At Drum Faster we love drummers! Here you will find all of our drummer features so far! Or if you want you can skip to just content creators or professional drummers.
Raja Meissner has exploded on social media over the past year or so. Originally discovered from her Slipknot drum covers Raja has shown she is a future force of metal drumming.
Raja Meissner is a metal drummer from Frankfurt, Germany born on 6th March 2000. At the age of 13, Raja took up the drums teaching her self how to play. Like most drummers, Raja joined a school band playing cover songs but quickly progress and played shows across Germany at the age of 17 with the band Psychovillage.
In 2019 Raja took the move to start uploading her cover performances online. Instagram is her main channel but many of her videos can also be found on YouTube.
If you are a fan of metal music you will know the vast majority of metal drummers are males. It is no small feat to break the boundaries and grow as fast as Raja has. This is a true testament to her playing and passion.
Raja Meissner on Instagram
Raja has a massive following on Instagram sitting at 415,000 followers at the time of writing. And this is for good reason. She plays the drums with conviction, energy and passion. It is clear to see the Raja loves playing the drums.
Most of her videos are drum covers of bands such as Slipknot, System of a Down, Avenged Sevenfold and various other metal band but you will come across lifestyle content as well. This allows Raja to break the boundaries and make a personal connection with her fans. Something that is often lacking from online drummer personalities.
If you are looking for longer versions of Raja’s covers, check out her YouTube channel. Even though it isn’t her main focus she still has a staggering 172,000 subscriber and over 8.5 million views.
Going professional
Now Raja has a large following she has taken to decision to go professional making drumming her full-time career. This is a big move and she is still very early into her journey.
If you want to support Raja through the early days of her career check out her Patreon page. You can gain access to exclusive content and merch as well as get lessons from the songs she covers.
Currently, even though Raja has a large audience she is yet to leverage it in such a way that other drummers have like 66Samus for example.
Bands played in
Raja Meissner is currently a member of the band Risen from Shadows. They are a metalcore band from Germany who is currently working on a cover album. As they would describe “the darkest covers of the sweetest songs.”
Check out “Sugar” from the upcoming album.
Raja has also been teasing another band for a long time but nothing seems to have been released yet. Keep an eye out for “Royce Millenium” on Instagram.
Gear
Raja is lucky enough to already be endorsed by an incredible lineup of companies.
Raja Meissner has grown at such an incredible pace in such a short period. At the age of 21 at the time of writing, she still has her whole career ahead of her.
It is going to be interesting how Raja users her large audience to grow her career. Will she become a long time band member, a session player, a tutor or a clinician?
Who knows! It is going to be interesting to see how her career developers in the coming years and we can’t wait to follow her journey!
If you are on YouTube and are a metal drummer you have likely come across Samus Paulicelli AKA 66Samus. He is known for his blast beats, sense of humour and his… catchphrases.
66Samus is a great drummer and incredibly entertaining. Let’s find out more about his drumming career so far.
66Samus (Samus Paulicelli) is a professional drummer born on 14th September 1987 in Ridgewood, New Jersey, USA. Samus began drumming at the age of 3 when his parents bought him a junior drum kit. After a few years of playing, he took up private lessons.
At the age of 14, Samus gained an interest in metal music and double bass drumming. At that time he realised it was time to quit private tuition and progress his learning himself. Mike Portnoy’s Liquid Drum Theater VHS tape became his blueprint for improving his drumming.
Samus isn’t just a drummer. He has taught himself the guitar and bass by ear playing along to cover songs.
66Samus on YouTube
66Samus has been a YouTube content creator for a long time as far as YouTube channels go. He began his channel back in 2006 although the first few years were a bit sporadic with what was getting released and when. It was in 2015 the content became consistent and the channel started to become what we know and love today.
What content does 66Samus create?
Samus covers a range of different content on his channel. These include:
Drum covers
Original songs
FAQs
Tutorial videos
Gear reviews
Reaction videos
Samus also makes videos that are a little bit harder to explain. I guess you would class them as a comedy/ viral videos. You have to see them to understand them.
