Anika's Drum Setup

[TheAnarchist2112]

What do you guys think what kind of kit she's going to be playing on? I've seen in her videos that she plays a smaller kit, do we think that she's going to get a bigger, Neil-type kit or is she going to stick with her small setup?

[James Bond]

I don't necessarily expect her to to mimic the dual kit setup by any means, but I think she'll expand to enough toms and cymbals to have the voicings available that are needed. Similarly, she could easily streamline the electronic portions to a main trigger pad and a handful of others. I suppose that much depends on what they assign to the keyboardist too (as far as electronics and samples are concerned). Songs like Red Sector A (among others) could easily be adapted to be performed sans electronics, especially if they play with the arrangements. Anika is no stranger to electronics though.

 

TLDR: Anika will use as much or as little as she needs to do justice to the songs.

[treeduck]

[bytor11]

That massive set and only single kick drum, fail

[grep]

I wouldn't expect her to replicate Neil's setup.  She'll have just enough gear to play the songs mimicking his style. 

Not exactly gear related, i think I'll be disappointed if she does the spinning kit thing. 

[Pound of Obscure]

3 hours ago, treeduck said:

Anything less is weak sauce.

 

[Flame]

I certainly think that Anika will get a chance to do a drum solo, which will simultaneously tick multiple boxes:

 

Rush has always had a drum solo live, so of course there’s a drum solo, further establishing (for anyone who might, in any way, doubt this) that she’s not just “sitting in”—she’s Rush’s percussionist.

 

It gives her a chance to “speak” to the fans as herself (as opposed to following Neil’s well-known fills, frills, and rhythms in songs) as a world-class musician in her own right. As such, I’d expect an Anika solo to not only be her own composition (maybe borrowing a phrase or two from The Professor, as more of a nod, or tribute) but also to kick ass.  
 

It gives us, the fans, another chance to truly “welcome” her into the band, other than the obligatory introduction Geddy will give her, obviously. I’d hope that in every show and every city, a massive roar will greet her at the conclusion of her solo, and is taken as a huge outpouring of love/acceptance/appreciation. 
 

I can’t wait to be a part of that roar. 
 

 

[TheAnarchist2112]

1 hour ago, Flame said:

I certainly think that Anika will get a chance to do a drum solo, which will simultaneously tick multiple boxes:

 

Rush has always had a drum solo live, so of course there’s a drum solo, further establishing (for anyone who might, in any way, doubt this) that she’s not just “sitting in”—she’s Rush’s percussionist.

 

It gives her a chance to “speak” to the fans as herself (as opposed to following Neil’s well-known fills, frills, and rhythms in songs) as a world-class musician in her own right. As such, I’d expect an Anika solo to not only be her own composition (maybe borrowing a phrase or two from The Professor, as more of a nod, or tribute) but also to kick ass.  
 

It gives us, the fans, another chance to truly “welcome” her into the band, other than the obligatory introduction Geddy will give her, obviously. I’d hope that in every show and every city, a massive roar will greet her at the conclusion of her solo, and is taken as a huge outpouring of love/acceptance/appreciation. 
 

I can’t wait to be a part of that roar. 
 

 

Me too!

[Blue J]

I don’t think she’ll be playing a Neil-type set-up, no. Whatever it is, it’ll be an Annika-type set-up. It’ll be whatever SHE is comfortable with and accustomed to.

[bscsmkr]

Lorne Wheaton announced that he will be Anika's drum tech on the upcoming tour 

[James Bond]

2 hours ago, bscsmkr said:

Lorne Wheaton announced that he will be Anika's drum tech on the upcoming tour 

 

Great! It'll be nice to see another familiar face on the back end. Welcome back, Gump!

[Timbale]

9 hours ago, bscsmkr said:

Lorne Wheaton announced that he will be Anika's drum tech on the upcoming tour 

Damn - I was hoping the drums were going to sound good on this tour...

[chemistry1973]

On 11/26/2025 at 5:12 AM, bscsmkr said:

Lorne Wheaton announced that he will be Anika's drum tech on the upcoming tour 

Odd. But I approve.

[chemistry1973]

17 hours ago, Timbale said:

Damn - I was hoping the drums were going to sound good on this tour...

Dude did he just say “f**k it” last tour and not tune any drums. Was it because there were two drumkits? Worst sounding kit ever.

