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Rock's Top 10 Most Frequent Drum Brand Switchers

Son of Vistalite Black

Son of Vistalite Black

Well-known Member
It's long been said Buddy Rich was a "promiscuous drum endorser," playing Ludwig, Slingerland, WFL, Rogers, Trixon and Fibes over his long career.

In the rock arena, Son of Vistalite Black has endeavored to identify the Top 10 least loyal players. Each of the brands named may not have been an official endorser (as this timeline reaches back 50-plus years ago," but all of these rockers often decided the grass is greener elsewhere. With your input, we'll rank at a later date.

  • John Bonham: The legendary drummer of Led Zeppelin, Bonham started his career playing Ludwig drums, but switched to Slingerland in 1969, and then back to Ludwig in 1970. He also used Gretsch and Rogers drums on some occasions, but Ludwig remained his main brand until his death in 1980.
  • Keith Moon: The wild and explosive drummer of The Who, Moon was known for his destructive antics and his massive drum kits. He began his career playing Premier drums, but switched to Ludwig in 1966, after being impressed by Bonham's sound. He later switched back to Premier in 1973, and then to Slingerland in 1978, shortly before his death.
  • Neil Peart: The virtuoso drummer of Rush, Bubba was one of the most influential and respected drummers in rock history. He started his career playing Slingerland drums, but switched to Tama in 1974, and then to Ludwig in 1977. He also used Simmons electronic drums in the 1980s, and then switched to Drum Workshop (DW) in 1994, which he used until his retirement in 2015.
  • Mike Portnoy: The former drummer of Dream Theater and one of the most prominent drummers in progressive metal, Portnoy has played drums for over 30 years, and has endorsed multiple drum brands, including Tama, Mapex, DW, and Tama.
  • Dave Grohl: The former drummer of Nirvana and the current frontman of Foo Fighters, Grohl is one of the most successful and versatile musicians in rock. He started his career playing Tama drums, but switched to Pearl in 1993, and then to DW in 1997. He also used Ludwig and Gretsch drums on some occasions, and has experimented with different cymbal and drumhead brands.
  • Travis Barker: The world's current most famous drummer, Blink 182's Barker is known for his fast and energetic drumming style. He started his career playing Orange County drums, but switched to DW in 2000, and then to SJC in 2008. He also used Tama drums for a brief period in 2005, and has endorsed various cymbal and drumhead brands.
  • Taylor Hawkins: The drummer of Foo Fighters and the former drummer of Alanis Morissette, Hawkins is one of the most respected and admired drummers in modern rock. He started his career playing DW drums, but switched to Tama in 2002, and then back to DW in 2010. He also used Ludwig drums for a short time in 2009, and has experimented with different cymbal and drumhead brands.
  • Phil Collins: The drummer and singer of Genesis and one of the most successful solo artists of all time, Collins is one of the most influential and versatile drummers in pop and rock. He is also the father of "Emily in Paris" star, Lily Collins. He started his career playing Premier drums, but switched to Gretsch in 1976, and then to Pearl in 1983. He also used Ludwig drums in the 1990s, and has endorsed various cymbal and drumhead brands.
  • Lars Ulrich: The drummer and co-founder of Metallica and one of the most influential and controversial drummers in metal, Ulrich is known for his powerful and aggressive drumming style. He started his career playing Ludwig drums, but switched to Tama in 1984, and then to DW in 1999. He also used Camco drums at one point, and has experimented with different cymbal and drumhead brands.
  • Stewart Copeland: The heavily caffeinated drummer and co-founder of The Police and one of the most innovative and influential drummers in rock, Copeland is known for his distinctive and creative drumming style. He started his career playing Tama drums, but switched to Ludwig in 1979, and then to Tama again in 1983. He also used Pearl drums in the 1990s, and has endorsed various cymbal and drumhead brands.Note: Stevie played a Pearl snare on the first 3 records. IMG_1493.jpeg
Honorable Mention: Nicko McBrain was a longtime Sonor endorser before switching to British Drum Company. Earlier in his career, he was a Premier man.
 
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Oh, a lot wrong with this list:

Keith Moon: He only ever endorsed Premier. That was it. He can be seen in clips playing Ludgwd and Slingerland kits, but those were general rental kits.

Neal Peart: right brands, wrong years. It's also worth noting the Slingerland kit was purchased with record advance money, it was not a formal endorsement,

Mike Portnoy: His 1st kit was a Tama kit, but he wasn't a Tama endorser. He became a Mapex endorser for a short period and then officially signed with Tama, where he's been ever since. He's never endorsed any other brand of drums. He might have endorsed DW pedals for a while, but never their drums.