For example, Blast beats but the snares are farts.
So stupid but yet so funny.
Becoming a full-time content creator
In 2020 Samus leapt taking his music career full time. This isn’t easy a choice to make, as well all know, life has responsibilities and bills etc.
Samus did it as smart as possible by minimising the risk.
He established a large audience over several years whilst working full time. Although this isn’t easy, it has meant he has been stable financially whilst he grew on what he loves doing.
Samus has also been smart with monetising his audience. Building an audience is incredibly hard but sometimes turning that audience into money to live off can be harder.
Samus has been smart and done this in many different ways.
How Samus monetizes his audience
YouTube ads. By creating original songs as well as videos without licensed music allows him to keep the ad revenue made from those videos. If you have a massive YouTube channel with just drum covers, you aren’t going to make any ad revenue as that money goes straight into the pocket of the original artist.
Video sponsors. Most of his videos have an introduction at the start. This allows him a chance to feature a sponsor before the main video begins. This means that even videos with licensed music still make some money. Either by paying for the placement or by an affiliate link giving a share of purchases made to Samus. Special shout out to Raid: Shadow Legends…
Patreon. Having a Patreon is a great way of allowing your top fans to get more from you. By including some perks this has become a consistent stream of income.
Amazon Affiliate. By becoming an Amazon Associate Samus earns revenue by promoting the gear he uses. When you click one of his gear links you will get redirected to Amazon. If you buy something, he gets a small percentage of the sale.
Merchandise. Samus also has a line of merch available. He works with a company called Teespring. They make it incredibly simple to create your merch line. You just need to create the designs and choose the items you want to print them on. Teespring then handles the printing, shipping and customer service. You keep your share of the sale.
Hire Samus to drum on your music. You can hire 66Samus to perform drum tracks for your band. He has his basement home studio and his rates can be found on his website.
66Samus is a prime example of how to use your audience to take your passion full time. If you are looking for someone to follow in the footsteps of, look no further.
Who has Samus performed with?
Samus has toured and recorded for many well-known metal musicians including Decrepit Birth, Devin Townsend, Goatwhore, and Abigail Williams.
Samus also releases his music under the 66Samus name.
Music releases
66Samus has multiple music releases. These are mostly singles and they are released infrequently. You can find these tracks on all good streaming platforms.
If you are looking for a standout track we highly recommend “Fart Metal“.
What gear does 66Samus use?
66Samus has a monster drum kit! Four toms up top, two rides and a lot of other gear! For a full gear list, you can check out his website.
Another thing that gives 66Samus his unique sound is that his full kit is triggered. He is very open about this and uses Toontrack to do his drum replacement. Triggering the drums can be a touchy subject with some drummers but Samus is honest and transparent with what he does.
Find more of 66Samus
You can find 66Samus all over the web! Check out the links below:
66Samus is a hell of a drummer and is a breath of fresh air in the YouTube content creator scene. He is genuinely entertaining and I can’t wait to see what crazy ideas he comes up with next!
If you are looking for another great YouTube drummer to keep you entertained, check out rDavidr.
If you have been a drummer for a couple of years you have likely come across the name Thomas Lang. He is a household name in the drumming community. That is for good reason.
Thomas Lang is a prime example of how dedication and hard work can lead to you becoming a master of your craft.
Let’s find out more about Thomas Lang and what makes him such a great player.
Thomas Lang is a professional drummer from Vienna, Austria born on 5th August 1967. Thomas started playing the drums at the age of five he took a combination of lessons at his school and private tuition. Thomas later went on to study at the Vienna Conservatory of Music.
From then it was time to go from studying to creating a career. Thomas began working with various artists in Europe in the 1980s recording and touring. He later moved his base of operations to London, UK as his career grew and became global.
Thomas is still touring and recording with musicians internationally as is currently based in California, USA.
Artists Thomas Lang has played for
Thomas Lang has worked with an astonishing amount of artists over his career. Here is a list of people he has worked with.
