A Look at Alex Van Halen's Gear (Part 1) with Kurt Ekstrom - EP 231 

Here is a video Kurt and I did about the HUGE Alex Van Halen 2024 auction: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-RtaLJHNKAIY.html

The best part of this is, it's got at least a Part 2.

It’s too bad Alex doesn’t do interviews anymore, it would be awesome to get some of these unanswered questions addressed. Great show thanks 👍

Wow, this was better than any MD article on Alex that I’ve read over the last 30 years

Hi Bart, here's some additional notes; - Billy Cobham was 1 of the first to experiment with combining shells. - Alex used road/flt cases for the extra long bass drums. - The fire extinguishers were for " I'm on Fire" - Slingerland cut tom (marching drums) photo was a promo video for the FairWarning album. - Black/white striped kit was made of Vista-lite shells. - The "JUMP" video was shot @an airplane hanger. - AVH's warehouse is actually @his home (basement?) - The rototom close to hihat in JUMP kit had a foot pedal to mimic a timpani.

AVH drum solo at that time involved him lighting his mallets on fire (timpani mallets) and playing the kit with the mallets on fire. Thus, the fire extinguisher. It was real and functional.

I had the pleasure of playing 3 of Alex’s kits a few years ago: the 1980 “Flammable” kit, the 2012 kit, and the 2015 final tour kit. There used to be a mini-museum of famous drum kits that my friend’s stepdad owned and they were all free to play upon invite. It certainly takes some getting used to but they’re really fun to play! They also had two of Gregg Bissonette’s kits from his time with David Lee Roth which also had very deep bass drums. The “Eat ‘Em and Smile” kit is a monster!

Hey Guys! Love the channel, love this episode. Just something I can add regarding the burning of the heads. I don’t know when he started or stopped burning the heads themselves, but my first Halen show was August 5, 1980, with the white ‘flammable’ kit. They ended the show with Your Really Got Me and Alex wore the gas mask and burned the heads using flaming mallets. It was fantastic!

This really showcases the genius and experience of these incredible musicians. Nicely done. Alex and Eddie were linked by DNA to produce some of the greatest rock and roll ever heard.

Alex was the first drummer I ever heard that made me want to play. This was fantastic thanks so much!

i was 10 in 1984 and had just started playing drums, hearing Hot For Teacher blew my mind…he’s still in my Top 10 fave drummers (probably Top 5 if i sat down and wrote it out) - Alex Van Halen rules!! 🥁 🔥 ☝🏼

The badges being perfectly straight or crooked means absolutely nothing. Those things are easily moved and are not permanently adhered / stuck to the shells. They are simply held in place by the air vent grommet. Also, Zappa's studio was the Utility Muffin Research Kitchen (UMRK). Loved the video, great job.

I've been a Ludwig guy since the beginning. And was always looking for others who played them. Alex made Ludwigs, Roto-Toms, and C.S. Black Dot drumheads, and E-drums cool. Al and Ed both are "tone chasers" Seeking signature sounds that fit their style. My dream kit is a massive stainless steel Ludwig set. They sound awesome!

As for 1:58:23 I’m nearly 100% certain that is the basement of Dr. Roth’s mansion, where they rehearsed, too. I remember reading about the trucks pulling up there to pick up the gear, pre-tours as well. It would stand to reason-look at the low ceiling.

The 1979 kit (Van Halen II era) is in the Hard Rock Hotel in Guadalajara, México. Right in the lobby.

Thanks Bart and Kurt for another interesting discussion of famous drum gear. More specifically Alex Van Halen. Fascinating and informative info on personally stylized gear for his playing style performances. Experimenting with various gear is a very specific connection to the artist in creating music.❤

This is a great history of one of the most underrate drummers of all time! These guys are Jazzy, Classical, Rock, and Metal and Blues all mixed together….but Alex is an amazing musician! Respect the wind is Al on piano, and he can play anything…but he wanted the connection to the instrument, which is why they switched . Thank goodness, but they would’ve both gotten there one way or another! Man I LOVE this! ❤❤❤❤🎉😊

Love it Kurt! In the early 80’s I striped my black Pearl drums with 2.5” white auto detailing tape and like you I had two of those MONSTROUS Roger’s boom stands, each holding up a 16” Paiste 404 crash cymbal. 😂🤣

so much information (also the VH history beside these iconic drumkits). I love it. It's brilliant... thank you!