Lars Ulrich: He has only endorsed Tama. He never was with DW. He can seen in studio clips playing a Gretch kit and admits he borrowed Ludwig snares, but he's never endorsed any other drum brand,

Stewart Copeland: He's only ever endorsed Tama drums. period, the end. And for cymbals, he's only ever endorsed Paiste. Heads I dunno.

Dave Grohl: He did go from Tama to DW. I don't think he was ever with Pearl.

Taylor Hawkins: add Gretch to the list.
 
And quite frankly. No one on this list has changed endorsements as much as Carmie Appice.

Ludwig
Slingerland
Ludwig a 2nd time
Pearl
Premier
Mapex
Ddrum.

Paiste
Zildjian
Sabian
Instanbul
now back with Sabian

Regal Tip
Victirth

Luwdige heads, Aquarian, now Evans. (maybe Remo was in there somewhere).
 
DrumEatDrum said:
Oh, a lot wrong with this list:

Keith Moon: He only ever endorsed Premier. That was it. He can be seen in clips playing Ludgwd and Slingerland kits, but those were general rental kits.

Neal Peart: right brands, wrong years. It's also worth noting the Slingerland kit was purchased with record advance money, it was not a formal endorsement,

Mike Portnoy: His 1st kit was a Tama kit, but he wasn't a Tama endorser. He became a Mapex endorser for a short period and then officially signed with Tama, where he's been ever since. He's never endorsed any other brand of drums. He might have endorsed DW pedals for a while, but never their drums.

Lars Ulrich: He has only endorsed Tama. He never was with DW. He can seen in studio clips playing a Gretch kit and admits he borrowed Ludwig snares, but he's never endorsed any other drum brand,

Stewart Copeland: He's only ever endorsed Tama drums. period, the end. And for cymbals, he's only ever endorsed Paiste. Heads I dunno.

Dave Grohl: He did go from Tama to DW. I don't think he was ever with Pearl.

Taylor Hawkins: add Gretch to the list.
Click to expand...

IMG_1491.jpegIMG_1490.jpeg
 
Right.

Portnoy became a Mapex Endorser during the "Awake" period because Tama didn't actually try to sign him, even though he used a Tama Imperial Star kit and can be seen playing said Tama kit in all Dream Theater photos and videos up until the "Awake" album. He played on the US Maple kit, which was actually made by Gibson Guitars for Mapex as part of their partnership. But when the relationship between Gison and Mapex fell apart, Mapex didn't want anyone being seen playing the US Maple kits. And that's when Portny officially signed with Tama.

And as I said, you can find photos and videos of Keith Moon playing all sorts of drum kits. But he never officially endorsed any of them, outside of Premier.
 
DrumEatDrum said:
Right.

Portnoy became a Mapex Endorser during the "Awake" period because Tama didn't actually try to sign him, even though he used a Tama Imperial Star kit and can be seen playing said Tama kit in all Dream Theater photos and videos up until the "Awake" album. He played on the US Maple kit, which was actually made by Gibson Guitars for Mapex as part of their partnership. But when the relationship between Gison and Mapex fell apart, Mapex didn't want anyone being seen playing the US Maple kits. And that's when Portny officially signed with Tama.

And as I said, you can find photos and videos of Keith Moon playing all sorts of drum kits. But he never officially endorsed any of them, outside of Premier.
Click to expand...

Here's Dave Grohl's 28-inch Pearl bass drum he played with Queens of the Stone Age. He played Ludwigs live with QotSA.

 
Well, if you get into who used what on every recording session they ever did. you'd find no one's loyal to anyone. Every name drummer has used gear either recommended or insisted upon by the album's producer or used one-off things for certain songs that had nothing to do with their endorsements.
 
DrumEatDrum said:
Oh, a lot wrong with this list:

Keith Moon: He only ever endorsed Premier. That was it. He can be seen in clips playing Ludgwd and Slingerland kits, but those were general rental kits.

Neal Peart: right brands, wrong years. It's also worth noting the Slingerland kit was purchased with record advance money, it was not a formal endorsement,
Click to expand...
As Phil Ehart of Kansas mentioned on my podcast, Slingerland turned Neil down for an endorsement. His first drum endorsement was Tama.
DrumEatDrum said:
Mike Portnoy: His 1st kit was a Tama kit, but he wasn't a Tama endorser. He became a Mapex endorser for a short period and then officially signed with Tama, where he's been ever since. He's never endorsed any other brand of drums. He might have endorsed DW pedals for a while, but never their drums.

