A Look at Lars Ulrich's Gear (Part 1) with Chris Russio
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- čas přidán 27. 08. 2023
- Chris and I take a deep dive into each and every kit that Lars used since he was a little kid and received mix and match kit from his Grandmother, up to the iconic Damaged Justice tour kit with the monkey strapped to the front from 1988. We discuss his sticks, heads, pedals, hardware, and each and every drum set including the Camco's that got stolen! Part 1 covers from the beginning through the 80's, and Part 2 will pick up with the 90's through to today. Lars Ulrich and Metallica are hard rock icons and this deep dive gear episodes will give you an even greater appreciation of one of the most famous drummers in history!
Keep up with Metallica at www.metallica.com
and check out Chris on Instagram @ChrisRZ28
Thanks to Boom Theory for sponsoring this episode, learn more about the Ice Series Snare here: boomtheorycorp
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The grey Tama kit and the white Tama kit are legendary for me. My dream kits for sure.
Absolutely - Iconic!
I may be able to help make that dream happen if interested. I was selling the white kit (Granstar II 9piece kit) but after this vlog I'm rethinking my piece of history 🤘🏼
Our drummer has the White one… ITS AWSOME, definitely worth the find
Nice!
The rack toms had their bottom heads cut out as requested by Metallica's audio engineer. This is discussed in a feature article with Ulrich in a 1987 copy of Modern Drummer. Definitely recommended reading.
The One video with the kit he has in the background, black reso heads and mirror batter heads where you could see his reflection is what made me want to play drums. That grey kit and the black and white kit from the Black Album tour went so hard
Please do the part 2 asap. And a studio version,odds n ends would be great. 1 hour...2 hours...3 hours....we all watch. A 3 hour podcast is nothing. Just ask Rick beato, everyone says his hour and a half interviews are way too short, and I always comment saying "make these interviews 6 hours long". Don't be afraid bart, beef these up! They will be a great treasure trove when the ppl finally stumble upon this great channel
With Lars history on drums I fully agree with you
This is a video I've wanted for easily 12 years ! When I was getting started with drums I tried to find out everything I could about these kits! So hard to find info on these! Bravo!
Thanks for the kind words, Rock on Marvin!
Same here 100% . So glad it happened and hope everyone enjoys it
Thank you so much for making this! I've always really wanted someone to finally make a video covering his iconic setup over the years. I even own an Artstar II because of Lars, but nobody seems to talk about just how kickass his whole look was
Yup I totally heard you in regard to nobody seems to be talking about how f'in fire that kit w/ stilt stands look was. I started thinking I was the only person appreciating that classic time.
Hey Fellows, dope topic & interview. I'm a huge Lars fan also and I still own a 9 Piece Granstar II in white from that era courtesy of "Ulrich Marketing." For clarity, the Tama Granstar II is an All Birch Kit and the Artstar II is an All Maple kit. I stared at the 1992/93 Tama Drums Marketing Catalogue on my wall for years before I bought the Lars endorsed entire 9 piece kit w/ hardware. The STILT system and counter weights on those beefy stands is SO METAL! The greatest Thrash Metal era looking & performing cymbal stands in my opinion. If Lars hears or sees this episode we'd love him to chime in on any specifics. Yo Chris Russio we need to chat Drums bro. Cheers drum fam! 🤘🏼
I’d love to watch a video of Lars watching this video and giving commentary! Lol. Great work, really fascinating. Thanks
Now thats a great idea. I'd love that too
Really well done and detailed. I’ve always been interested in Lars’s kits and how they’ve evolved. Good work
So glad this episode is out. I have been looking for information on his kits and have been listening to them a lot.
This is a really fun one - thanks for watching and enjoying the show!
I always loved the sound of his Kill ‘Em All era kit and I never realized it’s a Camco kit. No wonder it sounded so good!
Thank you guys, I have been literally waiting for a discussion and history on this for 20+ years. Love the content
FYI- Taken from Rei on November 25, 2006, DRUMMER CAFE
"Chances are that they are birch. Granstar, Granstar Custom, and Granstar II.