Oh emm gee, Bart! I feel like it's Christmas again already! 😄 Thank you and Kurt very much for this video! 😃👍 Going to be a late night for me! 😅

Wow! Loved the interview and classic pics. Deep Deep Dig In. Can't wait for part 2! Cheers!

Been waiting very patiently for this one. Edit: some stuff about the Fair Warning kit. They are indeed Vistalites in F pattern. There's an old interview floating around where Alex talks about having a single bass drum being built first to test them for strength. Because in his words "Dave likes to jump up on the drums and, humiliate them." The second he stood on it, the drum as expected collapsed. So the kit that was ultimately built had been sprayed with a quarter inch of fiberglass to reinforce them for strength, and the end result made them even louder than they were previously. To my knowledge, that's the only acrylic/fiberglass kit in existence. It's now owened and was fully restored by Chris Heuer of Heuer's Drum Lab.

I'm not sure why people seem to think that the shallower Supraphonics are 5.5x14. They are all 5x14, they've never made a 5.5x14 Supra.

Great post really enjoyed this.! Quite the extraordinary history of Alex's drum kits...bring on part 2! 😬👌

I started really getting into Alex’s drumming on VHII. He started dialing in that snare tone on that album. I like the little drum solo on Light Up The Sky and his drumming on Out of Love is great. His use of brushes on Big Bad Bill is Sweet William now is spot on. Other smaller things he does like coming in on the up beat on Take Your Whiskey Home. His work on Loss of Control is great because it’s a hard song to figure out what to play.

2:02:49 not only that, but I’m fairly certain he was using Tama heavy duty cymbal stands by this point too. Have a look at them-pretty certain they aren’t Ludwig stands.

My first Modern Drummer purchase was the 83 Alex issue too. Fell in love with his kits straight away. Sweet episode chaps.

Born and raised in LA County -- Sept 1978 Anaheim Stadium I was 15 yrs old VH just came out with their 1st album, the line up was Sammy opened (1st time I saw Sam and lol he was just as good as the rest of the bands that day - all bands were in a big competition that day, so everyone played like it was they're last day on earth, seriously.) Next was VH, then Sabbath with Ozzy, then Boston headlined. After that I saw VH with Roth 4 more times all at the LA forum and the US Festival. Saw VH with Sam 3 times. As a drummer myself I have to say Alex's kits were dialed in sound wise especially that snare pop and bass drums. Only disappointment I ever experienced was with Roth... Roth rarely sang `all his parts in each song all the way thru, at first it was funny and cool that "I forgot the phucking words " then each show it was becoming really redundant, and I wouldn't even mention it if it wasn't a major issue, but it was! Way too much to list on that subject, so I'll keep it cool; not sure why Roth gets a pass on not being able to nail his parts, I say that because if it was anyone else, all hell would break loose. Besides that VH was epic, I mean lol that brown sound coming from Edward live in person at those arenas was beyond words! Not to mention Michael and Edwards back up vocals. Keep up the gear vids! Just when I thought I knew a lot about Bonzo, Peart, and Alex's gear over many decades, you have guests that share many things I/we would have never know! Sorry long winded, Peace

When I saw this video pop up I literally jumped off my couch in excitement. Thank you Bart 🙏

Thanks for sharing all of your knowledge on Alex Van Halen!

The black and white stripes kit from the Fair Warning tour: I picked this up from their storage in the late 90s to be on display. i was originally set up in the West LA location and we ordered some Tama booms and got Pork Pie to make Octobans for the kit. a few items were missing but we were able to set this up close to his specs based all the available online photos. after my time with Guitar Center this kit got moved around a bunch and never looked like it was set up properly.

