Matt Sorum

[SonorG]

Hi,

Just joined and had a post about Matt Sorum and wondered what you guys though of him, personally I think he is great, solid drummer with solid technique, what are you guys and gals view of him?

Cheers
Garrie

[Thinshells]

He was a total blast to watch when I saw him with GNR. He brought that band up a notch over Steve Adler IMO. He did a powerful groove solo during a live version of "Move to the city"

And I really admire his versatility, he played incredibly well on "Burning for Buddy"

[Superlow]

His playing with The Cult inst too shabby either. The Cult is some of the better rock to have come out of the 80's and early nineties.

[DR.WHOO]

Love him so much.....when i was younger he was my favoutite drummer .
Nowadays he love him because his strong groove and his showmanship (u don't have to twirl sticks every moment ,just look cool and play also with your face)

I love "Use your illusions 1/2" dvds
He is just great

T

[MECHT4NK]

same for me. when I was younger my brother got me into listening to guns n' roses and matt sorum was actually the first drummer I knew by name. we have a video tape of them and there is a solo of him on it that made quite a big impression on me when I was younger. I also like his new work with velvet revolver but I still like to watch that guns n' roses tape every once in a while.

[the gayge]

have any of you guys heard the burning for buddy volume one record?
he has a song on there that is fantastic. it's a big band peice of course with kind of funk feel too it. great work on his part in that song.

[LittleRock]

I saw Matt Sorum doing a clinic years ago in Connecticut. This was during the height of his playing with GNR. His drumming with GNR was a bit more "sophisticated" than Adler's but again, they are two different people. I was lucky enough to talk to him and ended up winning the 24" Zildjian ride cymbal he played that night. I had him autograph it...he signed it "Matt Sorum GNR '92". Cool! I kept it for several years and then ended up selling it on Ebay. (Sorry, but I'm a Paiste guy!)

[GNRFAN]

My first post.

Fantastic drummer in my eyes, he really delivered an excellent solo at the Use Your Illusion 2 DVD. What impresses me most is his accuracy on the kit, he really delivers with precision. Some of the stuff on the Use Your Ilusions that he performs is great stuff, and he is miles miles miles better than Steven Adler was. Adler was a bash, bash, bash man, no imagination (listen to AFD, makes me cringe awful drumming), Sorum likes to mix it up.

I loved his Yamaha kit that he used on the UYI tours, that was massive!! One of the biggest kits I have ever seen a well known band drummer use.

I have a question, what cymbal did Sorum use to his far left on that DVD. It was mounted upside down and made a hell of a sound, anyone who has watched it will know what I mean. He also used it on the Use Your Ilusion albums on some songs, not sure about the Velvet Revolver one though. Any help on this would be great.

Cheers

[GNRFAN]

Sorry about this the cymbal was actually on his far right not his left as I previously stated.

Anyone know what it was? Made a fantastic sound live!

Cheers

[SonorG]

if its the one I'm thinking of it is/was a China, loverly sounding cymbals when used right :-)

[nate]

My first post.

Fantastic drummer in my eyes, he really delivered an excellent solo at the Use Your Illusion 2 DVD. What impresses me most is his accuracy on the kit, he really delivers with precision. Some of the stuff on the Use Your Ilusions that he performs is great stuff, and he is miles miles miles better than Steven Adler was. Adler was a bash, bash, bash man, no imagination (listen to AFD, makes me cringe awful drumming), Sorum likes to mix it up

Cheers



each to there own i guess. AFD is an amazing rock album i think - and record sales prove it - the album stills sells by the bucket load every year...and IMHO i like the drumming on it. sure it's easy. real easy. but it fits the song. well. really well - yeah i know you could play it with one hand if needs be...but i still like it. Matt - yeah sure he's a 'better' player - but his drum sound isn't for me...no soul...and his drums lines always struck me as average - he didn't try anything orginal (IMO!!). but hey...


i guess it don't really matter - sorum is good. but i missed simple steve.

