Hardware

Hardware is the half of the kit nobody photographs and everybody feels. A pedal decides how fast your foot can move, a throne decides how long you last, and a stand decides whether the crash is where you left it in the second set. Shells get the attention; hardware gets the blame.

This is where we cover the pedals worth the money and the ones that only sound it — direct drive against chain, the DW 9000 that turns up on half the touring risers in the world, and the Axis pedals that split drummers down the middle. Plus the stands, mounts and boom arms that quietly stop your cymbals drifting mid-gig.