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Tony Royster Jr.

Documented by Drum Faster

A national name at eleven and the youngest ever Vic Firth signature artist at thirteen — then, unusually for a prodigy, a first-call touring drummer for Jay-Z, Lenny Kravitz and Beyoncé. Elite technique, almost never deployed, because the job is pocket at stadium scale.

Read our full Tony Royster Jr. feature →

2022 — The Sabian switch

He moved to Sabian cymbals as of late 2022, after a long association with Zildjian. Everything else stayed, including the DW kit and the signature stick — now the STR2, .585" with a long taper for rebound.

Bass drum — DW Collector's Series maple kit Floor tom — DW Collector's Series maple kit Rack tom — DW Collector's Series maple kit Rack tom — DW Collector's Series maple kit Snare — DW Collector's Series 13"x5" maple snare 13"Crash — Sabian cymbals
The 2022 kit at a glance. Tap a piece to find it below; sticks, pedals and hardware aren't drawn.
DW Collector's Series maple kit ⤷ who plays this
DW Collector's Series 13"x5" maple snare ⤷ who plays this
Sabian cymbals as of October 2022 ⤷ who plays this
DW 9000 pedals ⤷ who plays this
DW 9000 series hardware ⤷ who plays this
Remo heads ⤷ who plays this
Vic Firth Tony Royster Jr. STR2 signature sticks .585" diameter, long taper for rebound ⤷ who plays this

2018 — The Jay-Z touring rig

Two hours of enormous, simple hip-hop drumming to a click, played like a session drummer. The 13" snare is the interesting choice: a smaller diameter cracks higher at the same tuning, which is far easier to place in a dense mix than a 14".

Bass drum — DW Collector's Series 22"x18" bass drum 22"Floor tom — DW Collector's Series 22"x18" bass drum 18"Floor tom — DW Collector's Series 18"x14" floor tom 18"Rack tom — DW Collector's Series 10"x8" tom 10"Rack tom — DW Collector's Series 10"x8" tom 8"Rack tom — DW Collector's Series 12"x9" tom 12"Snare — DW Collector's Series 13"x5" maple snare 13"Crash — Zildjian cymbals
The 2018 kit at a glance. Tap a piece to find it below; sticks, pedals and hardware aren't drawn.
DW Collector's Series 22"x18" bass drum maple ⤷ who plays this
DW Collector's Series 10"x8" tom ⤷ who plays this
DW Collector's Series 12"x9" tom ⤷ who plays this
DW Collector's Series 15"x13" floor tom ⤷ who plays this
DW Collector's Series 18"x14" floor tom ⤷ who plays this
DW Collector's Series 13"x5" maple snare smaller than most — it cracks higher and sits above the mix ⤷ who plays this
Zildjian cymbals his long association before the 2022 move ⤷ who plays this
DW 9000 pedals ⤷ who plays this
DW 9000 series hardware ⤷ who plays this
Remo heads ⤷ who plays this
Vic Firth Tony Royster Jr. signature sticks the STR arrived when he was fifteen ⤷ who plays this

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