Paul Gilbert (Racer X/Mr. Big)
John Wetton (Asia/King Crimson)
Robert Fripp
Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple)
UK
Eddie Jobson
Robbie Williams
Kelly Clarkson
Sugababes
Geri Halliwell
Emma Burton (“Baby Spice”)
Victoria Beckham (“Posh Spice”)
Ronan Keating
Steve Hackett (Genesis)
Boyzone
911
Falco
Nina Hagen
Steve Jones
Mick Jones (The Clash)
The Commodores
George Michael
Doogie White (Rainbow)
Bill Liesegang
The Blockheads
Gianna Nannini
Sertab Erener
Jens Lindemann
Vienna Art Orchestra
Bonnie Tyler
Save The Robots
StOrk
Terabite
Schwarzenator
Vinnie Valentino
Gregg Howe
Page Hamilton (Helmet)
Mark Bonilla (Montrose)
Many many more
Music releases
As well as working with an impressive amount of artists, Thomas Lang has also released several solo albums and collaborations.
Solo releases:
Mediator (1995)
Something Along The Lines (2002)
Progpop (2019)
Collaborations:
Thomas Lang & Conrad Schenk – Yumaflex (2008)
StOrk – Self Titled (2009)
StOrk – Broken Pieces (2013)
Terabite (2010)
Robo Sapiens (2018)
Thomas Langs latest solo release, Progpop, shows some of some his incredibly creative playing. The album combines intricate drum patterns combined with many different genres covering and not limited to pop, rock, prog and fusion.
As well as listening to this album I also suggest watching some of Thomas’s playthrough videos. You don’t quite realize the complexity of the parts until you see them.
Here is the playthrough of Time from Progpop.
Awards
Thomas Lang has been winning drum awards since the 1990s. He has won them from the largest global drum magazines including Drum Magazine, Rhythm magazine, Modern Drummer Magazine and many many more.
Here are some of the awards he has won.
1999, 2001: Best Studio Drummer (Rhythm magazine)
2002: Best Pop Drummer, Best All-Around Drummer (Rhythm Magazine)
2002: Best Drummer (Drums And Percussion Magazine)
2003: Best Clinician (Modern Drummer Magazine)
2004: best DVD, Best Clinician runner Up, best Drummer runner up (Modern Drummer Magazine)
2004: Best DVD, Best signature product, Best Drummer (Drummer Magazine) Best Studio Drummer (Rhythm Magazine), Best Recorded Drum Performance (Sticks Magazine),
2005: Best Pop Drummer, Best Clinician, Best Solo SDrum performance (Rhythm magician), Best DVD, best All-Around Drummer, Best Drum Event (Drummer magazine), Best Drum Clinician (DRUM Magazine), Best Drumming Video/DVD (DRUM Magazine)
2006: Best DVD, Best Drummer (Rhythm Magazine)
2007: best DVD, Best Drummer (Rhythm Magazine, Modern Drummer Magazine) Aurora Gold Award
2007 (Best Video Production), Best Clinician 2007 (Modern Drummer Magazine).
2008: Best Educator/Clinician (Modern Drummer Magazine), Best Clinician (DRUM Magazine)
2015: Best Educator/Clinician (Modern Drummer Magazine)
2016: Best Educator/Clinician (Modern Drummer Magazine)
2017: Best Educator/Clinician (Modern Drummer Magazine, Rhythm magazine)
2018: Best Educator/Clinician (Modern Drummer Magazine)
What is unique about Thomas Langs playing?
I remember the first time I saw Thomas Lang perform a clinic back in the early 2000s. I was blown away by his playing. Immense power, speed, dynamics and limb independence. It is hard to take it all in and without seeing it you would struggle to believe it is one person behind the kit.
Thomas Lang is an advocate for being able to play everything he can with his hands with his feet. This is no easy job and has taken many hours, day and years to get to his level. This does put Thomas in a league of his own when it comes to the variety of things he can do behind the kit. He has more limbs and sound choices than most professional drummers.
From this image here you can see there are a lot of pedals compared to the average drum kit. On the left side he will typically have a snare sound, a crasher sound, hi hat and bass drum.
