Russ Miller

Sizes: 20”x14” Bass Drum, 8”x6” Tom, 10”x7” Tom, 12”x8” Tom, 14”x14” Floor Tom, 16”x16” Floor Tom, 14”x51/2” Kapur/Fiberglass Hybrid Exotic snare with Matching Subkick (additional 22”x16” Bass Drum and 13”x9” Tom)

Why this kit?

As I mentioned when talking through my Masterworks main drums, I needed a small back-up kit for local shows, vintage tones and a back-up cartage kit (if I needed two at once).  I put together this Pearl President Series kit using a few different tricks.  I got the 8” and 10” concert toms in Desert Ripple finish that matched the basic 20/10/12/14 kit that I originally used as the foundation of this set-up.  I re-cut bearing edges on the bottom of the 8” and 10” concert toms, used the 8” to make a staggered-lug 8”x6” double-headed tom.  I used the 10” concert tom to make a matching 10”x5” Subkick in Desert Ripple.  The, I got another 22/13/16 set-up and used the 16” floor tom to complete my standard set-up.  I have the added 22”x16” and the 13”x9” to make a larger configuration if need be.  Many things have blown me away about the Pearl drums but this kit was a huge surprise!  It is extremely well built, sounds like a beautiful vintage kit from the 70’s and reminds me of my first Pearl drum set when I was a kid.  To have my standard set-up in this series in special, as it doesn’t usually comes with double-headed 8” toms and certainly without a Subkick!  But, it was worth the time, energy and expense to get both kits and the extra pieces to put it together.  I also order the lightweight Pearl flat-based hardware (except for hi-hat and tom stands) to use with it, so it only has a 6’x6’ footprint and is easy to move around in a small hardware case.

Where can I hear them?

It took about 7 months to get my Masterworks kit in, so I used this kit (and my loaner Reference One kit) the entire time.  Everything from mid 2025 onward, is one of these two kits.  You can hear/see them on two episodes of Noteworthy EP4 with Dorian Holley and Episode 5 with Jimi Ruccolo.  Also, they are the drums on the movie soundtrack for “Flavia” which has a great 60’s Euro-Jazz vintage sound, the Kirk Covington single “Sunshine” and upcoming Avatar 4 Soundtrack and live with the “Don Randi and the Wrecking Crew” shows where I cover the drum chair for my late friend, Hal Blaine.

Sizes: 20”x14” Bass Drum, 12”x8” Tom, 14”x14” Floor Tom, 16”x16” Floor Tom with 14” x 5 1/2” “Big R” Dynasonic chrome over brass snare drum

Why this kit?

The Rogers drum company actually started in 1849, in New York, making Calfskin drumheads.  They moved to making the actual drums in the 1930’s.  In the 1950’s, a new owner of the company moved it from New York to Ohio.  This kit is named after the factory location (Covington, Ohio) in the 1950’s.  During the 1950’s to late 1960’s, Rogers was “thee” drums to have.  Buddy Rich, Cozy Cole, Louie Bellson were all playing Rogers.  The “Swiv-O’-matic” tom holder revolutionized the position of the drums and a lot of players (John Bonham, Ringo Star, Mitch Mitchell, etc.) were using the tom holders, while they were playing other drums.  But, the “Rogers” kits were the dream, when I was young.  The area I grew up in, was inundated with Rogers drums in the stores (probably because they were being made only 200 miles away in Western Ohio, while I was growing up in Eastern Ohio).  My first recollection of the Rogers kits were seeing Buddy play them in photos and then I saw Neil Peart using a Dynasonc snare in the 1970’s.  Also, the “Big R” series was being launched in the 70’s and it had the biggest, best hardware you had ever seen on it, the “Memriloc” hardware!  Drummer’s like Mick Fleetwood, Craig Kampf, Dave Clark, Danny Seraphine, Dennis Wilson, Ed Shaughnessy and Roy Burns were all playing them.  I saw Roy Burns at my first drum clinic at “Zampino’s Drum Shop” in Canton, Ohio playing the Rogers “Big R” kit, I was floored by it.  I actually never bought a Rogers kit (I couldn’t afford it) until the re-released drums (in 2017, I got this kit in 2020).  My first kit was a Pearl kit and by the time I was making enough money to buy higher-end drums, the Rogers company had all but disappeared.