 

Maybe it was the miking and mixing instead of the tuning…

[Pound of Obscure]

1 hour ago, chemistry1973 said:

Dude did he just say “f**k it” last tour and not tune any drums. Was it because there were two drumkits? Worst sounding kit ever.

 

Maybe it was the miking and mixing instead of the tuning…

They sounded like they were underwater. 

[Timbale]

3 hours ago, chemistry1973 said:

Dude did he just say “f**k it” last tour and not tune any drums. Was it because there were two drumkits? Worst sounding kit ever.

 

Maybe it was the miking and mixing instead of the tuning…

Perhaps...although I can't imagine any mixing being able to cure the sound of that 2nd, "old set up" kit from R40.

 

I'm just kind of baffled by the drum sounds Peart presented when he switched to DW.  (I do think the first kit sounded good on the T4E tour...) I don't know if that's the drums, the tuning, the mixing or what (although you can't make something s**ty sound good with good mics, etc).  Lorne seems to get treated as a minor celeb in Rush circles, but I'll take the sound of the kits that Larry Allen was teching any day of the week over Wheaton's.  Like, when I hear the R30 kit and then the R40 kit in an A/B situation, I really don't know what is going on - they are so inconsistent next to each other.  And maybe that's what Peart wanted, but how can the recordings/kits from 80-92 sound SO much better?  And no one in the group or the crew could hear that?  Let alone Peart and Wheaton?!  I've never understood it.  I think to some extent Neil got seduced by the amount of input he could have at DW, which I can sort of understand...but all the stuff about cross plys and 10 000 year old wood and all that....it just rings pretty hollow to me when his off-the-rack Tamas and Ludwigs sounded so much better.

[James Bond]

10 minutes ago, Timbale said:

Perhaps...although I can't imagine any mixing being able to cure the sound of that 2nd, "old set up" kit from R40.

 

I'm just kind of baffled by the drum sounds Peart presented when he switched to DW.  (I do think the first kit sounded good on the T4E tour...) I don't know if that's the drums, the tuning, the mixing or what (although you can't make something s**ty sound good with good mics, etc).  Lorne seems to get treated as a minor celeb in Rush circles, but I'll take the sound of the kits that Larry Allen was teching any day of the week over Wheaton's.  Like, when I hear the R30 kit and then the R40 kit in an A/B situation, I really don't know what is going on - they are so inconsistent next to each other.  And maybe that's what Peart wanted, but how can the recordings/kits from 80-92 sound SO much better?  And no one in the group or the crew could hear that?  Let alone Peart and Wheaton?!  I've never understood it.  I think to some extent Neil got seduced by the amount of input he could have at DW, which I can sort of understand...but all the stuff about cross plys and 10 000 year old wood and all that....it just rings pretty hollow to me when his off-the-rack Tamas and Ludwigs sounded so much better.

 

You feel about Neil's drum sounds as I did about Alex's guitar tones for a bit!

[chemistry1973]

19 hours ago, Timbale said:

Perhaps...although I can't imagine any mixing being able to cure the sound of that 2nd, "old set up" kit from R40.

 

I'm just kind of baffled by the drum sounds Peart presented when he switched to DW.  (I do think the first kit sounded good on the T4E tour...) I don't know if that's the drums, the tuning, the mixing or what (although you can't make something s**ty sound good with good mics, etc).  Lorne seems to get treated as a minor celeb in Rush circles, but I'll take the sound of the kits that Larry Allen was teching any day of the week over Wheaton's.  Like, when I hear the R30 kit and then the R40 kit in an A/B situation, I really don't know what is going on - they are so inconsistent next to each other.  And maybe that's what Peart wanted, but how can the recordings/kits from 80-92 sound SO much better?  And no one in the group or the crew could hear that?  Let alone Peart and Wheaton?!  I've never understood it.  I think to some extent Neil got seduced by the amount of input he could have at DW, which I can sort of understand...but all the stuff about cross plys and 10 000 year old wood and all that....it just rings pretty hollow to me when his off-the-rack Tamas and Ludwigs sounded so much better.

He had the coated Remo heads for T4E right? Yes they absolutely sounded better than all latter kits. R40 wasn’t much a question of taste. It was just bad. Those DW heads just absolutely suck. Snare sounds completely wrong too. Tuned too high, and too much bottom snare in the mix.

