Chad's Gear
Drum Kit Tour
Chad Gracey has created an online photographic and documented tour of his equipment he is currently using on the tour for The Distance To Here. Click Here to tour his kit with him!
Drums
Chad uses Pearl Drums and Brady Snare Drums. Chad has a total of seven kits, but he uses Pearl Master's Custom kits now. He has a Piano Black kit, an Emerald Mist kit, a Limited Edition Silver Sparkle kit, and a Limited Edition Natural Mahogany kit. Chad also uses Pearl hardware. I have noted what hardware is with which drum below.
A. 11 x 13 tom (attached by Integrated Suspension System (I.S.S)IS-1216SL to a BT-3 bracket, to a TH98-S tom holder, to an AX-20 bracket, to a B-855W cymbal boom stand)
B. 4 x 14 Brady Jarrah snare (silver) or a 3.5 x 14 Pearl free-floating brass piccolo snare (rests on an old snare stand that Chad likes (don't know the model number)
C. 10 x 12 tom (attached by I.S.S.(IS-1216SL) to a BT-3 bracket, to a TH98-S tom holder, to an AX-20 bracket, to a C-855W cymbal stand)
D. 16 x 16 floor tom
E. 16 x 22 bass drum (Chad uses a P-201P kick pedal)
Chad uses a D-200 drum throne (the old kind with the soft seat, not the new kind)
Cymbals
Chad uses Zildjian Cymbals. Just like the drums, I have noted what Pearl hardware Chad uses with each cymbal.
1. 13" A Quick Beat Hi-hats (Traditional finish) (on a H-885W hi-hat stand)
2. 14" Oriental China Trash (Brilliant finish) (on the B-855W cymbal boom stand with the 11 x 13 tom and 8" K Splash)
3. 8" K splash (Traditional finish) (on a CH-88 cymbal holder, connected to an AX-20 bracket to the B-855W stand noted above)
4. 16" A Medium Thin Crash (Brilliant finish) (on a C-855W cymbal stand)
5. 17" A Rock Crash (Brilliant finish) (on a B-855W cymbal boom stand)
6. 15" K Dark Thin Crash (Brilliant finish) (on a B-855W cymbal boom stand)
7. 20" K Heavy Ride (Traditional Finish) (on a B-855W cymbal boom stand)
8. 17" K China Boy (Brilliant finish) (on a B-855W cymbal boom stand)
Chad's Road Kit
Chad has a slightly different kit when he's on the road, in that his drums are the same but some of the cymbals and finishes are different. Here is how Chad has his cymbal set-up while on tour:
1. 13" A Quick Beat Hi-hats (Brilliant finish) (on a H-885W hi-hat stand) with a Pro-Mark SD-800 stick depot
2. 14" Oriental China Trash (Brilliant finish) (on the B-855W cymbal boom stand with the 11 x 13 tom and 8" K Splash) and Pro-Mark SD-800 stick depot
3. 8" K splash (Brilliant finish) (on a CH-88 cymbal holder, connected to an AX-20 bracket to the B-855W stand noted above)
4. 17" A Medium Thin Crash (Brilliant finish) (on a C-855W cymbal stand)
5. 18" A Medium Thin Crash (Brilliant finish) (on a B-855W cymbal boom stand)
6. 16" Z Custom Medium Crash (Brilliant finish) (on a B-855W cymbal boom stand)
7. 20" K Heavy Ride (Brilliant Finish) (on a B-855W cymbal boom stand)
8. 18" Oriental Classic China (Brilliant finish) (on a B-855W cymbal boom stand) with 3 Danmar #Dan1027 stick depots
Drumsticks
Chad uses Pro-Mark Drumsticks. Below are the drumsticks he uses.
- 5A wood-tip hickory (Model TX5AW) (In reality, Chad uses a cross between a 5A and a 5B - it's thicker in the shank than a 5A - and weighs between 1.8-1.9 ounces; they are specially made for Chad by Pro-Mark)
- Hot Rods (acoustic sets and quiet songs like "TBD", as well as "Rattlesnake")
- Mallets (Supernatural on MTV Unplugged)
Drum Heads
Chad uses Attack Drumheads. The heads he uses are as follows:
16 x 22 - 22" Pearl logo head with 10" hole in front; 22" Attack 1-ply medium clear #DHA-22 on the batter side
11 x 13 - 13" Attack 1-ply medium white on top #DHA13C; 13" Attack 1-ply thin clear on bottom #DHTS13
10 x 12 - 12" Attack 1-ply medium white on top #DHA12C; 12" Attack 1-ply thin clear on bottom #DHTS12
16 x 16 - 16" Attack 1-ply medium white on top #DHA16C; 16" Attack 1-ply thin clear on bottom #DHTS16
3.5 x 14 - 14" Remo Coated Ambassador on top #BA-011400; 14" Remo Ambassador Snare Clear on bottom #SA-0114-00 using standard 14" 20-strand snare wires
Microphones
Chad uses Shure Microphones. This is the microphone setup for his kit:
-All Toms are Shure SM-98A's
-Snare has a Shure SM-98A for side-sticking, a Shure SM-57 on top side and a AKG-C414 on bottom side
-The bass drum uses 2 mics, a Beyer M-88 and a Shure SM-91 PZM mic
-There are 3 overhead microphones: AKG-C414's
-The microphone for the ride cymbal is a Shure SM-81, placed under the bell
-The microphone for the hi-hats is an AKG condenser mic with a swivel head