In his early days, he kinda sounds like me. I got my first set (a 3-piece made by Dixie) for Christmas in `67. I was 10, they were $350. I'd been playing drums since my days in the womb. I'd watch American Bandstand and all those other record-based shows we had in the `60's and lay out an array of mom's pots and pans on the floor between the T.V. & I and, using pencils as my sticks, would play along to the records they'd play. A Crisco can was my bass drum. I also played that with a pencil. When I finally got into a band in 1980, I heard someone was selling a small set of drums for about $150 so, I bought them. I combined them with my first set so I had 2 bass drums and 4 toms (one was my first snare from `66 which I converted into a tom). By the time I got into the band, I THINK I stopped growing and was 6' 9". Like Alex, I sit kinda low behind the drums on top of 2 inverted milk crates stacked up so, that puts me 20" above the floor but, my snare is even lower than I am. The toms are also pretty low. I could never understand the point of having them 2' above the bass drums and perfectly level! What's the point?? Aren't you supposed to set them up so you have easy access to them? Mine are set up so they're a nice, smooth concave rounded bowl. Almost like a steel drum. Also like Alex, I don't give a rats ass what they look like or who made them, as long as they do what I need them to do. So, I've got a 20" main bass and my second is 22" (or possibly 24"). The 22 is brown woodgrain, the 20' was originally silver but I covered it with strawberry contact paper, like what you'd find in a kitchen cupboard. The main 12" tom also has that but, I ran out after doing that one and never got to cover the 13" so, that's still silver. I've got a red 8", a blue 10", a clear Vistalight 13" next to the silver one, a blue 13": next to that, a woodgrain 16" ride that matches the 22, a blue 16" floor that matches the blue 13" and a white pearl 16" floor by Zim Gar. I think only the 8 & 10 and the wooden 16" have bottom heads. I have an old silver Ludwig snare, it's not as deep as Al's but it DOES have the bead around the middle. The tag is either olive & silver or olive and blue. I DO have a spare that might be a bit older, and, I've got a piccolo snare. Some day, I hope to also incorporate my Simmons drums and my V-Drums; the Simmons are only a 5-piece set but the V's are 13-piece. I also have 3 different brains for the V's; a 5, 7 and 10. The Simmons have an SDS 1000 and a TMI. I bought the V's in numerous pieces and preferred the rubber heads to the mesh. The cymbals are mostly Zildjian. Because I'm sitting kinda low, I guess my traps are a bit low but, when I was using a shorter stem on my first set, I had to keep the top almost at the very top of the stem. The other 6 are: two on my left, two on my right and two in front of me. I remember one night, we were playing at a fairly high-end venue, famous people DID play there (Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, Julian Lennon, Johnny Winter, Joydrop, Todd Rundgren, Dr. Demento and "Weird Al", etc.), I was still using a pair of 20" bass drums. I walked in and started to set them up on the stage and the sound man started laughing at me for having such small bass drums, this was years before Primus where Tim used a pair of 18"'s. We did sound check, played the gig and, afterwards, the sound man came down, gobsmacked and wanted to know what I did to those bass drums to get that kind of incredible sound out of them! It's NOT what you have, it's what you can do with them!

AVH is selling his gear. What a perfect timing for this video part 1 and 2.

1:22:27 Bass drums clearly joined together inside of the shells, with a strip of something and screws.

Roth is the one who was blowing into the drum during Alex's solo.

This is awesome guys, I can’t wait to listen to part 2 which is more my era: I graduated high school in ‘95 so I’m a huge fan of “For Unlawful…”

Great great discussion guys! I was lucky enough to see the original lineup at Maple Leaf Gardens around 1978. Just a monster show.

Very cool episode! I saw Van Halen at Monsters of Rock in Stockholm in 1984. Alex is a monster on the drums and so are his kits! Thx for sharing guys! 🥁

I was also 13 years old in 1984 and got to go to that Worcester show in March. There was an unseasonal snow storm that day and getting there was questionable all day.

Awesome video. Really enjoyed it. Al is also my all time favorite and #1 influence and even though I knew all the info already, it is just really fun to see other diehard fans discussing all of his amazing custom kits. Favorite kits: 1. Fair Warning painted Vistalite 2. 1980 WACF "space shuttle" kit 3. 1979 stainless steel with all the Vistalite Octobans. Those Octobans sounded AMAZING on that tour. 4. 1982 Diver Down kit, but definitely with the high mounted 8" and 10" toms before he deleted them. 5. 2007 Reunion tour blue sparkle kit with those half bass drums built into the side of the main bass drums 6. 2015 Final tour kit with the sharp copper hardware and VH logo badges. I always wish Al had used the roto tom kit from the Jump video and filled it out with the Octobans for the 84 tour, since several of the tunes on the album you can hear roto toms. And, then he should've had the Octobans mic'd and actually played them instead of just having them up there for show on both the 84 and 5150 tours. To this day, whenever I watch footage from the LWAN show, I find myself wanting to yell at Alex, "PLAY the Octobans!" Al always had such unique kits all throughout his career. I have read that he and John Douglas already had a kit designed and built for the proposed 2019 tour that would've been the original 4 back together that sadly never happened because of Ed's declining health. I always wonder what that kit looks like, if it indeed was already put together by John and Al.

