MP’s kits

[TheRich13]

OK , you can have one of MP’s kits , complete , right down to the last wing nut ...
Which would it be and why ?
I loved the Mapex kit from I&W, and the clear AMob kit but for me it would be the purple monster, it just had it all , everything in the right place and not too too much ...

[emtee]

Purple Monster all the way. Loved the kit and the way it sounded.

[Setlist Scotty]

OK , you can have one of MP’s kits , complete , right down to the last wing nut ...
Which would it be and why ?
I loved the Mapex kit from I&W, and the clear AMob kit but for me it would be the purple monster, it just had it all , everything in the right place and not too too much ...

FYI, the Mapex kit was from the Awake era. MP had a Tama kit for IaW (I think an Artstar kit, if I'm not mistaken).

Personally, I've never been someone to drool over MP's kits - just not my thing. But if I had to pick one, it would probably be his Mirage Monster (from 2007-2008) - just love the look of it.

[pg1067]

I couldn't begin to distinguish one from another (except that I know he started as a Tama guy and had a few that he referred to as the "___ Monster").  For my purposes, which would be screwing around and saying, "hey, check this out!" any of them would be sufficient.

[DTA]

The Siamese Monster. I would've picked the Green Monster kit but his elevated seat positioning would be a nightmare to remember. He lowered the seat height on the Siamese Monster and the right side of the kit has some cool shit I think he abandoned on later versions.

[Setlist Scotty]

I couldn't begin to distinguish one from another (except that I know he started as a Tama guy and had a few that he referred to as the "___ Monster").  For my purposes, which would be screwing around and saying, "hey, check this out!" any of them would be sufficient.

Well, for clarification, here are his DT kits (couldn't keep track of all his other kits):
Artstar kit (from 1986(?)-1994 - WDaDU/IaW)
Mapex kit (1994-1995 - Awake)
Purple/Green/Red and White Starclassic monsters (1997-2000 - FII/SFaM)
Siamese monster (2002-2004 - SDoIT/ToT)
Albino monster (2005-2006 - 8v)
Mirage monster (2007-2008 - SC)
Bubinga monster (2009-2010 - BCaSL)

[gzarruk]

I couldn't begin to distinguish one from another (except that I know he started as a Tama guy and had a few that he referred to as the "___ Monster").  For my purposes, which would be screwing around and saying, "hey, check this out!" any of them would be sufficient.

Well, for clarification, here are his DT kits (couldn't keep track of all his other kits):
Artstar kit (from 1986(?)-1994 - WDaDU/IaW)
Mapex kit (1994-1995 - Awake)
Purple/Green/Red and White Starclassic monsters (1997-2000 - FII/SFaM)
Siamese monster (2002-2004 - SDoIT/ToT)
Albino monster (2005-2006 - 8v)
Mirage monster (2007-2008 - SC)
Bubinga monster (2009-2010 - BCaSL)

I believe the last one was called the Black & Silver monster (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJm4rYo1C6U) but all the rest is correct.

I really like the "main" part of the Albino kit, but not the Bonham inspired side. The B&S one is really cool too (he brought back that finish for this year's SOA tour, btw: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OLnIyz-SeE)

[hefdaddy42]

For me it would be the Purple Monster.

[Kotowboy]

  THEYRE ALL SHIT





No just kidding. I really liked his white monster. I really like guitars or drums in white... I just think they look really nice. 


But I still think having two kits side by side was a bit silly

[MoraWintersoul]

The Siamese Monster. I would've picked the Green Monster kit but his elevated seat positioning would be a nightmare to remember. He lowered the seat height on the Siamese Monster and the right side of the kit has some cool shit I think he abandoned on later versions.

This is interesting, because depending on your height, they could all be too low or too high for you. I think MP is like 5'8"?

He could be 5'9" but I just wanted to say 5'8" he he

[DTA]

The Siamese Monster. I would've picked the Green Monster kit but his elevated seat positioning would be a nightmare to remember. He lowered the seat height on the Siamese Monster and the right side of the kit has some cool shit I think he abandoned on later versions.

This is interesting, because depending on your height, they could all be too low or too high for you. I think MP is like 5'8"?

He could be 5'9" but I just wanted to say 5'8" he he

He's probably 5'8"ish (or 10/16). His bass drums were 24" and he had his toms flat on top of them so he needed to elevate his seat in order to hit his toms accurately and not bash the rims. Plus he played with only his toes back then so his feet were probably barely hitting the ground. He definitely lowered the height for all his kits after that and went to 22" bass drums but he sat comically high from Awake-SFAM....so uncomfortable. 

[Dream Team]

tePurple Monster, with the White and Transparent being close behind. Loved watching him play the purple on his instructional vhs/dvd.

[TheCountOfNYC]

Albino Monster from the Octavarium tour.

