MIKE MANGINI - DREAM THEATER Masterworks Kit Walkthrough 

Gotta love a guy who calls his rocket toms "Hamster Tubes".

Those cymbals are higher than my self-esteem

Who else was waiting for him to play it

His work on Distance Over Time was absolutely incredible.

His single small Tom alone probably costs more than my entire kit

I just love how nice of a guy Mike Mangini seems to be. "I recommend you try it- put a floor tom on your left side to get that big boom- might be fun"

3:50 Don't feel so bad guys, even Mangini uses ZBTs.

Mike is such a cool humble guy, I'm going to see dream theater next month, so excited 🤘🤘

Amazing Drummer, amazing band, and of course amazing DRUMS!

Mangini is a superb player. When I was young my dream drum set would be a huge contraption like Mangini’s, but now. A 5 piece birch 10” tm, 12” tm, 13” sn, 14” ftm, and 18” kick would fulfill all of my dreams and desires while continuing to disturb my neighbors :-)

Why I went with Pearl: There's a lot of great drum makers out there. Seriously. Yamaha, Tama, Sonor, DW...they all make outstanding drums. But Pearl--Pearl is the only company that is NEVER SATISFIED. Always improving something. Always developing. Never resting on their laurels. Everyone who plays Pearl Drums: "there's no way these drums or hardware could be any better." Pearl: "hold our beer..."

The finish on those drums is just absolutely gorgeous... if I ever get a masterworks I’ll be getting it in that exact finish

Beautiful kit Beautiful set-up Beautiful Man

Hearing Mike play live in the room with no mics is amazing. He has tremendous power and control. Every note is played with such conviction and energy. He's the man.

I own a 2002 Pearl Session Custom all maple 6 piece kit in cranberry fade. The drums are in excellent condition and sound awesome! Pearl drums for life!

Love this! We definitely needed more video content with Mike Mangini. Thanks, Pearl!

WOW those drums are gorgeous! I first heard of Mike when my old boss Coburn Pharr played me some demo's he did with Mike for a band called Kindred that they had at the end of their early 90's time in the band Annihilator. I first saw Mike PLAY with the band Tribe of Judah sometime around The Year Two Thousand and he blew my mind. Saw him a little later do a clinic at a drum show and he was just bananas good. So happy for him when he got the DT gig.

Chops like that, resume like that, but most importantly seems like just the nicest most sincere person.

I'm so happy to be part of the same drum family as master Mangini himself! Pearl for life!

I've watched dozens upon dozens of "kit walkthroughs" and this by far has been one of the most enjoyable and most eloquently described ones I've come across. Mike knows his kit inside and out and speaks very well of the Pearl brand. I currently have some odd and ends Pearl hardware and the Mimic Pro module. I might have to take a gander at a full kit someday soon!

Mike's the man! Just got his DVD titled the Grid a few days ago and it was hands down the most honest, most educational instructional video I ever saw.

Mike Mangini is awesome! Met him in 2019 in Atlanta after the show. Very humble human being.

Another reminder for Pearl, make a pedal like Mike has that allows us to place the bass in the middle. Not only does it allow us to position toms differently and lower depending on kick size but it’s easier to match the slave pedals to feel the same. Having a regular double pedal, the slave is always lagging compared to main pedal. I don’t know why more people haven’t done this yet.

Yeah the masterworks series is like driving a lambo. Ive had my masterworks kit for about 3 years now and not only are they amazing on tour but in the studio its the most fluid sounding kit ive ever owned. Ive been with pearl drums for the last 7 years but playing pearl for over 15 years. Best kits on the market hands down

I love watching gear rundown videos, I’m not even a drummer but these fascinate me. I do feel like Mangini constantly in his run throughs or interviews is constantly in a state of defending his choices. Maybe it’s a just a personality thing or maybe he reads too much RU-vid comments, but either way just something I noticed with him

He’s not kidding about the floor toms really hooking you. I got a pearl floor Tom for christmas when I was like 10 years old and it is still my favorite drum on my kit

The climax of my love for music 2010 when my favorite band of all time hired my favorite drummer of all time Mike the master Mangini.... Thank you so much Mike and the dream team for all the amazing beautiful music you have created I am forever grateful

Pearl hardware never fails you. On my big kit i have 8", 10", 12", 14" toms on top and they don't even wiggle. Same pearl rack for 16 years. I dare any other company to make something that durable because it's not good for profit, it does show a love for us drummers though

I’m not even a drummer... but he had met full attention lol I love dream theater

This is hands down the best looking kit I've ever seen, from the finish to the layout of all the drums and cymbals. This is perfect

It would be great if Mangini did a playthrough with one of the D/T songs to hear the kit at its full potential :) (similar to what he did in the Zildjian -The Enemy Inside video)

I met Mike briefly a decade or more ago and he was a nice man and fun to be around. I respect him. Pearl I’ve had my pros and cons with them but the Pearl Mimic Pro and Icon rack are the best. Also many companies offer few or no expansion options on their budget friendly kits but Pearl does. I can buy the base Pearl Export and get almost all the sizes I need (toms and basses) at a friendly price unlike other companies. If I ever need a acoustic kit instead of my electronic kit I will buy Pearl Export since I am tight with money and will like to have what I need and not be tied to a certain kit size. Now I would like to see a Pearl pedal like Mike Mangini has so I can place my bass in the middle and lower the toms more for comfort.

Amazing awesome... best of the best ..great guy.. brought DT to a bigger dimension.

This drumset looks really amazing!!!

Freaking coolest guy EVER!! The Epitome of class! Thanks Mike!

I keep watching this video over and over! Something about this particular rig that I really dig. Nothing like Pearl Drums 🥁!!!