My Friends Bill Detamore and Bob Kasha, became involved with Rogers when they were re-released and I got the opportunity to finally own one of the Rogers “Covington” era copies .  These are 5-Ply Maple - (Maple/Poplar/Maple 3-ply, 2mm thick solid sheets) with 2-ply Maple Reinforcing rings.  They have the interior lacquer finishing applied, it’s the same construction as the wood “Dynasonic” snare drums back in the 1960’s).  My first kit was a Black Diamond Pearl finished Pearl Drum set, so I thought it was really cool to get the Rogers drums that I wanted in that finish of my youth!  

Where can I hear them?

I have used these drums on many sessions since I had them, the most famous of which would be the entire “Julia” series on HBO.  There were 2 seasons of the show in 2022-2023, where I used the drums on every cue we did.  I kept them set up in my studio to the side of my primary kit, to keep using them for Julia.  The 1960’s “Burt Bacharach” style music (masterfully composed by my friend Jeff Danna), provided the perfect opportunity to utilize these drums in their natural sonic place.  I keep them set-up with this sound, most often outfitting the drums with Remo “Fiberskyn Diplomat” heads top and bottom (Influenced by my friend Jeff Hamilton).  This sound is great and takes you right to that era.  They are the 1950-60’s sound with a pinch of the “Hi-Fi” of today.  They represent this sound in my session library.

Sizes: 20”x16” Bass Drum, 8”x8” Tom, 10”x8” Tom, 12”x8” Tom, 14”x12” Hanging Floor Tom, 15”x13” Hanging Floor Tom, with Russ Miller Signature 14”x4 5/8” snare and a stock Subkick.

Why this kit?

I was asked to become a Yamaha Performing Artist in 1991.  When I first came onboard with Yamaha, Takashi Hagiwara (the founding employee of Yamaha Drums) was just working through a new mount approach for the toms.  Up until then, there was really two kinds of mounting, a bracket right on the shell with the tom arm entering the shell, or the first generation “RIMS” mounting system.  There were a lot of discussions regarding the “Nodal” line on the lug parallel of the drum shell.  Noble and Cooley had discovered that this area of “tensioned” wood, could be utilized to mount bolts through with little to no effect on the sound (decay and length) of the drum’s wavelength.  I was a part of the first testing of the YESS mounting system for Yamaha.  This generation of Recording Custom was the first series that had the YESS mounting applied to it.  I had recommended to Hagi to shorten the CL “hex” arm on the tom arms, so they would not hit the shell as they passed through  the YESS bracket on the lifted Nodal posts.   The first series released with YESS was the Maple Custom.  I was playing my Recording Custom kit and then got my first Maple Custom kit in Deep Aqua.  I then wanted my Recording kit to be in Deep Aqua finish, as well.  So this kit represents the first group of drums from my time as a Yamaha artist.  Especially the Deep Aqua Finish!  I completely restored this kit to it’s near new glory and did a few upgrades, like filling every lug with cotton balls (as the high-tension recording custom lugs used to create a small “pitch” in them from sympathetic vibration).  Using the classic thick head (Remo Emperors) this kit is the definition of “Studio Drum Sounds”.

Where can I hear them?

This kit is on every gig, tour and recording I did from 1992 to 1995, till I moved to Los Angeles.  It is also the kit on the cult classic movie, “Boondocks Saints” and that amazing soundtrack by Jeff Danna.  Some additional early recordings with this kit are “Sha-Shaty’s Debut album, Jim McCreavy’s “Night Vision”, Rick and Robin Krive’s “American Jukebox” and Elizabeth Debolt’s “Society Child”.  I also brought them back many times over the years for soundtracks like Eddie Murphy’s “Holy Man”, Dr. Dolittle and Sylvester Stallone led “Daylight”.