[Adami]

Purple Monnster, but I'd ditch the 13 inch tom and shift the other 3 over a smidge.

[Kotowboy]

Portnoy is easily 5'8" at BEST. He looks tiny. Probably 5'7" like me.


Just found a bio that said he's 5'10". Not even close. Petrucci is not exactly tall and he's taller than Portnoy.

[Kram]

Portnoy is easily 5'8" at BEST. He looks tiny. Probably 5'7" like me.


Just found a bio that said he's 5'10". Not even close. Petrucci is not exactly tall and he's taller than Portnoy.

For what it's worth, I met JP years ago and he and I were about the same height, and I'm 5'9" - so you're probably right about MP 

[MoraWintersoul]

I think JMX is about 5'7", maybe 5'6something" and MP looks a bit taller than him, so my original guess was probably correct. You guys are right, JP is probably around 5'10" as well.

MM is also TINY. Most of the time you can tell MP isn't that tall, but it's not like your first impression when you watch him on video. For MM I'm aware of it all the time!

[Kotowboy]

MM is very short.

In fact - if Thomas Lang got on his kit - the hi hats would be in the right place 

[Kram]

Peter Trewavas looks super tiny as well.  I met Neal Morse once and he was taller than I expected.  I'm guessing 6'1" - 6'2"ish

[Kotowboy]

Whilst we're on the subject - Joey Jordison is like 5'2"

In the wait and bleed video - he looks like a child standing next to Mick or Jim.

[nobloodyname]

Portnoy is easily 5'8" at BEST. He looks tiny. Probably 5'7" like me.


Just found a bio that said he's 5'10". Not even close. Petrucci is not exactly tall and he's taller than Portnoy.

I'm 5'6 and a half and a bit I remember thinking no-one in Dream Theater was much taller than me when I met them (2007, I think). I would say MP and JP were about 5'8.

[goo-goo]

My favorites have been:

-Purple Monster
-OSI kit
-Transatlantic Kit

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

Whenever I think of MP, I think of his face and drum set from the SFAM days so it's Purple Monster for me; which to me is by far his most complete and ergonomically functional instrument.

His Siamese Monster and subsequent kits were born out of his desire of being able to play things on a more complex kit and others on a smaller, reduced kit but that idea was not born out of something meant to be practical but more as a show thing. That sure is a luxurious treat he could give himself back in his glorious DT days, but space is everything (which is the reason he stopped doing that in the "smaller" bands he's been playing with for the past 10 years).

[El Barto]

In terms of which I'd rather own, I suppose I'd say the purple monster, as it'd probably fetch the most on eBay. As for which I liked the most, definitely the bubinga monster. The mirage kit sounded awful. You couldn't tell one drum from another. Looked good. Sounded shit. Then it went the exact opposite direction, and the bubinga kit sounded fantastic. That's the only time I thought to myself "damn, the drums sure sound great."

Also, the first time I saw DT, at the end of the show MP came out to the front of the stage and the first thing I did was turn to my friend and say "holy shit, he's a midget!" This was in comparison to the other guys in the band. That said, I think several of them wear big Frankenstein looking shoes, so it's kind of hard to judge comparative heights among them.

[Setlist Scotty]

His Siamese Monster and subsequent kits were born out of his desire of being able to play things on a more complex kit and others on a smaller, reduced kit but that idea was not born out of something meant to be practical but more as a show thing.

I understand why you say that, and I won't disagree that there was the showman aspect to it, but in reality it was more practical. I say that because I'm sure part of the idea came out after he had taken a second smaller drum kit out on the road during Touring Into Infinity. Now I ask you – what is more practical: taking a smaller second kit out that has to be setup in the middle of the stage during the show and then removed again, as was done on TII, or having two kits side-by-side, and even using some of the same items for both kits as he did with the Siamese monster and all the others afterward?
 
 

That sure is a luxurious treat he could give himself back in his glorious DT days, but space is everything (which is the reason he stopped doing that in the "smaller" bands he's been playing with for the past 10 years).

Well to be fair, DT is the *only* band he ever used the double kit setup with, even while he was still in the band. Really, his touring with A7X would've been the perfect opportunity for him to bring out one of those double kits, considering how large the venues were and the kind of money they were no doubt making. But even then, he just used a single kit.

[pcs90]

Either Siamese or Mirage. As I'm working on multisampling lots of drums and cymbals for a sound library, these are the most interesting to me.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

I understand why you say that, and I won't disagree that there was the showman aspect to it, but in reality it was more practical. I say that because I'm sure part of the idea came out after he had taken a second smaller drum kit out on the road during Touring Into Infinity. Now I ask you – what is more practical: taking a smaller second kit out that has to be setup in the middle of the stage during the show and then removed again, as was done on TII, or having two kits side-by-side, and even using some of the same items for both kits as he did with the Siamese monster and all the others afterward?
 
