Solitary Shells: The Latest In Mike Portnoy Drumland

It’s been a while since my last (extensive) updates on MP’s kit history, what with DT in the studio for most of 2001, coupled with the fact that it was pretty much common knowledge amongst the diehard DT/MP fans that a new drum set was in the works and being used on the new album. Personally, I had a major MP-related “happening” in 2001 in that I offered my services for the Transatlantic “Bridge Across Forever” Euro tour to MP, and as fate would have it, Jose (Baraquio – MP’s regular tech) was unavailable, so Mike took me up on my offer! A bold move on his part as I had never done any drum tech work before, although I play drums in my own band and know what it takes to cart around/set up/maintain a big set of drums and cymbals! The low down on the tour is documented separately in TOD, so I won’t go into details here; suffice to say it was the most tiring and demanding work I have ever done, but also the most satisfying! Anyway, onto the latest in MP kit developments.

The new kit has become known (christened by MP) as the “Siamese Monster”, because it is actually two kits merged together side by side (a large kit and a small kit).

Pictures of the new set-up had been released from BearTracks studios in March 2001 (and appeared on www.mikeportnoy.com and there were some people’s views that it was some sort of April Fool’s joke, as it surely couldn’t be as big as it looked? And maybe Mike had just decided to fool around with all those drums and cymbals (supplied by Tama/Sabian for the sessions) – look closely and you can see the model number tag/label still attached to the 8” hi-hat stand! But as time went on it became clear that he wasn’t fooling anyone and he really was using the triple bass drum set-up and he was going to take it on the road!

Incidentally, the Japanese version of his previous set up (The Red Monster) had been shipped to the US for the NAMM show in January 2001 – the American kit (the Purple Monster) having last been set up for the Melody Master snare photo shoot at BearTracks Studios, in November 2000 (these photos appear in the Tama Signature Palette brochure for MP’s snare line) and then dismantled and taken to Mike’s house where it was set up in his basement!

Once the NAMM show was over, the Red Monster was shipped to BearTracks and set up complete with cymbals and ready for playing, but I believe it was never used on the new album – it was just there as a backstop as MP was very much experimenting with his new set-up ideas.

Additionally, during the middle part of 2001, when MP went out with John Petrucci for the G3 tour, he used a version of the small kit which included drums from the Red Monster (10” and 14” rack toms, the Gong bass drum and the two lowest Octobans), coupled to this was a 20” kick drum custom made for the G3 kit by Tama and finished in Red/White like the rest of the drums – the 12” Melody Master snare and one single LP Timbalito and one LP tambourine in the percussion department – so Mike was already testing out how playing the smaller kit “live” would work by giving it a full road test!

CYMBAL WISE, THE KIT CONSISTED OF THE FOLLOWING:

• 13” HHX Groove Hats

• 7” Radia Cup Chime

• 9” Max Splash

• 11” Max Splash

• Max Stax – Medium set

• Max Stax – Low set

• 16” HHXtreme crash

• 18” HHX Studio crash

• 19” HH Fierce crash

• 20” HHX Chinese

• 18” HH Chinese

• 22” HH Rock Ride

• Sabian Triple hat (Cable operated)

This “G3 kit” was also used by MP in May 2002 for the G3 shows in Mexico in the same configuration as the 2001 G3 shows and this same kit in pretty much the same config was used in the latest MP side-project session with Jim Matheos/Kevin Moore/Sean Malone which commenced during the last week of May 2002.

Anyways, until the first dates of the “World Tourbulence” tour were over, I felt obliged to keep any new kit details under wraps, so now, all can be revealed!

As usual, I am grateful to Mike and Jose for allowing me (and my trusty side-kick and bro’ in law Robbie), some time to take photos and make notes (this was done during sound check prior to the Manchester UK “World Tourbulence” show) when I grabbed 25 minutes of photo taking and frantic note making!