All of them were birch, the Granstar had 45 degree edges and 8 plys of birch with a wrap. Granstar Custom had 8 plys of birch 90 degree (butter) edges and a lacquer finish. Granstar II had 7 plys of birch 45 degree edges and a wrap.
Superstars in the 80s where either birch, or birch/mahogany (also known as the "SuperMahogany" series). Artstars were Cordia or Cordia/Birch (Artstar I), or Maple (Artstar II, Artstar ES).
Now, where it gets confusing is that the Granstar/Artstar/Starclassic series is handmade, and available for custom order. Tama released a short series of Granstar II's that were maple because of the demand created by lars and his Artstar II set with Granstar lugs. This eventually became the Artstar ES (Artstar shells/Granstar hardware.) Also, people could special order this Granstar configuration.
The good news is that most of the granstars were wrapped, and all the maple granstar II (outside of one-off special orders) were lacquer finish. So, if it is a lacquer finish with granstar II on the badge, there is a slim chance of it being maple. Otherwise, assume it is birch.
Realise too, that the birch in the 80s superstars is (according to the Tama catalog) 'select grade' birch, and the birch in the granstars is 'finish grade' birch.
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I thought this was good info for the wood NERDS in us drummers - DM
The "T" shape tape on the bottom of the drum heads is likely a reference to the Danish flag.
That seems right to me - very cool!
I’m 51 years old now I started playing the drums back in 1978 at the age of six. I know being a big Neil Peart fan I notice he changed from a double bass drum to a double pedal on the roll the bones album which was in 1991 and that was pretty new back then.
Awesome pod! Can't wait for part 2!
Neil and Lars are the two drummers that have influenced me the most, really glad to see both get covered on this channel! I was able to fulfill a dream a couple years ago and acquire one of the 25 Artstar II replicas 😁
dude - that is awesome! I would love to hear the story man, how'd it happen?
@@DrumHistoryPodcast I wish it was a more exciting story, I just had a chance encounter with the original owner on Facebook. We got in touch July 2020 and I made the drive from Cincinnati to central PA to pick the kit up a few weeks later. He said it spent about 10 years stored away until he decided it was time to pass it on. He had all the period correct cymbals and hardware too which I unfortunately couldn't swing at the time, a fact which still kills me to this day, but I am stoked beyond words to own the kit itself complete with Lars' signature inside of all 9 shells!
Same here. Neils Red Tama and Lar's White Tama kits are my 2 favorites of all time.
That is great, congrats brother! @@drummerdan95
It would be awesome if you could do a follow up show with the artist themselves and go over what you got right and what was missed. Love the channel 👍
... And Justice for All, Is the "Citizen Kane" of how metal should sound. Lars was a visionary of the time. ~AMEN.
I'd love a Charlie Benante episode. I always tried to figure out his kits as a kid
Great idea! I wonder if Charlie would be interested in doing it - he seems like a gear guy
@@DrumHistoryPodcast also try to do Dave Lombardo and Paul Bostaph, both from Slayer...they both had huge kits with lots of drums and cymbals over the years, so those would be interesting and fun talks and discussions.
THEY'RE TAMA
YOUR WELCOME
I’m interested to hear about Charlie’s drums. He’s a beast of a drummer
@@drumtwo4seven well that settles it
This is great.
That looked like a Slingerland Sound King snare in the pic you discussed.
As for the Zolacoat … Tama Swingstar also had it.
Back to the episode… awesome !
The Ludwig kit in question appears to be an early 80's Ludwig Classic. The badges are blue & olive w/the rounded corners instead of pointy which was indicative of the early 80's. It wouldn't have been an SL/Rocker because of the Classic lugs on the drums and the fact that the kicks have 10 lugs instead of the 8 lug layout found on the SL/Rocker kicks.
The hardware is still Yamaha.
I agree. The lug counts make it clearly early 80s classics. And as for the badges, yes, stage lighting can throw things off - but those badges look blue/olive, not black/white.
Speaking of the medium thin crashes, when I saw them in '86 on their Damage Inc Tour in Providence, RI, I could swear his drum tech replaced at least two crash cymbals during the concert while Lars was playing. The details are a bit fuzzy now, but that left a lasting impression on me. Blew my mind, really.