 
Well to be fair, DT is the *only* band he ever used the double kit setup with, even while he was still in the band. Really, his touring with A7X would've been the perfect opportunity for him to bring out one of those double kits, considering how large the venues were and the kind of money they were no doubt making. But even then, he just used a single kit.

I see what you mean on both counts, but to further develop both ideas: Regarding the Siamese Monster, I really do not feel it's a practical thing at all because the amount of microphones, cables and sheer space you need to mount the whole thing is ridiculous. The whole "I'd rather play this on a small kit than a bigger kit" is a pure creative decision, as he could have played everything just fine on the "bigger" side. DT had the means and big enough stages to be able to pull that off and that's awesome because it did look pretty stunning but I really do not see it being something that made things simpler. Rick Wakeman could probably just program his whole show in a Korg Kronos (just like JR) and pull it off just fine, but part of his stage persona and show is to have 10 keyboards all around him, that obviously makes stage management more complex and unpractical but it's just who he is and it's cool.

And on your second point, I see what you're saying but I don't think DT can be so easily put in the "one of the bands he's played with" category (although Portnoy himself seems to favor that perspective often). DT was something much bigger and his main means of musical expression for years and years, and for most of us his stage antics and resources of his DT years are the things we'll always go back to and remember from his drumming. That being put aside, I can also understand that DT is probably, of all his projects, the band that has been more musically varied that could benefit (I guess?) from having the two kits in one. Cannot see him wanting to play a shorter kit with A7X or basically any of this other "heavy" outlets. No disagreeing here, just some further thoughts.

[Setlist Scotty]

Regarding the Siamese Monster, I really do not feel it's a practical thing at all because the amount of microphones, cables and sheer space you need to mount the whole thing is ridiculous. The whole "I'd rather play this on a small kit than a bigger kit" is a pure creative decision, as he could have played everything just fine on the "bigger" side.

In terms of setup and complexities, I don't know if I would agree. I recall seeing years ago an interview with Eric Disrude (don't recall where), who was MP's drum tech from about 2004-2008, and who has also been MM's tech on at least one or two tours, and he was asked which kit he preferred to set up, and he said MP's kit because it was easier and/or less complex. Surprised me to see that, but if anyone should know which kit was more complex, it would be the drum tech!

As for being creative, I think having an unusual set up forced MP to do things differently, which was part of his objective. Otherwise, he might be prone to fall back on what he naturally would play on a big kit (his bag of tricks that critics love to get hung up on).
 
 

And on your second point, I see what you're saying but I don't think DT can be so easily put in the "one of the bands he's played with" category (although Portnoy himself seems to favor that perspective often). DT was something much bigger and his main means of musical expression for years and years, and for most of us his stage antics and resources of his DT years are the things we'll always go back to and remember from his drumming. That being put aside, I can also understand that DT is probably, of all his projects, the band that has been more musically varied that could benefit (I guess?) from having the two kits in one. Cannot see him wanting to play a shorter kit with A7X or basically any of this other "heavy" outlets. No disagreeing here, just some further thoughts.

I understand. And yes, DT probably lent itself best to the big double kit. But you were pointing out that one of the biggest reasons why you suspect he didn't use a big double kit with his other bands was because of its size in comparison to the venues they were playing in. Which is why I question that statement regarding his playing with A7X, being that neither space nor money (to ship everything) were deciding factors. Had he wanted to, I'm sure he could have brought that kit with him, and yet he chose not to. 

[Kotowboy]

Lets just say i'd rather have one of Portnoy's kits ( left side only ) than mangini's stupid kit.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

Lets just say i'd rather have one of Portnoy's kits ( left side only ) than mangini's stupid kit.

Why stupid? lol

Also, it's funny because MP hate usually appears in MM centric threads and not the other way around.

[Kotowboy]

He can justify his hi hats being at arms length all he wants - but no other drummer has their hi hats up there.

Prrrrrrrobably a reason for that.

[nikatapi]

He can justify his hi hats being at arms length all he wants - but no other drummer has their hi hats up there.

Prrrrrrrobably a reason for that.

Or he can just have the kit he wants and not give a fuck about anyone's opinion.

[Kotowboy]

As I said as much in another thread. . . 

He can play drums with his fists if he WANTS to.

Doesn't mean nobody can go " well it's a bit daft really..."

Or he can just have the kit he wants and not give a fuck about anyone's opinion.

It's almost as if we're on a discussion forum !

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

He can justify his hi hats being at arms length all he wants - but no other drummer has their hi hats up there.

Prrrrrrrobably a reason for that.

And that’s a problem because...?

[Kotowboy]

DID.I.SAY.IT.WAS.A.GOD.DAMN.PROBLEM.