Being that they were tinkers I wouldn't be surprised if Alex didn't take the hardware off both kits and use shelf paper or something of the sort to rerap the drums so they matched. A friend of mine did that in high school he bought 2 mismatched kits and rewrapped them with some sort of contact paper

Yikes! I'm super late to the party! I can add my two cents regarding Paiste: Paiste was dropped by Ludwig around 1971 or 72, that means that there was no U.S. distributor and no Paistes sold in volume in the U.S. until Rogers took over in 1974. Looking at all the pictures, it's clear to see Alex was still using Zildjians as late as 1977. My educated guess is when the band got an advance from Warner Brothers after signing the contract, Alex went and bought a full set of 2002s. You can clearly hear he's using 2002's on the first album: 2- 18's, a 20", a 22 inch ride and 15 inch sound edge high hats. I don't hear him using a China type on the album, I bet he didn't get it until the 1st tour. You can clearly hear Alex using his 20-inch china type on the second album, the very last note of "you're no good" and towards the end of his solo in light up the sky where he hits five crashes in a row, the last crash being his China. Also, Kurt is correct, Alex was using a 22-inch ride for at least the first two albums, the reason being that Rogers did not import or distribute a 24-inch! It wasn't until Paiste opened the Brea distribution center in 1981 that they started selling 24 inch rides in the US! Alex started using all 20 inch crashes or mediums on "women and children 1st", this also could be when he got a 24" ride. One last thing: Alex was never listed or mentioned in any Paiste promo material until the early 1980's, I think this is when he got an endorsement. Alex is one of the main reasons I've played Paiste for over 40 years, my brother got VHII when it came out in '79, it totally blew my little 13 year old mind!

Yeah, great show guys. I was at Monsters of Rock in 1984 to see VH...as a 15 year old, went with my friend from school. I remember seeing DLR through the back stage fence driving around on a quad bike or similar. Awesome ..

I'm a little more than 1/2 way through the episode, but as one of the unofficial GHOST historians on the web, here's some info for you. 1) Though the GHOST may not have been as popular as the Speed King, it had a fairly long production run. The original patten info dates to 1951, so it's probable the GHOST was in production in the late '40s. Ludwig phased in out (According to The Chief) in 1981. 2) The GHOST was named in honor of the USS Enterprise, the "Galloping Ghost of the Oahu Coast." GHOST inventor Bob Ramsey was stationed aboard the ship. There's a story that retractable landing gear on the planes of the Enterprise were the inspiration for Mr. Ramsey to use circular clock springs in his pedal. 3) I met Bill Ludwig III once, and we talked about the GHOST. He told me that the last 1/2 dozen or so GHOSTS they had at the factory he snagged and gave to Alex Van Halen. ~Billy Rhythm

53:41 I went to the Hard Rock Cafe in Oslo, Norway to see Alex’s silver Ludwig kit on display. I was a cruise ship drummer and it was listed as being in that location on their website. I was so excited, I got there before they even opened. Well, I came back once they DID open and toured anxiously through the (rather small) building-both floors. It was nowhere to be seen. I was mystified, so I asked the manger on duty ‘Excuse me, but aren’t you supposed to have AVH’s drum kit here?’ He replied ‘Yes, we do.” I asked where it was, to which he replied ‘It’s locked up in cases in the back room-it’s being sent to another location.’. Apparently they move items around the world to keep the displays fresh for fans. I begged the man ‘Please, could I have even a small peek at it? I came all the way from Canada!’ (which was a small lie, but I AM Canadian!). He seemed to understand and said ‘I gladly,would, but it’s locked in cases that I don’t even have a key for.’ Perhaps he was just getting rid of me…who knows.

Amazing video guys! There actually was a floor tom used an a song or two on 1984. Probably a Ludwig. Used very minimal but there for sure. Very taped up and muffled but sounds like a 16 inch

Bob Seger system drummer had double depth bass drums.1960s. Great Podcast

That's not an amp on the ground behind Alex in that outdoor picture, that is a trap case with the lid off.