Lars Ulrich: He has only endorsed Tama. He never was with DW. He can seen in studio clips playing a Gretch kit and admits he borrowed Ludwig snares, but he's never endorsed any other drum brand,

Stewart Copeland: He's only ever endorsed Tama drums. period, the end. And for cymbals, he's only ever endorsed Paiste. Heads I dunno.

Dave Grohl: He did go from Tama to DW. I don't think he was ever with Pearl.

Taylor Hawkins: add Gretch to the list.
Click to expand...
Thank you, and well said. Someone playing a brand of drums does not mean they endorse them.
Son of Vistalite Black said:
Here's Dave Grohl's 28-inch Pearl bass drum he played with Queens of the Stone Age. He played Ludwigs live with QotSA.

Click to expand...
Excellent. He used that bass drum in the studio. He did not endorse Pearl drums. What's the point of this?
 
John DeChristopher said:
As Phil Ehart of Kansas mentioned on my podcast, Slingerland turned Neil down for an endorsement. His first drum endorsement was Tama.
Click to expand...
John, did you tell me once Neil Peart never officially endorsed Zildjian all these years, and that he merely traded photos of him playing Zildjian for their use in exchange for stacks of cymbals? Or something like that.
 
John DeChristopher said:
As Phil Ehart of Kansas mentioned on my podcast, Slingerland turned Neil down for an endorsement. His first drum endorsement was Tama.

Thank you, and well said. Someone playing a brand of drums does not mean they endorse them.

Excellent. He used that bass drum in the studio. He did not endorse Pearl drums. What's the point of this?
Click to expand...
The headline refers to Brand Switchers, not endorsements. Could be this was deliberate.
 
DrumEatDrum said:
John, did you tell me once Neil Peart never officially endorsed Zildjian all these years, and that he merely traded photos of him playing Zildjian for their use in exchange for stacks of cymbals? Or something like that.
Click to expand...
I don't know anything about that, but I remember that 1980 MD interview (I believe it was) in which the interviewer asked him if he hand selected his cymbals. He said no, he just orders them from the Zildjian factory, and if he gets one he doesn't like he sends it back.

Never mentioned how they were paid for. 😉
 
DrumEatDrum said:
John, did you tell me once Neil Peart never officially endorsed Zildjian all these years, and that he merely traded photos of him playing Zildjian for their use in exchange for stacks of cymbals? Or something like that.
Click to expand...
Neil was indeed an official Zildjian endorser. I believe he signed with Zildjian in 1980 or 1981. He moved to Sabian in 2003.
 
I've seen some photos of Dave Grohl playing Yamaha Drums in the 90's as well, but mostly Tama. And I remember an MD article when he was doing a record with NIN in the 2000's. His gear was listed as Tama Drums & Paiste Cymbals, though it may just have been for studio, as I never saw anything else with him playing Paiste.

Taylor Hawkins was also a Paiste artist for a long time. I don't remember when exactly he switched to Zildjian.

I've also never seen Travis Barker play anything other than OCDP until recently. He was part owner of OCDP and continued to play them even after the sale of the name to Guitar Center in the late 2000's. It's only in the last couple years he's been officially recognized as a DW artist.
 
DrumEatDrum said:
And quite frankly. No one on this list has changed endorsements as much as Carmie Appice.

Ludwig
Slingerland
Ludwig a 2nd time
Pearl
Premier
Mapex
Ddrum.

Paiste
Zildjian
Sabian
Instanbul
now back with Sabian

Regal Tip
Victirth

Luwdige heads, Aquarian, now Evans. (maybe Remo was in there somewhere).
Click to expand...
Thank you! Came here to say exactly that!
 
DrumEatDrum said:
o one on this list has changed endorsements as much as Carmie Appice.
Click to expand...
Correct - how could they have missed him??

Can't say how I know, but he still misses his Ludwigs :)
 
In honor of brand switching, can we find photos of all of Carmine's endorsements?

Ludwig 1
carmineappice600ya.jpg




Slingland, the 1st time

s-l1600.webp

Huumm...notice those are Ludwig Drums, they just say Slingerland on the bass drum head.


So back to Ludwig:
3bd36aba288e6781a20fddf8e8920ace-carmine-appice-drums-450x306.jpg


The 80's were a move to Pearl:
carmineappicefjgt.jpg
 
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