At the time the tour started, there was just the one “Siamese Monster” in existence – this kit having been debuted to the world at the BB King warm-up show in New York a week or so earlier, then shipped to the UK for the two days of production rehearsals at the Royal Court Theatre in Liverpool UK, prior to the tour starting proper at Manchester. The plan was to have three identical kits made as before with the previous “monster” kits for the three main territories in which DT will tour and Jose was scheduled to have all three kits made up and ready for use before the Japanese leg of “World Tourbulence” – this is now the reality with three kits now in existence, all having been put together by Jose.

Anyways, the set up (drums and cymbals) was as follows and this comes direct from my own notes taken in Manchester in January 2002:

CYMBALS (left to right from behind the kit)

• 15” HHX Studio Crash

• 18” HHX Chinese

• 18” HHX Studio Crash

• 14” AAX Stage Hats

• 7” Max Splash

• 9” Max Splash

• 10” Medium Max Stax (with 7” TB Radia Cup Chime on top)

• 18” AA Medium Thin Crash

• 22” HH Rock Ride

• 20” HHX Chinese

• 12”/14” Low Max Stax

• 19” HHX Fierce Crash

• 13” HHX Groove Hats

• 7” Max Splash

• 11” Max Splash

• 17” HH Thin Crash

• 8” High Max Stax on top of 12” Ice Bell

• 20” HH Chinese

• 8” Max Stax cymbal bottoms X 2 set up as a hi-hat under the RH Octobans)

• Triple Hat made up of two 14” and a 10” AA

• 16” HHXtreme Crash

• 20” Sabian Zodiac gong sits on a flight case behind MP

MP had just (end of January) signed an endorsement deal with a company called “Slicknut” which makes a quick release cymbal top (to replace the top felt/nut) – Slicknuts are fitted to all cymbal arms except the 10” Medium Stax/Cup chime and 8” High Stax/12” Ice Bell combinations as there is not enough of the tilter exposed for the Slicknut to grip onto so these use normal Tama plastic Cymbal Mates.

DRUMS

• Two 22” x 18” kick drums (large kit)

• One 20” x 18” kick drum (small kit)

• Four Octobans on LH side (large kit) – for the BearTracks sessions there were only two Octobans on the left side of the kit

• Two Octobans on RH side (small kit)

• One Tito Puente 10” Timbalito over 16” floor tom (large kit)

• Rack toms of 8”, 10”, 12” (large kit)

• Rack toms of 13”, 10” (small kit)

• MP1455 14” Melody Master snare (large kit)

• MP125 12” Melody Master snare (small kit)

• 20” Gong bass drum (on legs, not the standard Rollaway stand – however, the original kit used at the BearTracks sessions had a version of the Gong drum on the Rollaway stand.) Custom made 10” double headed Tymp-Tom (between both kits) with off-set lugs

Heads are now Remo Emperors on the tom batters (except the Tymp-Tom which has a Pinstripe batter head), Diplomat bottom heads on all toms Powerstroke 3 kick heads on all three kicks. Remo Falam Slam head protectors on all kick heads (single beater versions also used for the double pedal on the 20” kick). Coated CS Ambassadors on both snares (with black dot underneath) – the 12” version of this is not a “stock” item here in the UK but presumably is readily available in the US (i.e. I don’t think this is a “special” for MP).

Tama Iron Cobra pedals – including hi-hats (standard and remote) – double kick PowerGlide pedal on the small kit – MP has now reverted to Iron Cobra pedals and no longer uses DW.

The Sabian Triple Hat stand mounted and controlled by a cable pedal which is the extreme left pedal, next to the cable controlling the 13” Groove hats on the small kit (there isn’t enough room to have a stand for these hats), next to this is the left pedal for the Power Glide double, for the small kit – the 8” Custom hi-hats are controlled by a normal Iron Cobra stand (the top rod of which is cut shorter so it fits under the right hand Octobans).

PERCUSSION

• 35 row LP Studio Barchimes to MP’s left (large kit)

• 25 row LP Barchimes to MP’s right (small kit)

• LP Granite Blocks (above the Gong bass drum – small kit)

• LP Cyclops tambourine to left of 14” hats (big kit)

• LP Cyclops tambourine under the 17” HH Thin Crash

• LP Ridge Rider cowbell (small kit) – no attached photos on here when I saw it!

