Dan Searle

New custom kit from SJC around March 2014 after the release of 'Lost Forever // Lost Together', with a 60s Oyster finish; inspired by Ludwig kits he saw whilst recording the album. He is a fan of vintage style kits, completing the setup with a fibre-skin front facing head with a script font and is very happy with both the look and sound of the kit.

"I never want to use any other hardware; it's super sturdy, super reliable, strong, adjustable, and really versatile, I love it!"

"They're perfect for me, big sticks means less work so I've been using this size stick for around 6 years now".

Uses a DW 9000 series double pedal with a strip of black tape for grip: "a really reliable pedal, i won't ever use any other".

"It's great, I used to be very loyal and obsessed with the K series, but am cheating on them with the Sweet Ride, I only wanna use this cymbal it's fantastic"

In a kit tour video by Rhythm Magazine, Dan Searle of Architects discusses his Zildjian 15" K Light Hi-Hats, praising their feel and sound. He emphasizes how the extra inch compared to 14" hi-hats significantly enhances his playing experience.

"Zildjian have recently revamped their A Custom range and I have chosen to use the 20' Crash which world perfectly as an accent crash; my go-to crash for the start of every bar, or an accent with the snare when I feel like the China maybe isn't so appropriate. A fantastic cymbal from a new unbelievable range of A Custom cymbals".

"I use this on the snare and have been for ages now, its so durable which is great for tour as this will last a good week on tour before changing it."

"I don't know if I'll ever change it, such a great, durable, reliable, fantastic sounding cymbal"

"I don't know if I'll ever change it, such a great, durable, reliable, fantastic sounding cymbal"

Dan used to use a Custom Dark ride as his main right-hand cymbal pre-2014, until the release of 'Lost Forever // Lost Together'.

In a kit tour featured by Rhythm Magazine on YouTube, Dan Searle of Architects mentions using the Zildjian 19" K Custom Hybrid China Cymbal extensively before 2014 and the release of their new album.

"All the K Chinas are great, I used the Hybrid for a long long time and it's pretty much neck and neck with the two, one day this, the next it'll be the Hybrid. It's a 19", good weight to it, dark: I don't want it to be too nasty on your ear, sometimes I feel that some other Chinas are just a bit too shrill, and I like that it has a bit of give and can get a bit of bend out of it. I feel there is a certain amount of give when my stick hits it compared to the rock hard thick chinas which i feel like i could shatter like a china plate. This is spot on for me and I love it.

"When writing the newest records I felt that I was looking for certain accents and this is perfect; they're kinda trashy, spot on for what I need."

"So durable, I use them on all the toms".

"I never want to use any other hardware; it's super sturdy, super reliable, strong, adjustable, and really versatile, I love it!"

"When writing the newest records I felt that I was looking for certain accents and this is perfect; they're kinda trashy, spot on for what I need."

In this instagram post from Dan, you can see he's started using SR25's recently as his overheads live.

On the latest tour (2023), Dan's been using the SM7B to undermic some of his cymbals. You can see this in may videos and pictures as well as this instagram post from Dan.

In this instagram post from Dan, you can see he's got a Solomun LoFReQ setup on the reso head of his kick.

In this instagram post from Dan of his current tour rig, he's using audix D6's on his floor toms. In other pictures he also has one in his kick.

In a lot of photos from the most recent tour (2023), Dan's using RT-30HR's on his toms and snare. You can see them clearly in this pic

Dan Searle uses the Roland Td-50K2 Electronic Drum Kit at home, as indicated in his Instagram post. The post discusses the creation of the song "Dead Butterflies" and features the drum kit prominently.

Ever since recording the songs for “The Sky, The Earth and All Between” album, Dan has been seen in every video with a DW 9000 rack instead of stands

Dan was signed by DW just before the recording of “The Classic Symptoms of a Broken Spirit” album, and since he was using an SJC acrylic kit the previous album, it made sense to try and keep the same kind of tone.