[ClockworkOrange]

He's a good guy. Easy to talk and laugh with. He's hired for his abilities to actually get the job done. The way he plays is the way he wants to play. That's fine, nothing wrong with it.
I think he wishes things had gone smoother in GNR, as did all of them, but, if you have one guy intent on being hard to get along with, you can only go with it so long. Good solid player.

[GNRFAN]

each to there own i guess. AFD is an amazing rock album i think - and record sales prove it - the album stills sells by the bucket load every year...and IMHO i like the drumming on it. sure it's easy. real easy. but it fits the song. well. really well - yeah i know you could play it with one hand if needs be...but i still like it. Matt - yeah sure he's a 'better' player - but his drum sound isn't for me...no soul...and his drums lines always struck me as average - he didn't try anything orginal (IMO!!). but hey...


i guess it don't really matter - sorum is good. but i missed simple steve.

Unfortunately that is the opinion that most fans tend to have which is a shame, as Adler really wasn't good at all as I will state once again. At least he only drummed on one track on the Use Your Ilusion albums (Civil War), Sorum did the rest and you can tell!

Regards

[hank77]

Matt Sorum is a great drummer, dont get me wrong.
I personally like Steven Adler's drumming on AFD, it has a "bounce" to it.
When Sorum did UYI 1+2 it became polished groove rock, no life or imagination, just the same beats and fills over and over.
It's too bad Axel is such a dick, they could have been the Led Zep. of my generation.
Sorum was awesome in the Cult I will admit, great, thick groove and good top down drivin' in the summer music!
LATER

[Sorum jnr]

Matt Sorum is my fave drummer he great with gnr cult vr everyone and if yas wanna treat buy its five oclock somewhere by slashes snakepit and listen to the drums they are f***** unreal

[mapexdrummer1234]

Definetly has a lot to offer in the druming community. I know about 8 people who took up drums because of Matt Sorum.

[DrumGod]

Definetly has a lot to offer in the druming community. I know about 8 people who took up drums because of Matt Sorum.
i did because of him and L*** Ulr***

[Zebbe]

Personally I think he rockss, but not in the GNR era. I think Steven was made to play in Gnr when Matt wasn't. But Matt's work in the Snakepit is awesome aswell as the work in VR.

[Zebbe]

Hey guys, what drumkit did he use? Was it a Yamaha 9000 Recording custom?

[GNRFAN]

Hey guys, what drumkit did he use? Was it a Yamaha 9000 Recording custom?

Just found this out myself!

Live Kit

Drumkit:


Yamaha Rock Tour Custom with 18 x 24 power kick drum, a 14" rack tom, and 16" and 18" floor toms
a 12" Joe Montineri snare drum
14" 2nd snare drum
Cow Bell
Kettle Drum
DW double pedal


Zildjian Cymbals:


2x Hi hat (one on stand and one clamped)
4x Crash
1x Ride
2x China
1x Splash


Sticks:


Pro-Mark Maxxum 4195
Evans Ahead (during UYI tour)


Safely said that is one big kit!

GNRFAN

[Simbe]

On use your illusion 2 album he used a maple Mapex drumkit, according to an interview in MD.
He's been endorsing DW drums for a while now with Cult and Velvet Revolver. In the pictures of Slash's snakepit cd he seems to be playing some Mapex kit in a studio.

My Yamaha Recording Customs (http://www.drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4424)

[GNRFAN]

On use your illusion 2 album he used a maple Mapex drumkit, according to an interview in MD.

That is wrong, Matt used Yamaha only while playing with Guns N Roses. Use Your Illusion 1 & 2 were not recorded as seperate albums. GNR recorded each song in no perticular order and then decided afterwards what to put on each album. I believe he used the Yamaha Recording Custom on UYI 1 & 2 and on "The Spaghetti Incident".

He's been endorsing DW drums for a while now with Cult and Velvet Revolver.

