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News
Rick Beato tours Noble & Cooley's drum factory
Rick Beato visits Noble & Cooley in Granville, Massachusetts, and sees Buffalo Trace 250th Anniversary snares go from barrel staves to finished drums.
News
Roland TD-07KV2 | Bigger pads for the TD-07
Roland has refreshed the TD-07 V-Drums with the TD-07KV2 and TD-07DMK2: a 10-inch snare, 8-inch toms, a second crash and an easier rack setup.
News
DW Design Series Mapa Burl | Limited birch kit
DW's Design Series gets a limited Mapa Burl finish over 8-ply birch, in 6-piece and 4-piece shell packs plus a matching 6.5x14 snare.
News
OCDP John Otto snare | 50 made, $799
Limp Bizkit's John Otto has an OCDP signature snare: a 14x6 vented maple drum in a graffiti wrap, limited to 50 and sold only at Guitar Center.
News
Canopus BA-1470 | First Baritone Series snare
Canopus has launched the BA-1470, a 14x7 walnut/birch snare and the first drum in its new Baritone Series. It's out on 15 October.
News
Godsmack drum battle | Up for GRAMMY votes
Godsmack have submitted "Battle of the Drums" for two GRAMMYs. It's not a nomination yet, but it asks why a drum duel still works live.
All Our Buying Guides
Audio interfaces for drums | How many inputs?
Which audio interface to buy for recording drums: how many mic inputs you need, the two- and eight-input standards, ADAT expansion and the e-kit case.
All Our Buying Guides
Drum VSTs | The best sounds for your e-kit
The best drum VSTs for an electronic kit: Superior Drummer 3, EZdrummer 3, Addictive Drums 2, GetGood Drums and Steven Slate Drums compared, plus the free ones.
How to
Connect an e-kit to a computer | USB, MIDI, latency
How to connect an electronic drum kit to a computer: the USB cable, MIDI versus audio, the buffer and driver settings that kill latency, and mapping the pads.
Getting Started
Buying a drum kit for a child | A parent's guide
A parent's guide to a child's first drum kit: the right size by age, electronic or acoustic, the kits worth buying, noise, lessons and ear protection.
All Our Buying Guides
Drum mics | The first four to buy
The four drum mics to buy first: a kick mic, a snare mic and a pair of overheads, with the standard picks at three budgets and the mic packs worth buying.
All Our Buying Guides
Drum thrones | The seat matters more than the snare
How to choose a drum throne: the height rule that fixes back pain, round versus saddle seats, the thrones worth buying at every budget, and when to replace one.