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Tomas Haake

Documented by Drum Faster

Meshuggah's drummer since 1990, and the reason djent exists — his kit was sampled in full for Toontrack's Drumkit From Hell, so his actual drum tone is on thousands of records he never played. Sonor SQ2, a wide Sabian setup, and a snare head made of aramid fibre.

2022 — Immutable

Thirty-two years into the band and the rig has barely moved, which is the point. Dry, dead, articulate, and set up so the pulse is always findable underneath the polymetre.

Bass drum — Sonor SQ2 kit 22"Bass drum — Sonor SQ2 kit 22"Floor tom — Sonor SQ2 kit 18"Snare — Sonor Artist 14"x6" bronze snare 14"Hi-hats — Sabian HHX 15" Stage Hi-hats 15"Crash — Sabian HHX Stage Crashes 19"Crash — Sabian HHX Stage Crashes 21"Crash — Sabian AAXtreme Chinese
The 2022 kit at a glance. Tap a piece to find it below; sticks, pedals and hardware aren't drawn.
Sonor SQ2 kit twin 22"x18" kicks ⤷ who plays this
Sonor Artist 14"x6" bronze snare ⤷ who plays this
Sabian HHX 15" Stage Hi-hats ⤷ who plays this
Sabian HHX Stage Crashes 19"–21" ⤷ who plays this
Sabian AAXtreme Chinese ⤷ who plays this
Vic Firth Tomas Haake signature sticks ⤷ who plays this
Remo heads throughout ⤷ who plays this

2016 — The Violent Sleep of Reason tour

The SQ2 Macassar kit most people picture, with the full Sabian setup including a 15" HH crash stacked over a 19" Paragon Chinese. Every kick note is articulated; nothing is smeared.

Bass drum — Sonor SQ2 kit 22"Floor tom — Sonor SQ2 kit 18"Floor tom — Sonor SQ2 kit 18"Rack tom — Sonor SQ2 kit 12"Rack tom — Sonor SQ2 kit 11"Rack tom — Sonor SQ2 kit 14"Snare — Sonor Artist 14"x6" bronze snare 14"Hi-hats — Sabian HHX 15" Stage Hi-hats 15"Crash — Sabian HHX 19", 20" and 21" Stage Crashes 19"Crash — Sabian HHX 19", 20" and 21" Stage Crashes 20"Crash — Sabian HHX 19", 20" and 21" Stage Crashes 21"Ride — Sabian Legacy 22" Ride 22"
The 2016 kit at a glance. Tap a piece to find it below; sticks, pedals and hardware aren't drawn.
Sonor SQ2 kit Macassar ebony — 22"x18" bass drums (x2), 12"x11" and 14"x14" racks, 15"x15" and 18"x18" floors ⤷ who plays this
Sonor Artist 14"x6" bronze snare ⤷ who plays this
Sabian HHX 15" Stage Hi-hats ⤷ who plays this
Sabian HH 14" Rock Hi-hats the second pair ⤷ who plays this
Sabian HHX 19", 20" and 21" Stage Crashes ⤷ who plays this
Sabian AAXtreme 19" and 21" Chinese ⤷ who plays this
Sabian HH 15" Crash over Paragon 19" Chinese the stack — short, ugly and structural ⤷ who plays this
Sabian Legacy 22" Ride used as a crash ⤷ who plays this
Sonor hardware all of it ⤷ who plays this
Vic Firth Tomas Haake signature sticks ⤷ who plays this
Remo Powerstroke 4 kick batters Ebony Powerstroke 3 resonants ⤷ who plays this
Remo aramid-fibre snare batter custom — a big part of the record sound ⤷ who plays this

2008 — obZen

The record with "Bleed" on it — a sustained double-kick figure held for the length of the song, and the benchmark drummers still measure themselves against. Haake has been open about how physically punishing it was to record.

Bass drum — Sonor kit 22"Bass drum — Sonor kit 22"Floor tom — Sonor kit 16"Floor tom — Sonor kit 18"Rack tom — Sonor kit 12"Rack tom — Sonor kit 14"Snare — Sonor 14"x6" bronze snare 14"Hi-hats — Sabian HH 14" Rock Hi-hats 14"Crash — Sabian HHX 19"–21" Stage Crashes 19"Crash — Sabian HHX 19"–21" Stage Crashes 21"Crash — Sabian AAXtreme 19" Chinese 19"
The 2008 kit at a glance. Tap a piece to find it below; sticks, pedals and hardware aren't drawn.
Sonor kit twin 22" kicks, 12"/14" racks, 16"/18" floors ⤷ who plays this
Sonor 14"x6" bronze snare with an aramid-fibre batter head — essentially dead and essentially bulletproof ⤷ who plays this
Sabian HH 14" Rock Hi-hats ⤷ who plays this
Sabian HHX 19"–21" Stage Crashes rationed — a wash would ruin this music ⤷ who plays this
Sabian AAXtreme 19" Chinese structure, not accents ⤷ who plays this
Sonor double pedal ⤷ who plays this
Vic Firth Tomas Haake signature sticks model SHAA ⤷ who plays this
Remo Clear Emperor tom batters over clear Ambassador resonants ⤷ who plays this

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