By the way, Tama have only recently re-released a 'Limited Edition' of the Rosewood Mastercraft snare drum, in either 5" or 6.5" deep and as part of their 50th Anniversary celebrations 🙂 I wish I could afford the re-released Tama Superstar kit together with a Bell Brass snare drum! 😍🙏

I’ve handled plenty of Ludwig drums with loose badges.. and Alex’s snare badge could very easily have been “loose” and able to be moved slightly side to side

Sorry if someone else has mentioned this, but, the black & white Vistalite kit AVH used on the Fair Warning tour was reinforced with *fiberglass* resin/cloth, not spray foam or whatever you said it was. You could see it up close when the kit was on display at Guitar Center Hollywood. It was very sloppily done, really thick and messy and gloppy, with many areas of unimpregnated fiberglass cloth hanging out, like they did a rush job (or had no real idea of how to "tap" fiberglass). It looked as if the fiberglass reinforcement was spray-painted white afterwards. Looked great on stage, though. Great podcast. Thanks for making it. ❤=vH=

Kurt has some great ears. I always knew that Alex used a metal snare on "So This Is Love?" Great job researching AVH's stuff!

45:46 It looks like he lowered the floor tom leg mount to raise the height of the drum. That top hole is right in line with the factory setup.

@1:26 vibrafibe. Not vibrafoam. It wad fiberglass and resin that was applied to the inside of the drums. Added projection. Neil's kits had that done to them at the Drum Center in Ft. Wayne. Talked about a lot in MD back in the day.

I used to have a double bass set of Ludwig stainless steel drums (12,13,14,15,18,20,2x24) and they were actually lighter than a lot of wood drums.

love these gear videos ...

i saw them on my birthday during the 1984 tour at the Cow Palace

I was at the very last show of the original line up at monsters of rock in nürnberg. Van halen were great and they always have been my favorite band by far. But acdc took no prisoners and just killed it that night. Van halen was way to pop for the rock crowd.

On 1978 tour with Journey, their drummer was was still Aynsley Dunbar so he never learned rudiments from Steve Smith as was speculated in the vid

Excellent, Bart!!!

Fantastic!! I'm a guitar player, and I'm lmao 🤣 because we don't know what we are talking about, lol! But I k ow that a band is as good as it's drummer.. alex is one of the most underrated drummers !! Eddie is always praised for his sense of rhythm and swing.. he got it from alex I'm convinced! Great job gentleman

alex &van Haen ,amazing , the two brothers &bass player. david lee Roth upfront singer..

Phil Rudds drum gear!

Thé 1981 kit was a clear vistalite kit that Alex modified by adding white and black (I believe they were fiberglass) strips. I believe Alex talked about that in the 1983 Modern Drummer interview.

One of the things that I’m surprised was never mentioned is how much of a Led Zeppelin fan John Bonham idol he was 15 inch hats 2002 Cymbals Ludwig Drums super phonics snare drum and Bonham and the lighting of the Gong that was done back in 73 Madison Square Garden, I’m sure Alex Got the idea to do his gong the same way

When it shows him in rehearsing that is correct what you said about all the beer cans and crap all over the floor that was just for the picture a friend of mine knows Neil and Neil said yeah we got it all messy looking just for the photo. Also, I agree about Greg Emerson, who helped Alex with his kit. Sadly he passed away, but I heard about the black and white striped ones that he sent the drums out to get fiberglass inside of them to make them a lot stronger and roadworthy, because those acrylics would've cracked like crazy if they didn't put fiberglass inside of them, they wouldn't have lasted that long on the tour. Had they not done that. I haven't seen the part two yet but I'm just telling you from what I know.

I wonder if it's possible that the no name add on silver sparkle drums were from the previous kit and they were re-wrapped? The "Slingerland" drum looks like it could be a 14x14 floor tom.

@44:11 Tama hi hat stand, 14" floor tom. Tama snare stand. Ludwig Hercules throne.

Fire extinguisher was meeting code for commercial venues due to AVH being the trigger man for smoke pots and lighting his gong on fire in the early days before they could afford a proper pyro guy.

EVH is legendary for modifying and breaking apart/building back up his guitars (Frankestrat, etc.) but AVH was just as much a customizer and inventor when it came to drum kits. It must have run in the family.

Vibra-Foamed or Vibra-Fibed? I think the answer is Fibed. Fiberglass. Peart did this with his Tama and Ludwig sets at The Percussion Center - Ft Wayne IN. As far as I know, the only place doing this. Neil explained it as a very thin layer of fiberglass applied to the inside of the shell. But in the photos of Alex's drums it looks like a very thick layer - applied liberally. Maybe they needed that much to get it to bond to the acrylic. Who knows?

Can you do a tommy lee gear next? Or in the future?

That silver sparkle kit needs to be in Cleveland RRHOF😣

THANK YOU

Around 1:10, the word you're looking for with Alex's flexible kick drums is "DUCTING". PIPE.

