Aaron's Yamaha Stage Custom drum kit

Aaron's Raven Black Yamaha kit has taken many inspirations from Neil's latest setup, including the ride cymbal placement and a left-hand floor tom. But, as he says, "there's a lot of me in here too."

I've been following your page for some time now and I absolutely love it. Like you, Neil's been my favorite drummer for years and years (since I was a pup putting dents in the heads on my first used 4-piece set). Of course, as an adult I have more money and can put together a more fitting approximation. I say "approximation" since, while the layout and mechanics of the kit are obviously inspired by Neil's latest setup, there's a lot of me it here too.

The kit is turn-of-the-millennium Yamaha Stage Customs in Raven Black that under most lighting conditions strikes a balance between the 2112 smoky chromes, the circa Presto Ludwig plum crazies, and the Permanent Waves/Moving Pictures rosewood look. Sizes are 8x8, 9x10, 10x12, 12x14, 14x16, and 16x16 (that last being an old repainted Ludwig floor tom to the left). Two LP mini-timbales and a 3.5x14 piccolo to the left recreate the "high-end" for this kit. The bass drum is 16x20, which is my preferred size; the cymbals are Zildjian with two Wuhans and an LP Rancan for Chinas. I have a tambourine, LP stealth block and a set of cowbells off to the left to compensate for the (current) lack of electronics. I have the whole thing mounted on a Gibraltar rack, which is much more sensible for those of us without road crews.

I threw in a couple of other pictures of the sides of the kit as I rehearse with my Monterey, California-based band Smokey the Giant.

Again, thanks for the website - - see you again soon.

Aaron Parrott

Here are some updated pictures of Aaron's kit for 2010:

Pictures from 2007