Having all the chops doesn’t mean Thomas doesn’t have the groove. Like all pro drummers, Thomas knows the groove pays the bills. That is a drummer’s key job and he certainly delivers.
Learn how to play the drums like Thomas Lang
Thomas Lang has a collection of learning resources that are worth looking into. As Thomas is a very advanced player, his DVDs are pretty intimidating at first. The DVDs are broken up nicely to not overwhelm you though. They are broken up into music performances, drum solos and interviews. It is unlikely you will learn everything on these resources but there are some great nuggets to take away.
They helped me immensely in my earlier days of double bass playing and they are very inspiring to see where you can get if you put in the hard work.
Creative Coordination And Advanced Foot Techniques (2006) See on Amazon
Thomas also has a dedicated online school at www.thomaslangsdrumuniverse.com and often appears on other online drum tuition websites. Check out this lesson he did for Drumeo. In this 1 hour lesson, you will pick up days of things to work on to improve your drumming.
Drumming Bootcamps & The Big Drum Bonanza
In 2007 Thomas introduced the “Drumming Bootcamps” which were the first of his kind. At these events, you attend a camp hosted by Thomas were you would learn from him and guest drummers. Over 120 of these in 35 different countries were hosted.
In 2011, Thomas launched The Big Drum Bonanza. This event happens once a year in Los Angeles and each year some of the worlds best drummers appear alongside Thomas to teach you.
Thomas Langs drumkit
If you have watched any of Thomas’s DVDs you will know that he has some monstrous drum kits. Although he doesn’t always play a kit this size, his endorsed brands are consistent.
Thomas Lang has a range of signature products including sticks and a selection of Meinl cymbals. I don’t know any drummers that have released as many signature cymbals as Thomas. It is a real testament to his innovation with the instrument and drive to find his unique sound.
Meinl Filter Chinas
These are very fast chinas made out of a custom alloy. They are perfect for accents in fast fills and grooves.
Available in 8″, 10″, 12″, 14″, 16″ or as 10″, 12″, 14″ with jingles.
This is a fast cutting stack made with two B10 Classic Custom cymbals. It is made up of a china and a crash both with holes cut into the cymbals. It has a deeper sound as far as stacks go.
These are a great sounding pair of hi-hats. As mentioned in the title and like most of the Thomas Lang signature cymbals, these have a fast sound. They also have a nice clear stick definition. The hats are made of two different finish cymbals. A brilliant on the top and a dark finish on the bottom. Both the top and bottom cymbals also feature eight small holes around the edge of the cymbals. These are available as either 13″ or 14″.
If you are looking for a fat and heavy stick, look no further. These signature sticks are fatter and heavier than the average stick. Almost a 2B on steroids. They also feature an overside tear drop tip for extra stick definition. The white finish also gives these sticks a great aesthetic. These sticks aren’t for the faint-hearted.
This is a great pad for on the road or for at home. It is the same as other practice pads offered by Meinl but it comes with the Thomas Lang graphics. The pad has a rubber bottom to stop it from moving on a flat surface or it can be mounted to any standard size cymbal stand.
If you like this pad but are looking for an option with different graphics, we recommend checking out the Benny Greb practice pad from Meinl.
Thomas Lang is a superhuman drummer. He seems to have it all and it is a sight to behold when you see him perform. The scary thing is that he still seems to be getting better. Can he not give us a chance to catch up? 😛
He has been a huge inspiration to me and thousands of drummers around the globe. A true ambassador for drumming and drummers.
Luke Holland is arguably one of the biggest success stories of a drummer uploading videos to YouTube to becoming a full time professional. His journey has inspired countless others to follow his journey and attempt to replicate his success.
Let’s find out more about Luke Holland and his journey to becoming a professional drummer.
Luke Holland is a drummer from Peoria, Arizona, the USA born June 14, 1993. He has been playing since the age of 10 after been inspired by his neighbours playing. Luke is a self-taught drummer and played snare in his high school marching band.
