Why do people say MM is a machine?

[Stadler]

  I've never heard your music, so I can't comment.  It is not a slam on your musical talent.  I just didn't realize that you were old enough to have a degree.  I thought you were in high school or early college.

Nah I'm 36

Seriously? I really wouldn't have guessed.

Color me surprised too, for whatever that's worth.  (Nothing).

[PixelDream]

Both good drummers, but I really dig MP's style. Just something really cool about it. You can almost tell he loves hiphop in the way that he plays his beats.

[Mosh]

It's not really the funk element I liked so much (though that was great too) but I just find his drumming in Extreme to be far more interesting than most of what he's done in DT so far.

[James Mypetgiress]

Personally, I like Mike better.  Mike just isn't as good.  There are two eras of DT.  DT-Mike and DT-Mike.  One thing I've noticed is Mike has a deeper well to draw from that Mike just can't expect to have.  When I think DT, I think Mike.

Well, I personally think that Mike has more passion for drumming than Mike, although Mike is a better drummer than Mike. At the end of the day, though, Mike is the drummer I grew up with. I love Mike.

[rumborak]

I dunno, I find Mike meshes better with John. That is, whenever Kevin isn't singing.

[Thoughtspart3]

One difference between the two is pace.  MM plays much faster overall with more hits per measure.  He rarely has simple straight forward beats which tend to produce more emotion.  MP did this more.  It was also easier to follow MP's playing.  MM's drumming just feels overly complex at times.  I find my self humming MP's drum parts frequently but don't do the same with MM's.  They just seem less memorable for some reason.

There are both awesome but different.  The difference does matter though.

[As I Am]

Those of us who say that MP is more expressive are not referring to his stage presence, we're referring to his playing. No disrespect to MM, who is a fantastically skilled drummer, but I do find MP's drumming to be more expressive and I prefer his to MM's.

Well said. IMO, MP is a "real" drummer, while MM (while great) is just way to mechanical. Just not for me.

[King Postwhore]

Those of us who say that MP is more expressive are not referring to his stage presence, we're referring to his playing. No disrespect to MM, who is a fantastically skilled drummer, but I do find MP's drumming to be more expressive and I prefer his to MM's.

Well said. IMO, MP is a "real" drummer, while MM (while great) is just way to mechanical. Just not for me.

While I agree that MM can be too mechanical the quotes for a "real" drummer is just silly.  Just say that it's how you personally like a drummer to play or his or her style.

[dream416]

MM was "unleashed" only in Illumination Theory, and I would argue that we got the best drumming in a DT 20-minute+ epic in that song.

I don't agree. His drum parts were good, but nothing really 'mind blowing'. Although in the case of that song/album, it is hard for me to judge the parts themselves, because however good they are, they will always be eclipsed by the horrendous drum production.

The drumming in Illumination Theory is not yet mind-blowing for you? Well, I guess we really have vastly different tastes then.  Anyway, just some of my notes on MM's drumming in IT:

1. The intro with three cymbal patterns, with a snare and a bass drum.
2. The bass drum syncing with JM while his other limbs are busy to provide that strong rhythm.
3. The rather novel playing of hi-hats and rides, utilizing different cymbal sources for the left and right hand, in the stanza and chorus of Live, Die, Kill.
4. The drums going up and down scales, including the cymbals, highlighting the melodic progressions of JR and JP.
5. The killer 3-3-4-2, 3-3-4-3 drum pattern in the Pursuit of Truth.
6. Polyrhythms everywhere, for example, the ones leading to Live. Die. Kill. 
7. The limb independence, particularly in the section where he is following JR with one limb while the other limb is doing 3/16.
8. The insanely fast one-handed drum rolls while he's doing 4/4 downbeats with his other hand on a cymbal. I count at least two instances.

+1000
This exactly, MM. is a very technical drummer & so is MP.
Different styles sure,but both incredible in their own way.
And my two cents- I have a funny feeling that MM is going to
quiet some of the nay sayers on the DT13.

[Calvin6s]

Shouldn't this just be renamed the ultimate MM v. MP thread so it all ends up in one thread?

[425]

The odds of this conversation remaining confined to just one thread are roughly the same as the odds of successfully navigating an asteroid field. Three-thousand, seven-hundred and twenty... to one.

[Calvin6s]

The odds of this conversation remaining confined to just one thread are roughly the same as the odds of successfully navigating an asteroid field. Three-thousand, seven-hundred and twenty... to one.

Yes.  But if this is the designated thread, then there is an understanding that posting this here is proper etiquette.  This is like the Kevin Moore v. Derek Sherinian v. Jordan Rudess threads.  It is never going to stop and keep popping up.  So coral it into this thread as best we can.

[425]

I'm not opposed to the idea, but it's been my experience that over time a thread like this will die out and fall off the first page or two, and then promptly someone will create another. Based on that observation I don't think it's realistic to believe that we will be able to corral it into one thread in the long run.

Also, I really wanted to make my little Star Wars reference.

[King Postwhore]

Shouldn't this just be renamed the ultimate MM v. MP thread so it all ends up in one thread?

Only if MTV revives Celebrity Deathmatch. 

[Calvin6s]

Also, I really wanted to make my little Star Wars reference.

You have your moments.  Not many of them, but you do have them.

[PwnsomeWin]

Personally, I like Mike better.  Mike just isn't as good.  There are two eras of DT.  DT-Mike and DT-Mike.  One thing I've noticed is Mike has a deeper well to draw from that Mike just can't expect to have.  When I think DT, I think Mike.

I've heard this joke so many times yet the way you worded it was best and funniest. 

[erwinrafael]

Mike Mangini's The Grid just won DVD of the Year in Modern Drummer magazine's readers poll. 

[hefdaddy42]

Mike Mangini's The Grid just won DVD of the Year in Modern Drummer magazine's readers poll. 

Hey, that's great!