Mike Portnoy

Michael Stephen Portnoy (more commonly known as Mike Portnoy, born April 20, 1967) is an American drummer. He is primarily known for his work with the progressive metal band Dream Theater.

Equipment

Portnoy has used several kits throughout the years, all of which were built by Tama except for the Awake/A Change Of Seasons era kit, which was a Mapex. To date, he has used the following drum sets:

Related Topics:
Awake - A Change Of Seasons

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• When Dream and Day Unite/Images & Words Kit - This Tama kit was bought originally by MP himself through working three jobs. It was used until the end of the Images and Words tour when MP got signed by Sabian and Mapex. Also, this was the kit he used when he was with the band Intruder, although upgraded noticeably since then. It should be noted that Images and Words was recorded with an electronically triggered snare drum at producer David Prater's insistence.
• Awake kit - This kit was used on the world tour supporting the album Awake. It had two kick drums, one snare, six toms, two small timbales, and four octobans.
• The Purple Monster - This was a Tama Starclassic kit which marked Portnoy's signing with Tama in the late '90s after repeated problems with Mapex. Used for the recording of Scenes From A Memory and the North and South American tours, it is so named because of its striking purple/white/purple fade finish. There also exists a Green Monster (for use in Europe) and a Red Monster (for Japan). It is similar to the "Awake" kit but features many more cymbals and two more octobans with a slightly different layout. This kit featured a snare drum with a foot-operated snare strainer mechanism which allowed for different snare drum sounds without having to use his hands to adjust it.
• Liquid Tension Experiment kit - A comparatively modest kit used in his supergroup project Liquid Tension Experiment. This kit was unique in that it used a pair of small timbales where the two smallest toms would normally be. It was otherwise a normal "seven piece" rock kit with three toms (five if you count the timbales), and a single kick drum with a double pedal. It marks the first time Portnoy uses a floor tom on either side of the kit, with a 14" floor tom on the left and an 18" floor tom on the right. It is also the first time Portnoy used his MaxStax cymbal line in the studio. Portnoy notes in his Liquid Drum Theater instructional video that the reason behind the smaller kit is that when Liquid Tension Experiment went into the studio to record the first album, The Purple Monster kit was still being shipped back from some shows they had played immediately prior in Brazil.
• TransAtlantic kit - The kit used to record and tour behind the first TransAtlantic album was the same as the Liquid Tension Experiment kit, but with five regular toms. When recording and touring behind the second TransAtlantic album, Portnoy added his new Melody Master snare drums for the first time and some different cymbals including a set of custom made 15" hi-hats. The smaller Melody Master displaced the 14" floor tom, which was moved back to the right of the kit for the TransAtlantic recordings.
• The Siamese Monster - This kit was an amalgamation of two individial kits. The left side of the kit is laid out similarly to the Liquid Tension Experiment kit, with a floor tom on each side and three rack toms. The right side is laid out as a normal five piece kit but with the two rack toms reversed and the ride cymbal in front of the hi hats, which allows him to share some of the cymbals and toms between the two kits. It has two stools, and while is not capable of being played in its entirety by one person, Portnoy often invites other drummers to sit in on the unplayed half during shows. It is a predominantly black kit with Majesty symbols around each individual drum. There are three identical versions of this kit for use when touring different continents, the North American kit being the "featured" kit with purple markings as was the case with the Colored Monsters. It was built by Tama for the recording of the Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence album and tour.
• The OSI kit - Portnoy used the small (right) side of his Siamese Monster kit for the recording of the Office of Strategic Influence album.
• Yellow Matter Custard kit - A specially designed set for use in Mike's Beatles tribute band, Yellow Matter Custard. It is modelled on Ringo Starr's kit, and is quite simple compared with his Dream Theater kits.
• Hammer Of The Gods kit - A John Bonham-replica kit that was used in Mike's Led Zeppelin tribute band. It has a transparent amber finish, and is always played while wearing the obligatory bowler hat.
• The Albino Monster - The newest and current kit being used by Portnoy is similar to the Siamese Monster. Aesthetically, it is white with silver sparkle Majesty logos instead of the black/colored logos of the Siamese Monster. In layout, it is almost exactly the same with the only difference being that the right side of the kit mimics his earlier Hammer of the Gods kit. It has so far been used in the Gigantour concerts and also at An Evening With Dream Theater. The modification to the right side stemmed from sessions for Dream Theater's Octavarium album.

Tama has marketed two different sized Mike Portnoy signature snare drums, known as "Melody Masters" (named after Melody, his daughter), since the late 1990s. The smaller of the two has a 12x5" steel shell and the larger has a 14x5.5" maple shell. Both snare models have a unique three way snare strainer mechanism.http://www.mikeportnoy.com/about/tama/?menu=about

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Sabian has marketed three different sized signature cymbal stacks, known as "Max Stax" (named after his son, Max). They consist of a hand hammered china kang-style cymbal on top of a splash (or crash) cymbal. Their sizes are 8/8", 10/10" and 12/14". Sabian also marketed 7, 9, and 11" "Max Splash" cymbals which have the same namesake.http://www.mikeportnoy.com/about/sabian/?menu=about

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Portnoy has endorsed Promark sticks the early 1990s. His signature stick is the TX420Nhttp://www.promark-stix.com/products/view.cfm?product_id=a2ec44af-233c-4175-9584-d27af4304f60. It is made of hickory with a white nylon tip and has purple print to match the Purple Monster's motif. The "420" in the model number, which is also printed on the sticks, is a reference to his birthday (and not a marijuana reference, as has been suggested). He holds his left stick upside down, presumably to get a louder sound out of the snare drum.

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