Gear Rundown: Mike Wengren
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Gear Rundown: Mike Wengren

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He began playing the drums at the age of ten, but didn’t take it seriously until his mid-teens. In 1994, he started what would eventually become Disturbed with the only other ever-present member of the band, guitarist Dan Donegan. Originally named Brawl it wasn’t until the addition of vocalist David Draiman that the band renamed themselves, and upon releasing the hugely successful The Sickness in 2000, they became one of the biggest names in heavy metal.

 

Wengren cites a lot of the ‘old school’ bands as influences: Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Black Sabbath. He has a special admiration for Bill Ward (Black Sabbath) because of the space that the drummer uses between riffs. In an article with Drum Magazine, he stated: “I actually got a chance to meet Bill Ward a few years back and we talked a lot about jazz drumming. He is known for being the drummer of one of the heaviest bands of all time and it turns out he’s a jazz guy, I think Sabbath is probably the best example of using space in between the riffs. They’re probably known for being one of, if not the heaviest band in the world, ever.”

 

When it comes to his drum kit of choice, the Pearl Reference Series is the only kit for the heavy metal drummer. This kit is made to create Wengren’s desired drum sound, with each part of the kit engineered to create perfection within it’s tonal range and diameter. Each drum shell uses maple as its only material because it provides well balanced tone while the snare uses 6 inner plies of Birch combined with 14 outer plies of maple. This creates a 20 ply shell that allows for plenty of volume without restricting the snares clarity of sound, essential to sound of Disturbed.

 

KIT:

Pearl Reference Series
Custom Design by Nub Graphix
 

22×18 bass drum x 2 
10×8 tom
12×9 tom 
14×11 tom 
16×14 tom 
18×16 tom 
14×6.5 snare drum
14×6.5 steel Reference snare drum

 

HARDWARE:

Pearl DR501E drum rack x 2 
Pearl DR501 rack extension x 2 
Pearl RJ50 rack joint x 2 
Pearl PCX100 clamps x 12 total 
Pearl CH1000 cymbal arm x 12 
Pearl S2000 snare stand x 1 
Pearl P2000C pedal x 2 
Pearl BW100 beater weights 
Pearl H2000 hi-hat stand x 1 
Pearl D2000BR throne x 1 
Pearl TH2000I tom arm x 2 
Pearl TH2000S tom arm x 2 
Pearl TX100 tube extender x 2 
Pearl CLH1000 closed hi-hat 
Pearl HA100 HH/BD attachment 
Pearl AX25L adapter 
Pearl PCL100 rack post clamp

 

CYMBALS:

14″ Sabian AA MetalX Hi-Hats
12″ Sabian AA MetalX Splash
12″ Sabian Chopper
18″ Sabian AA MetalX Crash
19″ Sabian AA MetalX Chinese
19″ Sabian AA MetalX Crash
19″ Sabian AA Rock Crash
19″ Sabian AAXtreme Chinese
23″ Sabian OverRide
15″ Sabian AA MetalX Hi-Hats
18″ Sabian AA Rock Crash
17″ Sbaian AA Rock Crash