After owning and testing countless drum-related items, these are my personal favorites and the ones that I recommend.
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Thank you! I hope that you find this page to be helpful!
Matt Ritter
Practice Tools
Vic Firth 5AN (Vic Firth is the world’s best drumstick company. 5A is the standard, classic size. 5AN is the same as 5A but with a Nylon tip that greatly enhances durability.)
Practice Pad
Evans RealFeel 2-Sided 12-Inch Pad (the all-time classic practice pad)
Headphones
Ultraphones (the world’s absolute best drumming headphones)
Vic Firth SIH3 Stereo Isolation Headphones (affordable, good quality drumming headphones following design cues from Ultraphones)
Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro X (extremely comfortable and beautiful sounding headphones for general music listening or electronic drums)
Books
Learning to Read Music
Understanding Rhythm by Michael Lauren
Syncopation by Ted Reed
Rock & Funk Drumming
The New Breed by Gary Chester
Future Sounds by David Garibaldi
Jazz Drumming
The Art of Bop Drumming by John Riley
Advanced Techniques for the Modern Drummer by Jim Chapin
The Drummer’s Complete Vocabulary as Taught by Alan Dawson by John Ramsay
Rudimental Drumming
The Rudimental Cookbook by Edward Freytag
“Latin” Drumming
Afro-Cuban Rhythms for Drumset by Frank Malabe and Bob Weiner
Brazilian Rhythms for Drumset by Duduka Da Fonseca and Bob Weiner
Fusion Drumming & Soloing
Advanced Concepts by Kim Plainfield
Mindset
Effortless Mastery by Kenny Werner
The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
Drums
Electronic Drums
Alesis Nitro Max (good quality at an unbelievably affordable price)
Roland TD-07KV (a step up in build quality, durability, and price)
Roland VQD106 (the world’s QUIETEST electronic drums)
Acoustic Drums
Tama Superstar Classic (wonderful drums from the world’s best drum company at a remarkably affordable price)
Tama Starclassic Walnut Birch (incredible, high-end professional drums from the world’s best drum company)
Drum Hardware & Accessories
Drum Key
Tama TDK10 (unique design that is great for adjusting hardware and tuning drums)
Stick Bag
Tama Powerpad Designer Bag (perfect size for a few pairs of sticks and a drum key)
Bass Drum Pedal
Tama Iron Cobra 200 (good quality at a remarkably affordable price)
Tama Speed Cobra (the world’s best bass drum pedal for people with medium to large feet)
Pearl Eliminator (extremely adjustable, high-end pedal for people with small to medium feet)
Drum Throne
Roc-N-Soc Nitro (the world’s best drum seat)
Roc-N-Soc Nitro EXTENDED (the world’s best drum seat for people over 5’8″)
Stands
Tama Roadpro Snare/Pad Stand (superb adjustability that makes it almost painful to use any other stand)
Tama Stage Master Double Tom Stand (allows you to position your toms IN FRONT OF YOU, rather than shifted to the right on top of the bass drum)