Zildjian Medium Thins were always the best of their crashes IMO, but when I was a hard-hitter (aka an adolescent idiot with bad crash technique), I just went right through them. I do still own an 18" Medium which still survives from that time. It sounds okay for either light riding or a huge fff crash accent, but I suffer the occasional urge to throw it up on the lathe for some shaving, as there's no usable middle ground.
Stick handler is the brand is the brand he always used. They made for hockey players. The white tape stick on the edges of green tape are by Band-Aid Co, which he also taped his fingers.
Camco.... 1960's originally from Illinois, then moved to California in the 70's. was purchased by both DW and Tama in the late 70's. DW keep their machines and inventory, Tama got the name and their patents.
Love all of these old photos of Lars and these kits over the years.
In like '90, I scored a Tama catalog...and obsessed over Lars' Granstar kit... For months, I'd look through that catalog...obsessing! Went a lot of different directions since...but still love that Granstar kit! Like the one behind Chris in this video! Props!
Awesome documentary thanks for this hard work finding out so much metal history behind Lars drum kits.
Hey guys - we talk about this a little bit in Part 2 but Regal Tip is back in business! www-regaltip-com.myshopify.com/
Thank you this was interesting to listen to.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Gotta love anybody who looks like Dimebag.. Chris seems like a real cool guy, we’d definitely jam together. 🤘🏼✌🏼
You gotta do one on Vinny Paul, Pantera
Another wonderful episode with yet another fantastic guest.
Thank you Terry! Chris did a great job
Love this! Dude, the folded up duct tape is known as the "accordion" fold, a classic pre moongel muffler.
Thanks Gregory! Good to know about the accordion fold. I have used it many times but didn't know about the name.
Excellent conversation!
Thanks Rob!
The Ludwig kit...the pictures shown looks like the badge has the blue/olive tint to it, which would indicate the Classic series. Also, they have the classic lugs on them. Although you could special order Rocker series with the classic lugs. However, the inside of the toms show a clear maple finish which would further indicate the Classic series as all of the Rocker series came with the grey-speckled Granitone coating. The first pic shown with the Ludwig kit shows the right bass drum with a black shell interior and the left one with the clear maple interior. Maybe Lars was working on painting the interior of the bass drums black too?
I know he excuses his lack of knowledge by saying, I'm not a Ludwig guy, but all these things take a quick google search. Great stuff on the other TAMA stuff, but come on, that's a lay up.
Lars said he didn’t like the ride cymbals because he liked the more of a fat sound from the hats
As a bass player who loved the Neil Peart series you did - this is another outstanding job. The attention to detail is an A++, the host has an awesome personality & asks the right questions & the expert, as in the Neil Peart series, explains things very concise & clear.
So stoked to listen/watch to this 🤘
Thanks man!
Awesome! Drum history making history!
Great stuff! Wow thanks! I've seen other drummers customize their drum riser with small "U" shaped wood blocks or plastic blockers screwed into the deck in front of the bass drum spurs.
I remember when i first heard Kill Em All. I always listen to new music with an ear to where it's coming from geographically; England, NYC, Los Angeles, etc. But listening to that first release of music i thought that they were from Eastern Europe or Russia. East Germany perhaps. I never guessed San Francisco/LA.
Great video! As a Lars fanboy, i love anything to do with the gear he used. Look forward to the next video with a kit thats very familiar 🤟😉
Since a while Regal tip sticks are back. The Porcaro sticks are available like regular A5 sticks etc. About others like Ulrich there was no info om the RT site
This has to be the ULTIMATE gear geek out!
The picture show around the 17:41 mark clearly shows a pair of Tama King Beat bass drum pedals while the hi hat stand is definitely a Yamaha.
I noticed on the Seattle 89 live show the same issue (as the white & black snare drums) Jason's bass changes back & forth mid song haha.
The front bass heads on the chrome kit are Ebony PinStripes.
That kit is also when he started using PinStripes on his toms and bass drum batters.
Awesome Chris ! Good job. Represent !!