After listening to this and learning how long the silver sparkle Ludwig set was used......Ludwig should do an AVH signature kit. A Legacy 3ply maple kit With 2 14x26 base drums A 12x8, 13x9, 16x16, and a 16x20 in Silver Sparkle.

Did AVH maybe use Ludwig tom/ft leg mounts on the bass drums, with straight 3/8” rods connecting via the mounts? I thought I saw pictures of such a setup, but it may have not been his drums. But anyway, the tom mount idea holding the drums together would explain how to fit them in cases.. just take them apart

I saw the 1984 tour at Worcester Centrum and I was also 13. I think VH was the first band to play the then new Centrum in ‘82.

Alex, awesme drummer &band.😀🖖👍

You must be an awesome drummer yourself. My favorite era was the Dave era. I liked some Sam stuff though. And the Gary era as well. But anyway, you hit it on the head with Jump! It was POP, but man was it good. The solo timings were awesome. VH is one of a kind. I really like them with Wolfgang too. Too bad Ed is gone. The one guitarist and drummer that remind me of Ed and Al, are Jacob Deraps and Josh Gallagher. Ed and Al, Dave and Mike are one of a kind band.

Amazing he two brothers.

I'm sure we all miss Alex, it would be nice to see him do some interviews. I wish he😎 would come out and talk with us let us know he's all right and everything something, Alex where are you. God bless you we miss you we want to talk to you a bunch of us would love to jam with you as well.

I had a St. George guitar, had no idea they made drums too lol

of all the pedals I have used, the Ghost was the best.

Alex is what Edward was onley on the drums, i miss that band, but i understand Alex, i wish Alex a nice life after VANHALEN, MISSCHIEN ZIE IK JE EEN KEER IN NEDERLAND ALEX NET ALS EDWARD WAS ,BEN,EN BLIJF JIJ DE BESTE GROETJES VAN EEN NEDERLANDSE FAN EN VRIEND GODZEGEN JOU EN DE HELE VANHALEN FAMILIE IK HOOP JE IS TEGEN TE KOMEN IN HOLLAND, TOPPER WE MISSEN JULLIE AFZ.BOR777 ❤❤❤

Awesome dudes! =VH=

I had the chance to buy the “come on baby finish what you started” kit and I passed on it like a fool. 🤷🏼‍♂

I LIKE THE PART ABOUT WHEN YOU WERE 13 AND WANTED TO GO SEE V.H. BUT YOUR MOM SAID THAT YOU WERE TOO YOUNG..THAT PROBABLY HAPPENED TO ALOT OF KIDS AT THAT AGE, ME, I WAS LUCKY THE FIRST BAND I EVER SAW IN 1974 WHEN I WAS 13 WAS THE N.Y. DOLLS IN DOWNTOWN DETROIT. REGARDING V.H. WITH DAVE, I WAS WORKING AS A USHER AT THE THEN NEW JOE LOUIS AREANA IN DETROIT,IN 1983 OR 82' CAN'T REMEMBER.. AND SAW THE DIVER DOWN TOUR- WITH DAVE OF COUSE, AND BEING AN USHER AND HAVING THE RUN OF THE PLACE, I DID GET TO MEET AND TALK TO EDDIE.

great sizes inpper toms toms , floor tom toms.

@1:55:00 Roth was scatting along with them when they recorded it. I have heard it.

That person squatting down in front of bass drum @ 26:35 appears to be singing into a mic... who'd be the singer back then?

All those mic's would have taken up a lot of real estate on the mixing console.

The PA horns in the kick drum used on the 1984, 5150, and OU812 kits...where these just speakers for the electronic triggers?

Rumor has it he had a little car and that's why he removed the bottom heads so they would all fit in his car in the early days lol so you could fit the floor toms inside the kicks lol

This was so good. Would like to know what the shells were on white 1980. Also - 1984 Octobans weren’t even miked/struck? Just for show right?

11:41 😬 … Yes. Yes I am. 😅

Cool

Does anyone know were you can get sound samples of Alex’s drums for my eKit? Preferably from Balance album and tour?

About 25 years ago, I was helping to run sound at the same venue I mentioned before. I think that was one of the two night's Todd played there, and the sound guy I was with told me that if he couldn't find a way to mic the snare on the top or bottom, he'd mic it from the air hole on the side so, maybe that's what's going on with the guy micing the snare from the side.

I've heard that part of the reason for his sound was that the drums were recorded with all of that on them.