[ytserush]

On 11/26/2025 at 5:26 PM, Timbale said:

Damn - I was hoping the drums were going to sound good on this tour...

They might still sound different as they won't be hit as hard.

[Timbale]

18 minutes ago, ytserush said:

They might still sound different as they won't be hit as hard.

Indeed - I was just being snarky.  90% of the sound comes from the player, I'd say.

 

[Timbale]

3 hours ago, chemistry1973 said:

He had the coated Remo heads for T4E right? Yes they absolutely sounded better than all latter kits. R40 wasn’t much a question of taste. It was just bad. Those DW heads just absolutely suck. Snare sounds completely wrong too. Tuned too high, and too much bottom snare in the mix.

Yes - I think maybe the only time he played coated heads.  It was not the "classic" Peart sound...but I thought it sounded good, both on the tour and on the record.  Every DW kit after that has been less than in my opinion.  And you're likely right that the heads are a HUGE part of that equation.  If I remember correctly, he was always a bit experimental with top/bottom head configurations...Remos on top and Evans on the bottoms for a lot of the classic era. (Maybe Evans batters, too, sometimes?)  I guess he just felt like he had to stick with DW heads?  Was it contractual do you think?  "You can get super fancy custom finishes and gold plated hardware...but you have to play these heads that make your drums sound like yogurt containers..."  ;)

 

 

[chemistry1973]

23 hours ago, Timbale said:

Yes - I think maybe the only time he played coated heads.  It was not the "classic" Peart sound...but I thought it sounded good, both on the tour and on the record.  Every DW kit after that has been less than in my opinion.  And you're likely right that the heads are a HUGE part of that equation.  If I remember correctly, he was always a bit experimental with top/bottom head configurations...Remos on top and Evans on the bottoms for a lot of the classic era. (Maybe Evans batters, too, sometimes?)  I guess he just felt like he had to stick with DW heads?  Was it contractual do you think?  "You can get super fancy custom finishes and gold plated hardware...but you have to play these heads that make your drums sound like yogurt containers..."  ;)

 

 

I do think it was contractual. Because there is no way otherwise. 
 

I'm sure those shells sound great, but those standard DW heads…ugh.

 

And I love R30, but the tunings are too tight and they resonate way too much. The sounds clash, and everything in the kit seems to be at equal volume (probably because of compression).

[Timbale]

2 hours ago, chemistry1973 said:

I do think it was contractual. Because there is no way otherwise. 
 

I'm sure those shells sound great, but those standard DW heads…ugh.

 

And I love R30, but the tunings are too tight and they resonate way too much. The sounds clash, and everything in the kit seems to be at equal volume (probably because of compression).

 

Just out of curiosity, do you have any idea, from experience or feedback from other players etc., what kind of $$ would be involved in such a deal?  Like, do you think there was big money involved in an endorsement like that...or is it kind of "you get drums whenever you want, and the trade is you do ads and you're never seen with/talk about other drums"?  I actually don't have any clue about it.  I have a friend with a Sabian endorsement, but he plays at a level where the deal is a really big discount, maybe a bit of free gear here and there.  But with a player at the level, popularity wise, as Peart, I would think there would be some financial reward involved beyond a new kit for every tour.

 

Should have negotiated for $ to put toward hearing aids for Wheaton.... 🤭

[chemistry1973]

On 11/29/2025 at 1:46 PM, Timbale said:

 

Just out of curiosity, do you have any idea, from experience or feedback from other players etc., what kind of $$ would be involved in such a deal?  Like, do you think there was big money involved in an endorsement like that...or is it kind of "you get drums whenever you want, and the trade is you do ads and you're never seen with/talk about other drums"?  I actually don't have any clue about it.  I have a friend with a Sabian endorsement, but he plays at a level where the deal is a really big discount, maybe a bit of free gear here and there.  But with a player at the level, popularity wise, as Peart, I would think there would be some financial reward involved beyond a new kit for every tour.

 

Should have negotiated for $ to put toward hearing aids for Wheaton.... 🤭

Not much upfront, but endless free gear and a piece of the pie when it comes to signature cymbals, sticks and other accessories. 

[losingit2k]

I believe she's going to play a smaller drum set which she's used to be playing with! Even though she does have nearly a year to get used to a bigger drum set like Neil's. I'm Just wondering if she'll bring an electronic set too?