At the age of 15, Luke played with a local band Oceans Will Part. Luke did one recording with the band called Obsidian Resolve, a self-release from 2010.
The following year from joining Oceans Will Part, Luke decided to take to YouTube to promote his drumming. He started his channel in 2009 and called it LukeHollandDrums. At this time YouTube was very popular among drummers but no one had leapt from a YouTube drummer to a full time professional. Luke would become one of the first to buck this trend.
Luke Holland on YouTube
The early days
In the early days, Luke Hollands YouTube channel consisted of drum covers and remix. A drum cover is a version that is as close as possible to the original where a remix is a version that elaborates from the original. A typical example of a remix is taking a pop song, adding more complex grooves and a lot of fills. Think, chops… chops everywhere.
Apart from the tight playing, Luke had an extra element to get peoples attention. Stick tricks. And a lot of them. Stick tricks can be divisive among drummers but they helped Luke stand out from the crowd. And let’s be honest, fitting that many stick tricks into some of those metalcore songs aren’t easy.
The first big break
In 2010, Luke Holland filled in on drums for the band Texas In July. A year after starting his YouTube channel, this must-have given Luke the drive to continue down this path. It was also around this time Lukes YouTube channel also gained traction going from 1,000 subscribers to a rate of growth in the 1000’s per month.
Today the channel LukeHollanddrums has over 650K subscriber and over 104 million views!
Full-time gig with The Word Alive
After a few years of grinding Luke Holland landed his first full-time gig with the band The Word Alive. He joined the band in early 2012 as their full-time drummer.
With The Word Alive, Luke did a lot of touring around the world and recorded two albums with the band. “Real” in 2014 and “Dark Matter” in 2016.
This is an incredible experience for a drummer who had primarily focused on YouTube to that point. In late 2016, Luke decided it was time to leave the band to focus on session work (recording and live) as well his YouTube channel and teaching.
Becoming a session drummer
Since leaving The World Alive Luke has had a successful transition into a session player. Most notably, he has recorded for I See Stars on the album “Treehouse” and Jason Richardson on “I”.
The Jason Richardson recording was especially influential on Luke going from a professional drummer to a standout. The album “I” is a technical metal masterpiece and is packed with intricate and complex drumming. Luke also toured with Jason around the globe and as well as performing on notable drum platforms such as “The Drum Channel”.
The music recorded with Jason now forms part of Luke’s drum clinic performances.
What is he up to today
Luke still uploads content to his YouTube channel and has become what I would class as a drum ambassador. His is a known name amongst almost all drummers, appears at drum clinics around the world and has his signature product lines.
Luke has appeared on all the major drum tuition websites including The Drum Channel, Drumeo and 180 Drums.
He is known as a drummer and isn’t just seen as a member of a band (not that there is anything wrong with this). This is something that isn’t easy to achieve and Luke Holland has achieved this in record time.
Luke Holland music releases
Luke Holland has started releasing his own music in 2020. Currently he has two singles out “Katana” and “Who Can I Trust”. These songs are not what you might expect from him. The songs are hip hop and don’t focus on the drums as you might expect.
The songs are catchy and are worth checking out. It will be interesting to see where Luke takes this going forward.
What gear does Luke Holland use?
Luke has numerous endorsements from the top drum companies.
As a popular drummer, Luke has some signature products. Let’s take a look at what is currently available.
Meinl Bullet Stack
This stack is Lukes signature cymbal with Meinl. It is a combination of a 12″ Classics Custom B10 cymbal and a 16″ Byzance B20 cymbal both of which are vented. The stack has a very fast attack whilst still being musical. It is perfect for sharp accents in grooves or quick fills.
Luke’s signature sticks from Meinl Stick and Brush sit between a 5A and a 5B. We have a full article looking at these in-depth that you can check out here.
Luke is a prime example of how dedication and hard work can make you turn the drums from a passion to a full-time career. The best thing about it is that you put in the effort, this is something that anyone can achieve. Luke has created the template, you just need to follow it.
There is no doubt about it, Luke is a great player and has become a household name in the drumming community. We can’t wait to see his drumming improve even more and where his journey takes him next.