This is true, he has turned to DW now.

GNRFAN

[Simbe]

That is wrong, Matt used Yamaha only while playing with Guns N Roses. Use Your Illusion 1 & 2 were not recorded as seperate albums. GNR recorded each song in no perticular order and then decided afterwards what to put on each album. I believe he used the Yamaha Recording Custom on UYI 1 & 2 and on "The Spaghetti Incident".



This is true, he has turned to DW now.

GNRFAN

I am pretty sure about this and yes, they were recorded simultaneously, same drums. I have to find that MD somewhere. It was probably on the "Ask A pro" section. If you have a better knowledge about the sessions including some pictures of Matt tracking the drums on RC's then it's perfectly fine and I was wrong. I just know many players who use different gear in studio from the brand they use "officially". I certainly would not use only one brand of snare drums in studio, no matter who would pay for them.

For example Chad Smith plays Pearl 'exclusively', but "Blood, sugar, sex, magic" album featured many different brand drumsets. Many odd vintage drums rented from the Drum Doctors etc. The result may not be very audible, but they make for a different vibe to the player. Even the great Lars Ulrich used Gretch (or was it Rogers?) drums on the "Black album".

Endorsements come more handy on the road and also the drum companies get more exposure through the live shows rather than the studio sessions.

As a complete Yamaha fan and player I too was disappointed to hear that Mapex story, but they are still great albums. I still hear some Yamaha tone in the drums of that album, though...

My Yamaha Recording Customs (http://www.drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4424)

[GNRFAN]

Yes what you are saying is totally true about what drummers use "officialy" live etc.

He used Sonor with The Cult in the late 1980s. You might just be able to see the Sonor logo on one of his rack toms below.

http://www.drummerworld.com/pics/drum/dpa43/mattsorum6.jpg

I'm pretty sure when he left The Cult he changed to Yamaha straightaway.

I agree with you about hearing the Yamaha tones in the drums of the albums, his drums sounded the same live when he played with the Yamaha Rock Tour Custom. Which leads me again to say he did use the Yamaha on the recordings, just my opinion though!

Regards
GNRFAN

[Simbe]

Yes what you are saying is totally true about what drummers use "officialy" live etc.

He used Sonor with The Cult in the late 1980s. You might just be able to see the Sonor logo on one of his rack toms below.

http://www.drummerworld.com/pics/drum/dpa43/mattsorum6.jpg

I'm pretty sure when he left The Cult he changed to Yamaha straightaway.

I agree with you about hearing the Yamaha tones in the drums of the albums, his drums sounded the same live when he played with the Yamaha Rock Tour Custom. Which leads me again to say he did use the Yamaha on the recordings, just my opinion though!

Regards
GNRFAN

The kit in the picture looks like a RTC, the badge and the long lugs + cymbal tilters. Really cool custom? finish on it! That picture is from the GNR era, you can see a member of GNR in the background.

I think that it's not as important which drums you play after developing some touch on the instrument. Matt sounds like himself on every brand of a drum set.

I remember that Matt Sorum reunited with The Cult after quitting G'N'R. Did they release some albums also? I am interested in this band, even though I haven't heard them much. I just happened to hear the singer Ian Astbury on Tony Iommi's solo album "Iommi". I think Astbury has one of the greatest voices in the rock genre today. Drummer on that song "Flame on" is Matt Cameron, another favourite of mine.
So... which Cult albums should I get?

My Yamaha Recording Customs (http://www.drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4424)

[GNRFAN]

The kit in the picture looks like a RTC, the badge and the long lugs + cymbal tilters. Really cool custom? finish on it! That picture is from the GNR era, you can see a member of GNR in the background.

Yes sorry about that, your right. That is with GNR, you can see Dizzy Reed in the background. I failed to see him when I first looked at the photo! He used that perticular kit live in the very early days when he was with GNR (early 1991?).

I think that it's not as important which drums you play after developing some touch on the instrument. Matt sounds like himself on every brand of a drum set.

