Ian Paice of Deep Purple's Drums

Mini-Article and Pictures by Paolo Sburlati

Ian Paice had a Ludwig 1966 Oyster Black Pearl kit 22 13 16 he bought second hand when he was young and had a 16x16 Blue Oyster 1962 added as a second floor tom. He said he's never been able to find another Black Oyster floor tom, so he got a Blue Oyster. That kit went into pieces a few year after Deep Purple got their success. He also bought a 1968 Ludwig Silver Sparkle 22 13 16 with double tom post in USA, in order not to carry his Black Oyster from England each USA tour. With this kit he recorded the famous Machine Head album in Montreux - Switzerland Dec. 1971 (see pictures inside the album itself). In 1970 he became a Paiste and Ludwig endorsee and he ordered a special kit made for him he got in 1971: two 18x26 bass drums, 10x14 and 10x16 hang toms, 16x18 and 18x20 floor toms and a couple 6 1/2x14 Supra-Phonic snare drums. He had the second bass drum and the second Supra-Phonic as spare drums on stage being those heads the first ones usually to go under his fury with Deep Purple! You can see the second bass drum being used during "Fireball" on the "Scandinavian Nights" video recorded in Copenhagen at the Tivoli Saal March 1972, 5 months before the Japan tour during which DP recorded the live album "Made In Japan"! Ian wanted large toms so to hear 'em on stage. He was surrounded by Ritchie Blackmore's Marshalls and Jon Lord's Leslies on stage! He told me he used the 10x16 hang tom live and the 10x14 in studio. I include here a picture of him in studio during sessions for the album "Burn" using the 10x14. That kit went to a friend of him who lives by his house in Henley-on-Thames in England, he's never seen it anymore! Ian still has the 10x16 tom in his garage in England, I've seen it when I visited him. Tension casings inside that drum have larger washers, in order to keep strong tensioning. He then had another Silver Sparkle kit with Melodic Toms added (see pictures). Then in 1975 he had the hand painted kit he later gave me. That kit has been hand painted by a friend of him, the one who did the "Stormbringer" cover. Same sizes and toms as the Made In Japan kit. He used the hand painted kit for the "Stormbringer" and "Come Taste The Band" albums with Deep Purple, during the PAL period (a project Ian did with his brother-in-law Jon Lord and singer Tony Ashton - Paice-Asthon-Lord) and that band recorded the album "Malice In Wonderland" and during the Whitesnake years. He then had another Silver Sparkle kit during the final part of the Whitesnake era, a kit made with 6 ply shells, no reinforcing rings. Always same sizes. He then switched to Pearl. I've seen the last Silver kit 6 ply too in his house in England as well as the Hand Painted kit. He later sent me the Hand Painted so that I could use it with 60/70 ROCK BAND, my Deep Purple Tribute band.

And why he used the tom above the bass drum mounted on a snare drum support in those years?

1. Because that large drum could not be held with any rail consolette or double tom post on a bass drum. Too heavy the drum and the drummer.
2. Because Ian wanted a clean sound from his tom and his bass drum.
3. Because a normal snare stand could not hold it, being it maximum 15" wide, so he had to use an old Ludwig Flat Base snare stand to hold it, the only snare stand reaching 16" wideness between its arms!

It's quite an experience every time for me to play on those large drums,
especially if they belonged to Ian Paice!!
 

	The author, Paolo Sburlati on his Ian Paice owned kit.