Siros Vaziri is an independent drummer from Mariestad, Sweden born in 1995. If you do recognise him, it will likely be from his Instagram or Facebook content creation. On these pages, Siros focuses on short and informative lessons. These are great and give you a little challenge every day to work on.
Siros has successfully used his social channels to launch his drumming career. Since launching his channels he has become endorsed by a range of top drum companies and has gone on to do session work, clinics and drum festival appearances.
Siros also offers online drum lessons and offers his own “Daily Drum Bites” subscription service. With this, you get access to a short drum lesson every day or all of his content with the premium version. If you are looking for some daily inspiration to push your drumming this is a great resource.
Siros Vaziri on YouTube
If you are looking for some in-depth content from Siros his YouTube channel is the place to look. Although his YouTube following isn’t as strong as his other channels it is worth checking out. His past videos are primarily compilations of his Instagram content, some gear features and vlogs.
His new content is what I am enjoying the most though. Drummer reaction videos are growing in popularity but Siros has taken a different approach. Most of these type of videos are just drummers being stunned by other drummers playing. That is great and very entertaining but Siros doesn’t just react, he breaks down what the drummers are doing and helps you understand what they are doing. It is great to see the passion and enjoyment Siros get from drummers. It is infectious, entertaining and informative.
Here is a great example of his reaction series.
And one of his drum compilations.
Siros is such a tasteful player and a pleasure to watch.
What gear does Siros Vaziri use?
Siros if often changing his setup to keep his playing fresh. That being said, he has a strong selection of companies he endorses.
Here is a pic of one of the setups Siros has used over the years.
Siros is a very tasty player who oozes passion for the drums. I remember first coming across his content in 2017. It is amazing to see how far he has come since then. I can’t wait to see what he gets up to next in his drumming journey.
El Estepario Siberiano is blowing up online. It is easy to see why with his incredible drumming and charisma. Let’s find out more about this incredible drummer.
Jorge Garrido “El Estepario Siberiano” is a 24-year-old drummer from Valencia, Spain. He creates incredible drum content across YouTube, Twitch and Instagram and his following is growing exponentially. Currently, he is one of the most popular Spanish drummers online.
He seems to have an endless supply of chops allowing him to create mind-blowing fills and beats. He also often uses a very minimalise kit but you struggle to notice, his dynamic range brings out the best of every single piece he uses.
El Estepario Siberiano joined Saratoga as a full-time member of the band in late 2020.
El Estepario Siberiano on YouTube
If you are looking for an entertaining drumming YouTube channel, El Estepario Siberiano’s channel is worth your time. Racking up over 230K subscribers and 22 million views you can see a lot of people also think so.
His videos mostly consist of covers injected with his unique style of playing, as well as some lessons and blog style videos.
His recording setup is minimalist but the results are astounding. He only uses a Yamaha EAD10 to record the audio and a GoPro 7 for the video. This is a great example of how good the Yamaha EAD10 is.
There are so many incredible videos to see but here are some of our favourites.
Look at this incredible single pedal action. Many drummers can’t play this with a double pedal never mind going between a single pedal and a floor tom…
This cover shows his incredible playing style with a good look at his humour
Hopefully, this gives you a little taste of his content. Make sure you go and visit his channel for more.
What gear does El Estepario Siberiano use?
He uses a great selection of brands and is lucky enough to already have some of his own signature gear. His setup is changing constantly but this should give you a taste of his setup.
There is no doubt about it, El Estepario Siberiano is a powerhouse of a drummer. The chops and feel are a standout in his playing. He is a joy to watch.
We can’t wait to see what he gets up to going forward. Hopefully, he is going to transition from just online to do live shows and clinics when the world returns to some normality. We know he is certainly a drummer we would like to see live.
Alex Rüdinger is a powerhouse in metal drumming. You rarely come across drummers with such power, accuracy and technical ability but Alex Rüdinger has it by the bucketload.
Between his touring, studio work and YouTube channel, Alex is a very busy drummer than you need to know about.