That is so true.

I remember that Matt Sorum reunited with The Cult after quitting G'N'R. Did they release some albums also?

He reunited with The Cult around 2000 I think. He made one album with them, "Beyond Good and Evil". Its a pretty good album so I've heard, I haven't listened to it though. That is the first Cult album Matt drummed on, he had only performed live with them in the 80s.

So... which Cult albums should I get?

I would get the Greatest Hits collection from them titled "Pure Cult (Best Of The Cult)", I have it and its excellent. If you want a studio album I would also recommend "Sonic Temple", its their best album.

I might order the live dvd that they have out from 2001, its supposed to be very good. Another good chance to see Matt in action once again too!

Regards
GNRFAN

[LiveGoat]

each to there own i guess. AFD is an amazing rock album i think - and record sales prove it - the album stills sells by the bucket load every year...and IMHO i like the drumming on it. sure it's easy. real easy. but it fits the song. well. really well - yeah i know you could play it with one hand if needs be...but i still like it. Matt - yeah sure he's a 'better' player - but his drum sound isn't for me...no soul...and his drums lines always struck me as average - he didn't try anything orginal (IMO!!). but hey...


i guess it don't really matter - sorum is good. but i missed simple steve.

Agreed. I love Sorum's work with Velvet Revolver and the Cult but Steven's the drummer for G n R, in my opinion. There was a short time (from 1988-1991) when G n R were one of the coolest live bands going. Check out their 1988 gig at the Ritz clips on YouTube. Nobody today has that rawness and gleeful rebellion like they did then.

---LG

[MOONCHILD]

what do you think about matt's drumming in appetite for destruction? Too simple or genial simplicity?(for that type of music did he need maybe more rolls maybe faster rolls or so or just enough)

[NUTHA JASON]

i remember that he said he was told by axl to play those fills...you know the ones. matt is a great drummer but in this case he did what he was asked to do where he was asked and played to the songs needs everywhere else. the mark of a good rock drummer.

j

[MOONCHILD]

was the cult his previous band im not sure but something like that am i right?

[Sonor]

what do you think about matt's drumming in appetite for destruction? Too simple or genial simplicity?(for that type of music did he need maybe more rolls maybe faster rolls or so or just enough)
Matt Sorum did not play on Appetite, or Lies.

[GNRFAN]

Matt Sorum only drummed on Use Your Illusion 1&2 and The Spaghetti Incident in the studio for Guns N' Roses.

If you listen to his playing on the Use Your Illusion albums it fits the music brilliantly, I do believe though that he created the drum parts himself NUTHA JASON (he said that on his forum).

I still feel he is one of the most under-rated drummers out there.

GNRFAN

[mplsfalls]

Just kind of an informal poll. I had an opportunity to see Matt Sorum play both with Cult and Guns. I never had a chance to see Adler play with Guns live. I guess my question is who sounded better with Guns?
I personally think that Sorum is one hell of a drummer. I would love to see him play at a clinic.

Corey

[GNRFAN]

Just kind of an informal poll. I had an opportunity to see Matt Sorum play both with Cult and Guns. I never had a chance to see Adler play with Guns live. I guess my question is who sounded better with Guns?
I personally think that Sorum is one hell of a drummer. I would love to see him play at a clinic.

Sorum without a doubt sounded better, he brought a whole new element to Guns N' Roses which hadn't been explored before. Without him they would have kinda sucked, he had the edge and made them complete as a band. Would like to see him play at a Clinic also.

I prefer Adler though to what they have now, Brian "Brain" Mantia. I don't rate him at all.

GNRFAN

[DWfan20005]

What do people you think of Matt Sorum?

[harryconway]

He's a good archetype of what a rock drummer should be.

[Jon Cable]

I love Matt Sorum, love listening/watching him play, but I also like the Adler sound; both kept it simple [apparently under orders] and both contributed to one of the greatest kick*** bands ever!
Long may Matt continue.

