r/drums

Since the start of 2026, the music world has changed
AI Music has now made up at least 28% up to 40% of daily uploads onto these platforms, and a decent chunk belongs to people pushing out AI music solely for profit over any form of creativity
 
With the addition of Spotify "carefully" labeling real musicians who do not use AI Generation, their requirements have left many musicians who don’t use any AI Generation and just below this requirement in the dust.

 
I feel that two additions to both of these platforms will let users / listeners who use these music platforms daily be able to fully understand in a complete transparent way on WHO they are listening to and WHAT they are listening to.
 
If there is enough evidence to show that the artist on this platform is AI Generated and not a real-life musician, it should have an "May Contain AI Generation" label on the artist profile itself, similar to how Spotify now has "Verified By Spotify" so the listener understands that the person behind the songs they are listening to with full transparency.
If there is enough evidence to show that the song on this platform is AI Generated, it should be listed next to the artist name on these platforms with "May Contain AI Generation", so if a listener finds the song on a "Mix" or a "Radio" they are listening to, they are able to view that the song could have AI Generation involved with it.
Considering that both of these platforms have allowed AI Generated Music to be put on the platform and have started to implement a crude method to verify musicians who don’t use AI at all, we need to at least have full transparency that the track was either made by a real human or made by an AI or an Hybrid AI/Human track

Kia ora y’all,

Not a drummer here, but I run a small recording studio, mostly doing medium-dark rock music. For the last 2 years we’ve been using a friend’s Pearl Masters kit, on long-term loan.

I haven’t had any issues with it, but I’ve also not recorded on many other kits for the sake of comparison.

However, my friend needs money and wants to sell the kit. Obviously I could buy it, but that raises the question of whether this is the right kit for me. It’s just the shells; I already have my own hardware and snares.

The work I’m doing is loosely post-punk, post-rock, in a very Bad Seeds, Swans kind of vein. So I prefer natural, open sounds, minimal damping, and a fairly realistic, less-processed sound.

Is a Pearl Masters a good fit for this? Is there something else that might be a more ideal fit for my specific needs?

Assuming I want to buy it, what are the potential issues in terms of condition? I’ve not had any noticeable problems, the heads are all new, and there are no missing or obviously broken pieces, but I’m not sure what problems kits might develop over time I should be aware of.

I’ve had one drummer say the kit “feels worn out”, but I’m not sure what this would mean; or whether it’s actually a thing. Musicians believe all kinds of weird stuff!

It’s a big investment and is the centerpiece of my studio, so I want to get the right thing.

Thank you in advance!

-W

Hey,

Im looking for Options to Upgrade my cymbals. At the moment i have a set of Meinl MCS which came with the drum kit.

With my Band we arent really focused on a Single Genre, but we mostly play Pop, indie Rock, a little soul inspired stuff but also psych rock. So id say anything but Jazz or metal.

I think i want a rather balanced Set, not too bright and cutting but also not too dark and dry.

I looked into the three Sets mentioned in the title but cant really decide.

What are your experiences with these? What would you say would fit best? Are there any other Sets you would recommend?

I would buy a Pack. I scanned used offers but prices arent that good around here. Sure cheaper than buying Single new cymbals but in a set i would pay roughly the same like buying everything separate from used Market.

Thanks for any advice!

Hii. I'm gonna get a china cymbal for my birthday but I don't know if I should get a 16" or 18" (probably a Zultan). I play mostly metal, heavy/sludge/doom metal, heavy rock, rock. Got any tips? Thank youu :)

I have a lot of zildjians myself, but as I get older I'm increasingly drawn to stuff from other brands. I currently have full set ups from Paiste and Meinl in addition to my zildjian stuff

I like the Paiste's because they are wholly unique sounding from the other big makers and i like meinl because they aren't scared to make an actually thin cymbal and offer their dark/dry cymbals at a more reasonable price than zildjian or sabian

i wanna look into some Istanbul agop stuff soon, but thats probably something that will have to wait until next year

what brands have you explored?

My son just got a full set with cymbals and all the things (sorry don’t know drums) for his bday, but our neighbors are saying it’s too loud. The walls are fairly thin and he has a crawl space under his room so the vibrations especially if the base carry.

Any suggestions would be helpful!

I've got a lot of spare time on my hands recently, and I want to really woodshed and improve as much as possible. I'm curious what the daily practice routine is like for those of you who put in a lot of hours each day.

Anyone else getting dejected by the rising price of literally every piece of gear? I buy sticks in bulk. Only a couple years ago I bought some Vater Power 5AW for $7.99 a pair. Last year they were $10.99. Now they're $12.99. Heads use to be about a dollar an inch, but now they're over $2/inch. I'm now only buying 2 or 3 pairs when my sticks have whittled down to nothing, and I've had the same heads for way too long. It's pretty depressing.