Great episode Bart. The Ludwig set Lars is using is likely an early 80's classic set as it has B/O badges, six ply maple shells and mufflers over the badges. This is indeed a top of the line Ludwig set for its day. The Rockers were introduced around 1984 but those had a black and white badges on them and the older style lugs that were seen on Standard drums from the late 60's into the early 70's. You can clearly see the B/O badges with the rounded corners in these pictures. Black was probably the most popular color in the early 80's. I am also seeing Slingerland late 70's hardware on the toms, unless of course that live picture I am seeing during the Ludwig discussion is still the borrowed Slingerland set.
This is so much fun to watch, not a big fan of Lars cause I grew up in the millennium but he’s definitely killing back in those days, I can see why people are obsessed with him and everything he did and used, now I’m onto the pt.2, keep up the good work man this is just so awesome and amazing, love from Taiwan 🇹🇼
Hi Chris and Bart, great post that I really enjoyed! @Chris: Great respect for your detailed research. Since I've had Metallica in my heart since around 1988 and play drums myself, I was able to confirm a lot of your comments and also learned a lot of new things - thank you for that! However, I noticed one small thing: the drum throne was never discussed in terms of hardware. Do you have any information on this? Or did I miss that? Anyway: Great job!!! And yes, a post about the drum equipment in the studios would be interesting! (Especially for Zildjian and Tama ;-) ) Cheers from Cologne/Germany \m/
Nice video guys......lots of questions have been answered about this guy back in the day.....
Yes!!! 🙏 Thank You!!!
Enjoyed this. Thnx.
I think that spray in the Ludwig Rocker 2 was called "granitone".
I think you are right!
I will say this I am a Gretsch drums guy and I knew the rep in New York a bit and is our conversation about Gretsch he said Lars shells are Gretsch with Tama hardware put on them. I mean he did play Gretsch on the black album which you clearly see in the nothing else matters recording session.
That is very interesting. A Lars conspiracy theory. Thanks for listening and dropping that information!
Lars' Dad was a pro tennis player, and he was walking in those footsteps. Arguably, he may have made some money playing tennis (??) At least enough to buy that Camco kit?? Cool breakdown, looking forward to part 2!
His stick of choice when it was wood, was A Regal Tip 5B. There are ads in the early 90s. Whether or not he used them in '81, I dont know. He may have used Dean Markley sticks when they were making sticks in the 80's and there was most likely a guitar string/drumstick deal.
I agree, love to angle the upper toms & lower floor tom toms.
Awesome video. Great info on Lars Ulrichs drum kits. Along with Bonzo and the professor,
Neil Peart. I wonder if Chris is aware of the Master of Puppets kit, the chrome plated with the burgundy hoops. And if it's the same one that's at the Cliff Burton museum in Sweden. May have been donated?
Something I was not aware of and definitely want to look into now. Thank you for bringing that up!
@@ChrisrZ28 The Cliff Burton Museum is in Berga Sweden. Just north of Ljunby on Google maps.
Just in case you didn't know where the museum was.
I found a picture of the stolen Camco kit online.
To me It's pretty clear that the lugs on reso side of the bass drum are different from the ones on the batter side. It must've been very hard to find and buy a matching Camco Renaissance single bass drum in 1983. That's why I think the added bass drum most likely was from another brand, and my guess is a Tama Superstar. The lugs in the picture looks like the same lugs used on Superstar/Imperialstar. And the hole spacing is the same as on the Camco kit. The hardware, spurs and bracket are also the same. He probably swapped the lugs so the bass drums would look the same. That might've been the reason for the refinish in the first place?
I don't think the Ludwig kit was an SL/Rocker- the badge looks like a blue/olive, the lugs are full size classic lugs, and the kick drums have 10 lugs per head. The SL/Rockers would have had a badge with black on the left and white on the right, mini classic lugs, and 8 lug kicks.
