Dave Grohl's Drum Sets

This video by DW Drums shows Dave Grohl playing the DW Jazz Series Drums in Laser Blue:

16x24 Bass Drum with black lacquer hoops, 9x13, 10x14 (alternate), 16x16, 16x18 Tom-Toms, 16x20 single-headed bass drum used as Floor Tom, 5x8 and 5x10 Maple Concert Toms.

Find it on:

Dave Grohl used this kit for the US Nevermind tour from 10/13/91 onward (image courtesy of Nirvana Live Guide).

Find it on:

This photo from Nirvana Live Guide is of Dave Grohl's kit 1990-1991. It was demolished at the Cabaret Metro, Chicago, 10/12/91.

Find it on:

Dave owns and uses a DW custom set for many of his current drumming gigs. DW posted this on their official site.

Find it on:

This Tama Artstar II kit in piano black was Dave Grohl's primary setup for the In Utero tour.

Find it on:

Dave Grohl uses this kit when having a 'drum-off' with Animal from The Muppets, but he is using a larger deeper floor tom than the standard DW one. Both Dave and Animal smash up the kits they are playing on leading to them both saying 'you win' simultaneously

Find it on:

Shown in image from article and his drum tech talks about designing them and having them built by DW.

Find it on:

Dave Grohl can be seen playing Ludwig Classic Kit Silver Sparkle in this video.(2014)

Find it on:

Despite being known for using Tama drums in his time in Nirvana, Dave Grohl used a '60s Slingerland drum set in Blue Agate for Nirvana's MTV Unplugged in New York show. Dave Grohl did not use the 12" rack tom that comes with these drum sets. Instead he placed the 13" tom in place of the rack tom.

In the video, you can clearly see that Grohl is using this drumset multiple times throughout the performance.

Dave Grohl using this Slingerland set was also confirmed by users on this Drum Forum (https://www.drumforum.org/threads/daves-grohls-unplugged-kit.165985/page-2) in 2019.

Find it on:

at the 14:30 mark, you can see Dave Grohl using a Yamaha SPK-285 3 Octave Xylophone. For his song “Play”.

Find it on:

At 12:10 you can see Dave use the tambourine as part of his song “Play”.

Find it on:

At 6:21 you can see Dave using an LP Jam Block as a part of his song “Play”.

Find it on:

At 6:21 you can see Dave use the tambourine with a LP jam block. The Tambourine is on a stand, and was used for his song “Play”.

Find it on:

Dave Grohl is seen playing Ludwig Timpani at the 10:25 mark, as part of his project "Play."

Find it on:

At 10:47 Grohl is see grabbing the shaker from a top some congas and playing them from his song “Play”

Find it on:

Thought out this video you can see the congas in the background

Find it on:

At 0:00 you can see the bongos on the back table

Find it on:

At 0:00 you can see the shakers on the back table

Find it on:

At 0:00 you can see the maracas on the back table

Find it on:

At 0:00 you can see it on the back table

Find it on:

At 0:00 you can see it on the back table

Find it on:

at 0:33 Grohl is seen using the DW Metallic Black Collectors Series kit, identifiable by the distinct setup with all cymbals changed and the presence of rack toms.

Find it on:

At 0:33 growl has the Tom’s on this first drum kit

Find it on:

At 11:00 Grohl is seen playing the kit for the song Play

Find it on:

This is a community-built gear list for Dave Grohl.

  • Find relevant music gear like Guitars, Amplifiers, Effects Pedals, Drum Sets, Cymbals, Snare Drums, Drumsticks, and other instruments and add it to Dave Grohl.
  • The best places to look for gear usage are typically on the artist's social media, YouTube, live performance images, and interviews.
  • To receive email updates when Dave Grohl is seen with new gear, follow the artist.

Album Credits

Similar Artists

Foo Fighters

Foo Fighters

Chris Cornell

Chris Cornell

Singer, Guitarist · Soundgarden

Jerry Cantrell

Jerry Cantrell

Composer, Guitarist · Alice in Chains

Mother Love Bone

Mother Love Bone

Candlebox

Candlebox

Temple of the Dog

Temple of the Dog

Soundgarden

Soundgarden

Alice in Chains

Alice in Chains

Mad Season

Mad Season

Stone Gossard

Stone Gossard

Singer, Guitarist · Pearl Jam

Screaming Trees

Screaming Trees

Nirvana

Nirvana