[ddrummer]

Very tight sounding drummer always like his drumming technuiqe..... he looks very diffrent now to when he was in g'n'r i was readind a drum magazine the other day and seen him and it was a shock and the same with duff (g'n'r bass player) very diffrent......

[ThroneAmbition]

Matt Sorum is a Class Act Musician. I like his style. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't I see him sit in with Pink Floyd during the recent Live Earth concert?

I notice that Bernhard updated some of the Drummers photos. Matt Sorum was one that had some new shots. In fact I think he may be endorsing Ludwig. I know Ludwig has him listed on their web site, and one of the new updated photos in Drummerworld shows him with a Ludwig set up.

[Ozzy Biz]

Matt Sorum is a Class Act Musician. I like his style. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't I see him sit in with Pink Floyd during the recent Live Earth concert?

I notice that Bernhard updated some of the Drummers photos. Matt Sorum was one that had some new shots. In fact I think he may be endorsing Ludwig. I know Ludwig has him listed on their web site, and one of the new updated photos in Drummerworld shows him with a Ludwig set up.

Yeah, playing classic maples in 24, 13, 16, 18, and 14x6.5 Black Beauty I think. Apparently his favourite kits to record with are his vintage ludwigs and a pork pie kit he has, so he made the jump over the Ludwig.
And damn, are Ludwig making a comeback or what!

[ThroneAmbition]

Yeah, playing classic maples in 24, 13, 16, 18, and 14x6.5 Black Beauty I think. Apparently his favourite kits to record with are his vintage ludwigs and a pork pie kit he has, so he made the jump over the Ludwig.
And damn, are Ludwig making a comeback or what!

It's the Baby Boomers. We're wanting to relive our formative Rock years of the 60's & 70's. Ludwig was big part of that era.

[AnthonyB]

I like Matt, but recently his stuff with Velvet Revolver has been really simple, school boy simple. On a few tracks, he plays really cool opening percussion sections (American Man and She Mine), but then ruins it by just (Literally) banging through the rest of the song.
I still like him though.

[GNRFAN]

I still maintain that Matt is a class act, yes some of his album work isn't that dynamic but what about Chad Smith's work with RHCP's, Matt plays for the music the same as Chad does. Its about being a mature player.

Live, Matt is cool as well. Saw him with VR when they came to Manchester, UK in June, he is solid as solid can be and plays with emotion (I really dig his facial expressions).

He has changed over to Ludwig, stopped playing DW a while back I think.

GNRFAN

[AnthonyB]

Hey, check out this drum solo by Matt. It's a rather innovative way of using double bass, but he should have used a double bass kit. You can hear the bass the bass drum untuning itself because of the force of his playing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4j3z4y0tkKU

[Mr. Brownstone]

Can't say I'm a fan of his playing.

The fills in November Rain drive nuts. He does it over and over again, I stopped counting at about 21. My opinion isn't based on this one song, just not a fan of his playing. I respect his abilities though.

[jazzin']

I loved GNR when I was in primary school. My older brothers who I thought were seriously cool were right into them so, of course, I jumped on the ol' GNR train. I would personally say that AFD is the best angry raw rock album I've ever heard and I think Adler was the better player for that early glam, debaucherous LA rock. Maybe it was was because he was less polished, more insane but he played with a bit more originality and fire. Actually, I just simply think he was better. Ort maybe it was because I grew up with it. AFD and GNR Lies were the ultimate in debaucherous hedonistic rock. UYI 1 and 2 were a bit over produced and lacked that fire that made early GNR so good.

[prempex]

what do you guys think of matt sorum of guns'n'roses and velvet revolver?

ive started liking him more and more the mroe i listen to him.
so yeah, what do you guys think of him?

[TitanSound]

I think he is a great drummer!