I used to Draw his kits in the mid 80's in Hi Sckool I actually found one a few years ago. I've always enjoyed his playing 🤘
Really cool video guys. I accidentally stumbled on it learning so much about one of my favorite bands. Always loved the look of power Toms. Love the drum knowledge. It makes me wonder what my first drum kit was and I sold it for dirt cheap. It was a grey pearl with serial numbers on every drum. Each Tom had an adjustable muffle pad built in the shell. The inside of the shell was painted a very light green almost resembling a rough particle board wood. Shallow Tom depths and very easy to tune because of that
With the stuffed orangutan, i recall Lars saying in an interview that it was Flemming Larsen (RIP) who gave it to him; and (may have) put it on the kit, so it stayed there for a long time.
Thanks for the detailed episodes, and for giving so much respect to Lars! He is my biggest musical inspiration. Lars, Dave Lombardo and Billy Cobham are the reason i wanted to play Tamas (which i finally have, after many, many years of playing other people's drums). i'm not a gear nerd either, but the white Artstar II is my dream set.
Be well...
Awesome Chris. Represent !!!
To me the bass drum pedals on the painted Camco double bass kit look like Tama Kingbeat pedals. Compression spring design. I have one - they feel really nice to play.
In that first picture the Premier tom would have been an 8x12 "Pre International" size, which would make the Pearl tom next to it either another 8x12 or a 9x13. No manufacturers were doing 9x12 and 10x13 back in the 60's.
Lars may have been influenced by Kim Ruzz of Mercyful Fate for using Rototoms.
Ride the Lightning CD cover says Lars Ulrich plays Tama drums exclusively right at the bottom under the “Europe” thanks and the Mexican food etc below.
I’m a 50 year old drummer who still has my first and only kit, had it for 29 years and it’s an 8 piece old 70’s model Tama. Setup basically like the white Justice kit. You can learn about drums by the lugs too, the shape and style, size etc. Something for you to help with your drum knowledge 😎
1:07:15 I own that snare. It's an 8x14 Artwood Heavy Birch AW438. Quite a bit thicker than the standard birch. Also, what is referred to as a "Chrome King Beat" is most likely an Imperialstar 8056 with Mastercraft throw-off rollers. King Beat would signify a parallel action throw-off mechanism, which did exist with the same lugs in a 6.5x14" size. Both drums are chrome over steel, just for pedantic purposes :) If I can find a pic of the throw-off on any of his steel drums, I can confirm which model it is.
It looks like his "Granstar Custom" is likely a regular Granstar with custom paint, due to the interior of the shells being natural birch. All Granstar Customs, except for Lipstick Red, had matching interiors. The badges would help tell the tale. Granstar Custom badges were cast, all silver, and the Granstar badges were much flimsier and had black and silver.
The Slingerland snare you guys discussed might be a chrome over brass snare. Basically the larger version of the Gene Krupa cob signature snare they made which was a 5x14 and the one lars has looks like 6.5x14. Shout out to @Rogersdrumvideos on the snare info!
I agree. It was also called the Soundking snare I believe...I have had both the 5x14 and 6,5x14 version of that and what great snares they are!
Interesting - I had begun to wonder if I might be imagining this - but I went back and read Lars' first Modern Drummer story (1987). In the equipment section with Flemming Larson, it was stated that Lars' tom heads were transparent Ambassadors. I thought I'd remembered reading that. But I have never seen any photos which revealed that to be the case. On another note, I'd always wondered which heads were used for the recording of Master of Puppets. My guess would be either CS or Pinstripes.
Yes. Great interview MD 87. Clear ambassadors where definitely used during this time period but only as a reso rack tom head and they where cut/ported. To answer your MOP studio question, the one known photo of the back side of the kit during that session shows pinstripes on the rack tom batters and kick drum batters. Hope this helps you out a bit
HOLY COW!! I grew up playing a Tama King Beat direct drive pedal and was a huge Lars fan but had no idea he used the same until now, almost 30 years later. So cool.
Thats awesome, you were in good company :)
What color did you use to replicate your damaged justice kit?
In the early years he said he played camco chain drive pedals. It was in the 87 modern drummer article. I bought them because of that article. Yep, I still have them!!!!