Born 18th November 1991 in Frederick, Maryland, Alex has been playing the drums since age 12. After playing on the local scene in his teen years he knew that he wanted to go professional.
The thing that separated Alex from many other drummers was his dedication and use of technology to make it happen. Starting his YouTube channel in 2006, this became his way to audition and be seen by bands potentially looking for a new drummer. This approach led to Alex achieving his first break filling in for Threat Signal when he was 18. He toured with them for a year and recorded their self-titled album before departing. Since then Alex has gone on to perform and record with a staggering amount of performers.
One of the most notable things about Alex Rüdinger’s playing is his open-handed style. This allows for some great beats across the kit as well as visually impressive fills that sweep from the rack toms, then between floor toms on either side.
Alex Rüdinger on YouTube
As mentioned previously, Alex Rüdinger has successfully used his YouTube channel to launch his professional drumming career. With his content creation, you will see it is primarily incredible drum covers.
Alex shows off his incredible precision and chops throughout the videos which cover everything from death metal to extremely complex technical arrangements.
Even though Alex is a mind-blowing drummer, he still seems to be getting with each video he is releasing.
Who has Alex Rüdinger played the drums for?
Alex has played with a staggering amount of performers over his career since his first break in 2010 with Threat Signal. Since then he has recorded and performed with several different bands including:
Good Tiger
Whitechapel
The Faceless
The HAARP Machine
Conquering Dystopia (featuring Jeff Loomis, Alex Webster, & Keith Merrow),
Whitechapel
Intronaut
Revocation
Monuments
Evan Brewer
Ordinance
War Of Ages
Cognizance
What gear does Alex Rüdinger use?
Alex Rüdinger has an incredible selection of kits so it is hard to narrow this down to just one… but in general, here is the setup:
Alex Rüdinger is a beast of a drummer. He seems to be able to do it all and make it seem effortless. Even if you aren’t a fan of metal drumming we highly recommend taking some time to look through some of his performances. They are incredible but beware… they will either motivate you to want to get better or to just give up because you’ll never be this good. Jokes aside, make sure you check him out.
Anup Sastry is a powerhouse of a drummer making complicated progressive metal songs seem effortless. The feel, incredible sound and songwriting prowess have turned Anup Sastry into a globally renowned drummer you need to know.
Anup Sastry is a professional drummer based out of Frederick, Maryland and Washington, D.C. In 2011 Anup Comprehensive Recording Program at The Omega Studios’ School of Applied Recording Arts & Sciences.
Since then he has gone on to become a lot more than just an accomplished professional drummer. He is also a composer, producer, audio engineer and YouTube Content Creator.
Anup Sastry on YouTube
Since 2011 Anup Sastry has been posting drum content to his YouTube Channel. Originally focused on drum covers it has since progressed to featuring his music, artists he has record drums for and product features.
There are a couple of stand things on Anup Sastry’s YouTube channel.
Tight drumming that looks effortless
Powerful playing with perfectly placed ghost notes and dynamics
An incredible sound. Especially the snare drum!
His videos are a joy to watch. Here are a couple of videos we recommend checking out.
Ghost Playthrough
Doom Eternal Cover
It is always amazing playing that is a pleasure to watch.
Who has Anup Sastry played the drums with?
Anup has featured on a lot of music in his relatively short career so far. This is a testament to his playing and abilities. Here are some of the artists he has performed with:
Devin Townsend
Intervals
Skyharbor
Jason Kui
Jeff Loomi
Monuments
Polyphia
League of Legends – Rell, the Iron maiden, champion theme
What music does Anup Sastry create?
Under his name, Anup creates amazing progressive, djent metal music. Mostly his music is instrumental but some tracks have vocal features.
The thing that makes Anup’s music unique is that he doesn’t play the guitar or bass. The music is created with a mix of programming instruments and splicing together audio recordings to get the desired result.
At the time of writing he has five releases:
Ghost
Lion
Titan
Bloom
Illuminate
You can get all these on his Bandcamp page or the usual streaming services. They are worth checking out if this is your genre of choice.
