The Youtuber gives us a rundown of his drum setup.
Luke Holland is a drum virtuoso for the digital age. His YouTube channel offers some of the best drum related content on the web right now, while his dazzling displays of technical proficiency and genre bending remixes have earned him a reputation as one of the most expressive drummers going at the moment.
When it comes to his overall kit, Luke likes to keep it simple, save for a few custom touches to his mostly stock DW collector series kit (see: Rose Gold hardware!). His cymbals, on the other hand, really have a life of their own.
We recently caught up with Luke on tour, where he was more than happy to show us his secret sauce to covering so much stylistic ground, so effortlessly.
Read up on all the latest interviews, features and columns here.
Snare
14 x 6.5 DW Maple Snare w/ Remo Powerstroke 77 (coated) heads
“With DW, I’m one of their guinea pigs for stuff they’ve never done before. For the last couple of years, I’ve been playing my one of a kind maple DW Collector Series snare. It’s the only one in the world with rose gold hardware. With most sessions that I’m playing these days, they are after my feel more than anything and that’s why I tend to go with maple, it’s versatile enough that I can tweak it to get basically any sound I need. I can really tighten it up or I can loosen it for a fatter sound. Maple just seems to be the most versatile for that kind of thing… It’s also 2020, so that snare sound will often be sample-replaced to fit whatever the song needs.”
Toms
DW Collector Series w/ Rose Gold hardware (custom)
“If it’s clear toms, I’m normally running Powerstroke 4’s and for coated it’s always vintage Emperor. I kind of change between clear and coated depending on what I’m doing or whatever sound I’m going for at the time.”
Kick
DW Collector Series Kick Drum w/ Rose Gold hardware (custom)
“22 x 18 for the Kick, always. I pretty much never stray from that size. I’ve always ran a single kick….never had any temptation to run two. The idea of tuning two kicks so they sound good together… fuck that. Also, I just personally think it looks retro as fuck.”
Hi-Hats/Cymbals
14” Meinl Pure Alloy Traditional Hi-Hats
“I use so many different Meinl Hats, but more often than not it’s the 14” Pure Alloys that I’m running when we are filming. I’ll occasionally switch it up if I’m doing rap stuff or something with a different vibe, but more often than not it’s the Alloys. They are just my first point of call during set-up.”
18” Byzance Dual Crash
“My kit has a lot of different crashes which I use depending on what the song calls for or what effect I’m going for in that particular moment. I’m primarily running a 18” Byzance Foundry Reserve Crash and a 19” Byzance Traditional Medium Thin Crash. At the very least. I’ve also got a 10” Byzance Dual splash that has also been getting a lot of use lately.”
Meinl Artist Series Luke Holland Bullet Stack
“I love this guy. Abrasive but musical. Perfect for when you need to cut and make a point. I use it to accentuate grooves or fills, or as a timekeeper. It’s as quick as a bullet and hurts like one too. What I love about the Bullet Stack is that no matter how quickly you need it to be present it’s there and then it disappears. Always delivers.”
Check out Luke Holland’s YouTube channel for more.
