum:
- Silver sparkle: Super Kick II with no resonant side head
- Blue sparkle kick: Super Kick II over black ported Regulator
- Chrome kick: Powerstroke 3 over black ported resonant side head
- Ayotte kick: Powerstroke 3 over unknown resonant side head
- Crystal ice kick: Super Kick II over Force I or Powerstroke 3 over unknown clear ported Remo or Pinstripe over ported Pinstripe
- DW Collector's Series kick: Powerstroke 4 over black ported resonant side head
- DW Jazz Series kick: Powerstroke 3 over unknown chrome ported resonant side head
- Q Drums kick: Powerstroke 3 over various unknown resonant side heads
Coated Emperor, Controlled Sound or Hi-energy (Hullabaloo only) batters on his Snare.
Note: The one exception to this rule is when he used the stock Tama heads, Evans clear G2 over clear G1, that come with every new kit of drums. As the G2/G1 combination is identical to his usual Emperor/Ambassadors he'd often use the stock heads until they wear and replace the batter only.
Contract Lapse
It is possible that during 2005 Doms endorsement contract with Tama Drums expired as a set of orange and red Ludwig Vistalites (acrylic drums) were used in the USA cut of the Stockholm Syndrome video clip (and another character in the talk show was using Pearl drums). As video clips receive much public exposure it is usually against the terms of a contract to use a competitors product. This would tend to suggest that the Tama contract had reached its conclusion.
A clear set of Vistalites (with a shallower rack tom, 12x8 most likely) is seen on one of the background images of Muse's official site, suggesting that they were used for the recording of Black Holes And Revelations.
From 2006 until 2008, he was using Tama Drums' new Starclassic Mirage line [3](acrylic drums) in live situations. These three data would suggest that the contract briefly lapsed in 2005 and during that time Dom developed a taste for acrylic drums. When Tama released Mirage he renewed his endorsement.
In 2008, he became an avid DW drum user which suggested he switched contracts to DW.
As of 2015, his contract with DW expired and he became an endorser for Q Drum Co, an L.A. based custom drum shop company, owned by his drum tech Jeremy Berman and also part-owned by his friend Ilan Rubin
Other Dom info
Recording the introduction to Apocalypse Please, Dom played a drum fill from the Grouse Lodge swimming pool, with a driver from an NS10 speaker used as close mic.
Whilst in the pool area, they decided to have a go at creating a water gong effect by hitting cymbals loads of times while dipping them into water. However, because cymbals have nowhere near the same sustain as an actual gong, the sound decayed as soon as they went into the water, which made the whole activity pointless!
Dom has a large floor fan next to him to keep him cool.
When he was recording the big concert drum for parts on The 2nd Law, he was wearing socks, underpants and a red coat with black feather shoulders.
Links
- Muse Drums
- Doms Zildjian Set-up (inaccurate)
- Official Tama Website
- Official Zildjian Website
- Official Q Drums Co. Website
See also
Back to Gear