I got a regal tip off Lars ( unused) backstage on May 4th 1989 at Festival Hall in Melbourne on their Justice tour. I have it framed along with a signed justice album by all the members, backstage pass and unused ticket. Mint ! 👌
I’m a guitarist and closet drummer and massive Metallica gear head. Thoroughly enjoyed this and looking forward to the rest of this series. Subbed
Thanks man - I just subbed to you, you are a monster player
Very kind. Cheers buddy
what kind of drum throne does lars use, and would you give it a sniff?
Haha thats a good question. I think Chris does mention the model number of the throne in part 2. We unfortunately did not discuss sniffing it :)
I was hoping they would talk about the South America 1989 flame kit (or what looked like a flame finish)
My favorite kit sound was and justice for all. probably the best sounding drums I've ever heard in my life! and from any band period! I wish they would've stayed right there! and I also like the kits around that time as well.. but that album is the thickest heaviest unique sounding albums and drumming I've ever heard of!? It really was a big deal in my life anyway.
Same here. Those musical discovery times are certainly stuck without a chance of loss in my mind.
Yeah they really should've stopped messing with shit at that point. That was a great kit, as well as the black album. After that, he started messing with it too much, and taking too much away.
The behind the kit shot at 31:26 you can see that there isn't a 3" difference in diameter between the last rack tom (which is known to be a 15") and the first floor tom. Those floors are 16" and 18" which would have been consistent with the XTRAS 50+4B 8934B configuration.
Thanks for all the great info Mike - I appreciate you watching and adding to the conversation
Not necessarily. That angle could be a tad deceiving.
@@brownhooque I work with scale and ratio as a finish carpenter and often have to determine things like this based off of designers renderings and photos. I've gotten pretty good at figuring these things out taking into consideration angles/perspectives of photos.
I got to do a record with producer Steve Thompson, many years ago. We were all huge Metallica fans and quizzed him all we could about that record. The one thing that really stuck out, was that Lars recorded each drum on an individual take, so they were all isolated perfectly with no bleed from cymbals. I am loving your video on his kits. Lars has always been one of my favs.
That makes no sense at all.
THANK YOU RICK!!!
Same chrome snares. Look awesome. Got two.
33:39 Zildjian A's (avedis) regular finish. Platinums did not come out until later. these have a gold tone to them. Platinums were bright silver. Platinums are on the MOP kits
Great video. I didn’t think Lars ever used a King Beat, only Mastercraft versions with the extended wires. Good to know.
Thanks for watching Mike!
What snare used in and justice for all album
?
1970’s Ludwig brass Black Beauty
The chrome Imperialstar kit would have been later in the production of that line, and it wouldn't have had re-rings inside those shells. You'll find the thick re-rings on the early standard depth Imperialstars and I can't say I've ever seen one power depth Imperialstar that's had rings as those sizes came out later in production of that series.
That is correct. Only 1976 to 79(?) had the really heavy reinforcement rings. Yes, and Zola coated….Imperialstar and Swingstar both. I have the same 1976 metallic blue kit as Stewart Copeland…close serial # to his. Incredible sounding drums….Imperialstar. I’m almost certain those Imperialstar kits were all 9-ply Luan(Philippine Mahogany).
In 1980 the reinforcement rings got thinner
Could prices of the 86 Artstar be parts of the kit he used in 95?
Not likely. Completely different lug design between the 2 stage used kits
my Swingstars had the Zola coating in them. jet black shell pack 1985
i have a couple Artstar II toms. 12 and 14. the 14 is very heavy
The snare you're asking about is a Slingerland (20:25)
I had the Cherry Wine Xtras from '84 up until last year. Great drums.
At minute 26:50 the most prominently shown cymbal stand I believe is a Yamaha.
Next - Nicko McBrain!
Love the 70's,80's dtum kits. awesome sounds. & cymbals.
I just looked on google and amazon and there's tonnes of regal tip sticks. Not sure if they were 5bs
Slingerland 3 line brass snare.. sweet. I toured with one for many years until it was beat to death. AKA the Gene Krupa model🤘
I was also told just the other day that the chrome Superstars were re wrapped in London by John Henry’s which is a backline company. Haven’t got any way to validate that though.
Very interesting