In fact I was watching this last night and really got into it!! Great groove he has in this vid.

http://www.drummerworld.com/Videos/mattsorumbeulahwitch.html

[prempex]

hey!
just checked out that video.
the intro is double bass, is it not?

i never thought he used doube bass stuff.

but then again i never thought dave grohl did either, but apparently he does.

[DWfan20005]

I like his drumming more with Velvet Revolver but all of his drumming is great. A very underrated drummer.

[ANDRES79]

I`ve been fan of Matt since he was in Gn`R, i think he`s one of the best rock drummers, he has a lot of presence and versatility , if you listen to the records he`s done you`ll notice that he doesn`t need to do lots of things to make a great song. He`s got a lot of feeling.

[ANDRES79]

I like Matt since i watched The Cult`s Fire Woman video, back then i did`n know who he was, then i saw him again in Gn`R , i like the way he plays, i can say he inspired me to play drums for me his one of the best drummers.

[rabbitfoot]

apparently matt has been linked to oasis since they lost starkey

[Stiixx]

Sorry if he's been covered before, but I wanted my first post to be the right one :)


Saw him live twice, Once with the Cult,(last show before he told his tech to downsize his kit) and once last year in Edmonton with VR.
He's one of my 3 greatest influences, along with Tommy Aldridge, and the man who's birthday I share , Mr. Tommy Lee.
from his stuido work, to the Cult, GnR, nurodic Outsiders, VR.
The man knows his stuff, and is an icon drummer IMO.

Anyone know why he left DW and went with Ludwig?


Side notes:
Even though I have entry level gear, I've been playing for years. (Divorce has a way of letting you lose all your good toy's) they were what I could afford to keep playing when the dust settled.
Let this be a lesson to young players, you don't need Pearl Masters right off the bat.
And besides, when you put on the headphones, and close your eye's, your at Madison Square Garden in your mind anyway ;)

When I was a teenager, I was loading the van one night after a gig slipped on ice, dislocated my elbow 6 inches and pinched a nerve.
after a year of therapy, I got full use of the arm, but lost my fast dextarity of my left hand.
Thus ended my carer as a "lead player".
I refused to give up music, so I started playing drums and finally got back into the band I left as lead player, 3 years later as drummer.

[Stiixx]

Sorry about this the cymbal was actually on his far right not his left as I previously stated.

Anyone know what it was? Made a fantastic sound live!

CheersIt's a Zeldjian he's been usuing them for 18 years or so.
Here's his UYI kit as per wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Sorum

Guns N' Roses Use Your Illusion Tour (1991-1993) setup

Drums
Yamaha Drums Rock Tour Custom Black

18" x 24" Bass Drum
3 1/2" x 12" Brass Piccolo
8" x 14" Recording Snare Drum
12" x 14" Mounted Tom
16" x 16" Floor Tom
16" x 18" Floor Tom
20.5" Ludwig Timpani

Hardware
Yamaha Super Rack System
DW 5000A Double Bass Pedal
Pure Cussion Rims
Evans EQ bass drum pillow

Heads
Remo Clear Emperors/Clear Pinstripes (toms batter)
Remo Clear Ambassadors (toms bottom)
Remo Coated Ambassadors (snare batter)
Remo Clear Ambassadors (snare bottom)

Percussion
Latin Percussion

LP Rock Ridge Rider Cowbell
LP Jam Block (Low Pitch Red)
Rhythm Tech DST (Drum Set Tambourine)

Cymbals
Zildjian (From the left rear of the kit to the right rear)

17" K Series Dark China
14" Gao Jiahe Chinese Water Cymbal
19" K Series Dark Crash
15" Avedis Rock Hi-Hats (on stand)
18" Avedis Rock Crash
8" Avedis Splash
24" Avedis Ping Ride
20" Avedis Crash/Ride
14" Avedis Rock Hi-Hats (clamped)
18" Avedis China Boy High
22" Avedis Crash/Ride

Sticks
Easton Ahead sticks
Pro-Mark Maxxum 4195
Octagon Drumming Gloves