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Jason Mehler

Modern Drummer is the world’s most widely read drum magazine, is dedicated entirely to the art of drumming and caters to the needs of amateur, semi-pro, and professional drummers.

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Isaac Carpenter’s Guns N’ Roses Touring Kit (B-Rig) 

Drums: DW Collector’s Series Pure Maple with Black Ice Finish: 18 x 24 Bass Drum, 9 x 12 Rack Tom, 10 x 13 Rack Tom, 16 x 16 Floor Tom, 16 x 18 Floor Tom, 6 x 14 Snare Drum.  Cymbals: Zildjian: 14” K Light Hi-Hats, 20” A Ping Ride,17” K…

Photos by Jason Mehler
Jun 1, 2026

Speed-A-Beat: Universal Bass Drum Pedal Roller-Ball Module 

Can you double your foot speed? That’s what John Crocken’s Speed-A-Beat sets out to answer. The patented module is built around a single mechanical idea: replace the friction between foot and footboard with a bed of free-spinning steel bearings and see what happens. John Crocken, known…

By Jason Mehler
Jun 1, 2026

Yamaha EAD50 Part 2: It Feels Like Home 

In Part 1 of this series, David Frangioni and I brought the Yamaha EAD50 into Markee Music in Deerfield Beach, Florida, to evaluate its most basic configuration in a professional studio environment. With the DSU50 drum sensor mounted to the bass drum, the system…

By Jason Mehler and David Frangioni
Jun 1, 2026

Payton Taylor’s Zara Larsson Touring Kit 

Drums: Pearl Reference One: 16×22 Bass Drum, 7×10 Rack Tom, 8×12 Rack Tom, 16×16 Floor Tom.  Snares: 5×14 Pearl Sensitone Black Nickel over Brass (Main Snare,) 8×14 Professional Maple (Deep Snare,) 3×13 Maple Piccolo Snare.  Cymbals: Zildjian (from stage left to stage right): 20” K…

Photos by Jason Mehler
May 1, 2026

Felix Lehrmann’s Steve Hackett Touring Kit 

Drums: Gretsch USA Custom in Mystic Blue Lacquer – 16 x 22 Kick, 6.5 x 8 tom, 7 x 10 tom, 7.5 x 12 tom, 14 x 14 floor tom, 16 x 16 floor tom.  Snare:  6 X 14 Gretsch USA Custom Snare.  Cymbals: Paiste – 14” 602 Medium Hi-hat, 22” Signature Mark 1 Ride, 18” 602 Paper thin…

Photos by Jason Mehler
Apr 1, 2026
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Yamaha EAD50 – Part 1: Redefining the Starting Point 

Where does drum recording begin? The fundamentals haven’t changed; however, Yamaha’s Electronic Acoustic Drum (EAD) concept has quietly reshaped how drummers approach recording. With the introduction of the EAD10, capturing a full kit sound quickly and musically, without the demands of a multi-mic setup, became a practical…

By Jason Mehler and David Frangioni 
Apr 1, 2026

Sean T. Lane’s Heart Touring Kit 

Ludwig Drums – Classic Maple 2017 Mod Orange Finish: 9×13 Rack Tom, 14×14 Floor Tom, 16×16 Floor Tom, 14×22 Bass Drum. Snares – 7×14 Keplinger Black Iron Snare, 6.5X14 Keplinger Stainless Steel Snare (swap between for main snare.)  Paiste Cymbals: 19” Formula 602 Modern Essentials Crash, 20” Formula 602 Modern…

Photos by Jason Mehler & Alex Kluft
Mar 1, 2026

Roland VAD516

Roland VAD516 V-Drums Kit  If you‘ve followed Roland’s Acoustic Design lineup of V-Drums over the past few years, you already know the story: full size shells, premium hardware, and an e-kit that looks like it belongs in front of a large audience rather than in the…

By Jason Mehler
Mar 1, 2026

Artstruments MR1 Drum Mounting Bracket

In a previous review of Artstruments products, I explored the full display experience of the 5PK-L Drum Mounting Kit with its multiple brackets and LED lighting designed to turn a drum set into an elaborate art installation. The reality is…

By Jason Mehler
Mar 1, 2026

Morgan Rose’s Sevendust Touring Drums

Drums: Pearl Music City Custom Reference Pure Series in Red Sparkle: 18 X 22 Kick, 18 x 20 Kick, 9 x 10 Rack, 9 x 12 Rack, 16 x 16 Floor w/ legs, 16 x 18 Floor w/ legs. Snares:  Brass 6.5 x 14 Snare, 6.5 x 13 Aux Snare. Cymbals: Sabian-…

Photos by Jason Mehler
Feb 1, 2026

HHHusher 

If you’ve ever recorded drums – or watched an engineer wrestle with a drum mix – you know one of the most hard-fought battles is microphone bleed. One particularly common occurrence is the hi-hat cymbals bleeding into the snare mic. Engineers try to squash it with mic placement, drummers adjust their technique, and in the end, everyone accepts a little bleed as “just part…

By Jason Mehler
Feb 1, 2026

Yamaha EAD50

When Yamaha introduced the EAD10 drum recording system, it quietly rewired a lot of drummers’ expectations around recording. Clamp on a sensor, plug in a module, put on headphones, and suddenly you were producing a polished kit sound without fighting with mic placement, cable management, phase issues, and lost inspiration. It was a…

By Jason Mehler
Feb 1, 2026
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Slingerland Radio King Outfit 13/16/24 with 6.5 x 14 Snare Drum

Last year, after much anticipation, the Slingerland brand officially returned to the scene. Launched not as a reimagined modern version, but as a deliberate effort to reconnect with the brand’s original construction methods, materials, and tonal concepts that have helped define American drumming for decades. For this month’s Product Close-Up, we’re taking a…

By Jason Mehler
Feb 1, 2026

Keyner Drum Key

How many drum keys do you own? After more than 40 years behind the kit, I’ve accumulated more than I can count. Across the endless variety of sizes, shapes, and materials, they all seem to share one common superpower: the ability to vanish precisely when needed most.   The Keyner from DrumKeep seeks to change the odds when it comes to lost drum…

By Jason Mehler
Jan 1, 2026
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