MISCELLANEOUS

• Both snares sit on cradles (i.e. not Air-Ride) which are attached to the rack

• All toms (except Octobans) have metal Starclassic badges rather than the more usual graphics (the badges are normally used on the birch “Performer” kits)

The “Majesty” symbol graphic is on all drums (except the MP125, which although it uses the Majesty symbol, it’s the “normal” production version one on this drum) – it’s the standard embossed version on the 14” snare and a purple “glitter” version on the rest of the drums!

• Drinks holders are dotted around the kit and there is a plywood drinks/stick table to the left of the 16” floor tom

• All three kick heads have a different SDOIT graphic

• Stick bags are attached to the 16” floor tom (large kit) and Gong bass drum (small kit) also there is a Promark stick holder (tube) just underneath the 10” Tymp Tom, which would be on MP’s right on the big kit – a normal ProMark “Stick Depot” is attached to the hi-hat stand of the big kit as before on the “Monster” kits

• All of the drums are supported on a Tama rack system, the two smallest Octobans are supported by custom brackets (same as on the previous Purple/Red/Green kits) the other four are on standard Tama HW119 stand tops (these are also mounted on the rack)

• Everything is memory locked and many of the mics are attached to the rack system too to save having placement problems with extra legs getting in the way – the rack toms have “clip-on” mics (also the overhead mics changed between the Euro and US legs of “World Tourbulence”)

MP has a “bass booster” unit attached to both his throne seat bases (so he can “feel” the kicks now he is using in-ear monitors) – unfortunately I didn’t note the manufacturer, but it is likely they are “Butt Kicker 2” models made by Guitammer. These can clearly be seen in the latest Tama ads featuring MP and the Siamese Monster, which appeared for the first time in the June 2002 issue of Modern Drummer magazine.

• Jose gets a mention in those new Tama ads (well-deserved too!) and he had the additional job of erecting a percussion rack for James LaBrie to utilise throughout the show on the “World Tourbulence” tour, consisting of LP bar chimes, congas, cowbells and various shakers and percussive toys.

• The drum riser used for the whole of the first legs of “World Tourbulence” was obviously larger than ever before but interestingly was left “open” underneath rather than having a front and side cover (either drapes or wood) – this kind of added a more “industrial” vibe to the stage set-up!

• The kit was featured in the MP cover issue edition of “Modern Drummer magazine (May 2002) in a piece by Mike Haid – the photos on this shoot were taken at the New York rehearsals prior to the BB King warm-up show (for some reason the bar chimes weren’t mounted even though the boom arms were in place) and the set-up was almost identical to when I saw the (same) kit in the UK.

• MP now has a Sabian “cymbal pack” comprising 14” AAX Stage hats, 16” HHX crash and 22” HH Rock ride” – these came onto the market in early 2002

• Christmas 2001 saw another Tama custom kit added to the Portnoy armoury! This time however, it was a special made for Max and Melody (Mike and Marlene’s kids) and was essentially a Starclassic Performer kit made up of an 18” kick, 8” and 10” rack toms and 12” hanging “floor” tom along with an MP125 snare. Cymbal wise the kit had 13” HHX Stage hats, 11” Max Splash and a 14” HHX Stage Crash! The kick and 12” tom the same “Majesty” graphic as the Siamese Monster, but this seemed to be missing on the 8” and 10” toms. Stand-wise there was an HH15R hi-hat stand and two HC13BR boom cymbal stands! Finally to top it off, ProMark made them some custom “Kids 420” sticks – shots of both kids playing the kit appeared on www.mikeportnoy.com on December 28th 2001 (posted by MP!!)

Special thanks to MP and Jose for invaluable help (as always!) and for answering my questions always with great speed and fullness! To Robbie for helping me out during our DT/MP related trips – hopefully many more to come mate! To all the guys/gals at DTIFC/TOD, Your Majesty and Italian Dreamers for on-going help and support and to Ute Schoenig for sending me all those fab photos!

So there you have it, all the latest in MP kit news, so until next time, keep ‘em peeled!!!

(Eagle Eye) Al Muirden