LIVE NIRVANA EQUIPMENT GUIDE Chad Channing

NIRVANA drummer, Chad Channing, talks to Alex Roberts about his drum rig—Exclusive!

North "Formula" (Black finish)

  • NT-10 10" Rack Tom
  • NT-12 12" Rack Tom
  • NT-14 14" Floor Tom
  • NB-22 22" Kick Drum

Plus any one of a variety of Snares:

  • ??" Tama Snare, Brass shell
  • ??" Rogers Snare, Blue Sparkle finish (the "Blue Meannie")
  • ??" Ludwig Snare, Maple

I bought my North kit at Lee's Music, Yakima, WA. I used it to record the Love Buzz/Big Cheese single, Sub Pop 200 comp and Bleach. It was also my touring kit for first 1½–2 years.

56 Ludwig & 64 Ludwig combination (Pearl finish)

  • ??" Rack Tom ('56)
  • ??" Floor Tom ('64)
  • x2 Kick Drums ('56 & '64) (I later went back to using 1 kick)

Plus Snares as mentioned above.

I picked up the Ludwig drums at Rupert's Drum Shop in Denver, CO. I used this set-up to record the Smart sessions in Madison, WI. It was my tour kit until the end.

Paiste & Zildjian

My Hi-Hats were Zildjian. I also used Zildjian Crash cymbals when my Paiste Crashes finally died. However, my Ride cymbal (which I still use today) is a Paiste.

All heads were Remo Weatherking 2-ply.

My hardware was a total mix—some Tama, some Latin Percussion and some Gibraltar stuff—no idea which were which.

I used a double kick pedal when I played with just 1 kick drum!


© 2003–Present: Alex Roberts. No part of this article may be reproduced without the prior written permission of the author.