What gear does Anup Sastry use?
Anup Sastry has a fairly large kit including a selection of cymbals and a floor tom on the left side. This allows for more sound options when playing open-handed parts.
We have been fans of Anup for a long time at Drum Faster and it has been great to see his career progress so fast. His playing is incredible with a signature sound any drummer would be envious of.
Even if you aren’t into metal drumming, Anup has something special in his playing that you have to see. He is a great drummer and musician that we can’t wait to see more from.
Zack Graybeal AKA ZackGrooves has been exploding on the drumming scene during 2020 with his drum content. When you take his groove, passion, incredible chops and sense of humour you end up with videos you want to keep watching.
ZackGrooves (Zack Graybeal) is an incredibly talented jazz drummer who studied at Music at East Carolina University. In 2020 he seemed to come out of nowhere and grow to become one of the most entertaining YouTube drummer content creators.
ZackGrooves on YouTube
ZackGrooves YouTube channel (at the time of writing) has over 181,000 subscribers and over 15 million views. It is easy to see how Zack has grown his channel so fast and become one of everyone’s favourite drummers on the YouTube platform.
His videos are incredibly engaging and they are full of personality. The combination of incredible drumming ability and humour does work a charm.
The videos on ZackGrooves YouTube channel mainly focus on a mix of college stories and a whole load of potential scenarios drummers may face.
For example, when the drummer tries to steal the spotlight.
And what not to do at a drum audition
Our top picks from ZackGrooves
Even though Zack has only been around a short period it is incredibly hard to pick out a favourite video. Each video is unique and engaging so they all have their charm. Let’s start with the video that started it all for ZackGrooves.
During his Jazz recital for college during the drum solo, Zack decided to play this the tempo of the track making it a bit more tricky for his bandmates to keep time. This is something Zack had tried with the band during rehearsals but did say he wouldn’t do it during the actual performance.
Anyway, Zack decided to give it a go and ended up apologising during his performance. Luckily the band held it together and the exam was passed.
Check it out!
What gear does Zack use?
As an up and coming drummer is gear selection does seem to be a bit varied. From what we can see he is currently using:
ZackGrooves is an incredible drummer who is still young with his whole career ahead of him. If all goes well he will hopefully end up getting some big recording and live gigs.
We love his videos and can’t wait to see what he comes up with next. If you haven’t check him out, what are you waiting for?
David Raouf, better known as rdavidr, is a well know drummer and content creator due to his YouTube channel where he creates unique videos that are informative and entertaining.
If you haven’t heard of rdavidr you are truly missing out.
rdavidr’s YouTube channel is stacked full on unique and creative drum content. He currently has over 220,000 subscribers and over 47 million views! Wow!
On his channel you will see videos ranging from drum hacks, making drum kits out of random things as well as converting loads of gear in beautiful and wonderful ways.
All of his videos are entertaining and you are bound to pick up some helpful tips along the way.
Check out these videos of rdavidr
Why not make a pizza kick drum?
If you are after some hacks for your drums check out this drum hacks video
Our top pick from rdavidr
It is hard to pick out just one rdavidr video as they are all so good! After much debate… is has to be the video where rdavidr and Stephen Taylor took a kids drum set and attempted to make it sound good.
Unsurprisingly this is his most viewed video at the time of writing at over 3.3 millions views and we are not surprised. Haven’t we all wondered if one of the check kids drum sets can be made to sounds decent? If anyone is capable of doing it, it is rdavidr.
Anyway, check out the results below.
rdavidr’s drum kit
Unlike most content cretors, rdavidr has a lot of different drum kits! He has a range of different kits covering many brands and well as vintage and modern gear.
That is one of the joys of watching his videos. You never know wht kit you are going to see.
One thing that is usually consistent is the configuration of the setup. In general, you will see a 4 piece kit.
Kick
Snare
Rack tom
Floor tom
This is usually accompanied by a pair of hi-hats, a ride and a couple of crashes.
Where can I find rdavidr
Luckily for you he can be found on most social media platforms. Make sure you go check him out on the links below.
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