A "Monster" on drums!! Congrats Pearl for support a genius

"...I recommend you try it..." Yup, just as soon as my LP goes platinum!

An insanely cool set up

This guy is really a perfeccionist. He goes deep on explaining and taking care of everything he does and sets for the kit and songs.

Such a great drummer and a great ambassador for drumming, in general! Thanks for posting this!

He’s right about pearl’s floor toms. Other companies have racks, snares, kicks, that I like more...but there’s just something about pearl’s floor toms. They’re massive but defined and controlled. I don’t know how they do it.

When we saw him in DC with DT, after a 3 hr long concert, he merely asked how the Capitals were doing thru James's mic

Absolutely beautiful finish on the kit.

seen him 4 times with DT and he blows me away every time!

I'm starting to love this guy. Such a cool drummer.

Happiest man in drumming!!

Great to see you Happy Mike. Your a legend

What are the background songs?

I can't say I have a favorite drum brand because all of the brands are different and I've played a lot of great drums from many of them, but I can say with 100% certainty that if I were to go with a fully custom drum set, it would be a Pearl drum set. They prove time and time again that they can do just about anything and they really care about the needs of the individual player. Loving Mangini's setup!! Just wish we got a video of him playing this kit or had a DT song in the background.

I really like the color of his drum kit!!!!!!!!!! 😃👍

I've played a competitor company drums since 2004, but I use a pearl piccolo 13x3.5 in snare as a accent snare. That little drum has stood the test of time. I have thought many times about switching over to Pearl, financial issues have stopped me. ☹️. Top notch drum company.

I can’t wait to hear this kit again in 2 weeks!

The Tom toms on the new record have so much tone and perfect attack. 😀 his sound is perfrect

Stunning, Mike!

Loved my Prestige Session Series kit from 1996. Birch and Mahogany shells. Fantastic sounding drums. Hands down the best sounding drums you can own.

Mike is a God on drums...

I use the eliminator double pedal and I like it more than the demon drive (due to my style, it's an individual thing, I think) and I begun to use a floor Tom on both sides. It's amazing!!

Simply WOW...love it!!cool drumkit ...amazing drummer..

Mike is just on another level....... like off planet kinda level....

Mike thank you awesome kit .

I just saw DT last night!!! Great drumming MM

This dude is just a legend

I play a 4 piece kit with 5 cymbals but this looks so fun XD

Love you Mangini!

Pearl.. the best reason to play drums.

Can't wait to see it up close(ish) next month!

I have seen this guy in clinic twice. Once in Auckland New Zealand and once in Rotorua New Zealand.

An utterly outstanding drummer, who rightfully plays in this majestic band. By the way, I think it's safe to say that the cost of the whole drum kit is a five-digit number.

Man, what a beautiful drums! The sound must be powerfull (Cara, que bateria linda. O som deve ser poderoso )🤘😎

Pearl: Mike how tall do u want your cymbals??! Mangini: Yes please!!!!!

beautiful

Jesus that kit is stunning

Pearl drums my dreams! 😍😍😍

we will miss u mike m

Very,very gorgeous Mike. What a complete Masterpiece...DT4Ever

October 17th, Chattanooga tenn, I cannot wait for concert!

Amazing drummer and amazing kit Pearl the best reason why I play drums 💪🥁

Can see and be seen...🤘 i really love your play on extreme album

Those reference snare are the best I have played, and my pearl masters mahogany just sound so good

Go and watch Mike’s Home Depot bucket drum kit solo. It’s on RU-vid from their visit to Boston earlier this year. Mike’s a 10th degree black belt grandmaster drummer!!!

Cool video! Would love to hear and see some pro footage of Mike playing this kit. 😇 I’d like to know the artist from the music in the background, anybody knows it? Sounds great.

What song is this?

Where the heck is the "Love" button on here?!? VERY thankful for this video!!!

I like that he’s sliming the kit down

Still have my Pearl birch kit from ‘89......sequoia red finish.....still looks and sounds great!!

Speaking of hybrid snares, Larnell Lewis uses one as a floor tom. He has an Evans hydraulic batter head on it and he tunes it lower than his rack toms but higher than his proper floor tom. He gets good sound out of it for such a low tuning. Good idea to have a high tom hybrid snare. Probably easier to tune in relation to the bigger toms than a hybrid snare/floor tom.

Mike's drumset is like a stage within a stage. Watch out for lasers!!

This kit, alike the player, is a MONSTER

My first real drumset , which I still have, a 1989 Export series in Ferrari Red. 5 pc with power toms. Swapped out the snare for a larger free floating black maple snare. 1st Gen DR1 rack. I believe I have mot of the original hardware. I have routinely climbed up on the rack for whatever reason. And I have watched the bass roll down a flight of stairs a few times. It's been a while since I played, but with Evans heads and a little TLC, that drumset still sounds ok. Pearl makes a great product. If I ever get back into playing, I'd consider a new Pearl set.

I saw you recently in Charleston. Still blown away.

Gong drums are just... they're just wonderful

Great drums! Keep it up sir Mike Mangini! Goodluck and Godbless you and DT... Btw, sir admin, may i know the name of the background song? Or maybe the artist? Thank you.

You got me at hello. I mean, at "This is MM from DT" ❤

Being a drummer ut nothing lol like this master I do say this kit is my all time favorite of his .

The Grandmaster!!! Mike Mangini!!!

I too use the Reference Snare 14x6.5 with 20 Ply (14 Maple + 6 Birch ) shells in piano black finish with chrome hardware 😎😎😎 and hands down to say it’s the best snare I have ever used in my entire life of 10 Years of my drumming career . Thanks to #PEARL drums for making the best products out there for the drummers... CHEERS 😎😎😎

Your are the Best drumer at the world !

More info and visual of your pedal set up