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Lars Ulrich, co-founder and drummer of thrash metal band Metallica, is a long-time endorsee of Tama drums, Zildjian cymbals and Remo drumheads. Ulrich was the first Tama endorsee ever to have his own signature drumkit, when in 1992 Tama produced 25 replicas of his white 9-piece Artstar II kit. He has, however, been known to use a mixture of brands when recording in the studio, including Ludwig and Gretsch drums and Sabian cymbals.

Ulrich was also a long-time endorsee of Calato Regal Tip wooden sticks, before making the move to Easton Ahead metal alloy drumsticks in 1994 after Metallica's 'Shit Hits The Sheds' US stadium tour. As his reason for moving, he cited the problem of wooden sticks easily breaking, especially during outdoor gigs in cold weather. He has had his own signature series of Ahead sticks since 1995, although he occasionally uses a wooden stick in one hand and an Ahead stick in the other during studio recording, as he prefers the sound of wood when striking cymbals.

Contents 1 Drum Kit Set-ups 1.1 2003 - Present (St. Anger, Some Kind of Monster) 1.2 1996 - 2003 (Load, ReLoad, Garage Inc., S&M) 1.3 1994 - 1995 1.4 1991 - 1993 (Metallica, Live Shit: Binge & Purge) 1.5 1990 1.6 1988 - 1989 (...And Justice for All) 1.7 1985 - 1987 (Master of Puppets) 1.8 1984 (Ride the Lightning) 1.9 1983 (Kill 'Em All) 2 Trivia

Tama Starclassic Maple, Green Sparkle Finish, Chrome Hardware

• 2x Tama Starclassic 22"x16" Bass Drums
• Tama Starclassic 10"x8" Tom Tom
• Tama Starclassic 12"x10" Tom Tom
• Tama Starclassic 16"x14" Floor Tom
• Tama Starclassic 16"x16" Floor Tom
• Tama LU1465 Diamond Plate Signature Snare Drum 14"x6.5"
• Tama LU1465BB Bell Brass Signature Snare Drum 14"x6.5"
• Tama Cymbal Stands and Hardware
• Remo coated Emperor batter heads on toms with clear Ambassador resonant heads. Clear Powerstroke 3 bass batter heads with Danmar reinforcement patch and Tama Ebony resonant heads. Remo coated CS with reverse dot and Ambassador snare side resonant on snare drum.
• Tama Power Glide Iron Cobra bass drum pedals
• Zildjian 17", 18", 19" A Medium Crashes (in brilliant finish)
• Zildjian 20" Oriental China Trash
• Zildjian 18" Oriental China Crash When Ride is off set
• Zildjian 14" Z Custom Dyno-Beat Hi-Hat
• Zildjian 22" K dark ride
• Easton Ahead Lars Ulrich Signature drumsticks
• After an absence of over a decade, Ulrich's mascot - a toy monkey hanging off his toms alongside the Danish flag - made the occasional appearance[1]

Tama Starclassic Maple, Silver Sparkle Finish, Chrome Hardware

• 2x Tama Starclassic 22"x16" Bass Drums
• Tama Starclassic 10"x9" Tom Tom
• Tama Starclassic 12"x10" Tom Tom
• Tama Starclassic 16"x16" Floor Tom
• Tama Starclassic 18"x16" Floor Tom
• Tama LU1465 Diamond Plate Signature Snare Drum 14"x6.5"
• Tama LU1465BB Bell Brass Signature Snare Drum 14"x6.5"
• Tama Cymbal Stands and Hardware
• Remo clear Pinstripe batter heads on toms and bass drums. Remo coated Ambassador resonant heads. Remo coated CS with reverse dot and Ambassador resonant on snare.
• Tama HP45 Iron Cobra Pedals
• Zildjian 12" Z custom splash
• Zildjian 14" Z Custom 'Dyno Beat' Hi-hat
• Zildjian 17" (x2), 18", 19" A medium Crashes (in brilliant finish)
• Zildjian 18", 20" Oriental China Trash
• Zildjian 20" A ping ride
• Easton Ahead Lars Ulrich Signature drumsticks

Tama Artstar II Maple, Piano White Finish, Custom Black Hardware, Granstar Lugs

• 2x Tama Artstar II 24"x16" Bass Drums
• Tama Artstar II 12"x11" Tom Tom
• Tama Artstar II 13"x12" Tom Tom
• 2x Tama Artstar II 18"x16" Floor Toms
• Tama 14"x6.5" Bell Brass Snare Drum
• Remo clear Pinstripe batter heads on toms and bass drums. Remo Ebony Ambassadors as resonant heads. Snare head was a Remo coated CS with reverse dot and Ambassador snare side resonant.
• Tama HP45 Pro Beat Pedals
• Zildjian 14" Z 'Dyno-Beat' Hi-Hats (Primary Hi-hats)
• Zildjian 13" Z 'Dyno-Beat' Hi-Hats (Secondary Hi-hats)
• Zildjian 16", 17", 18" A Rock Crashes (Brilliant)
• Zildjian 17" A Medium Crash (Brilliant)
• Zildjian 20" Z China Boy
• Calato Regal Tip 5B Lars Ulrich signature drumsticks (until 1995)
• Easton Ahead Lars Ulrich Signature drumsticks (1995 onwards)

Tama Artstar II Maple, Piano White Finish, Custom Black Hardware, Granstar Lugs, Also known as the "Tama Artstar II Lars Ulrich Signature"

• 2x Tama Artstar II 24"x16" Bass Drums
• Tama Artstar II 10"x10" Tom Tom
• Tama Artstar II 12"x11" Tom Tom
• Tama Artstar II 14"x12" Tom Tom
• Tama Artstar II 16"x14" Tom Tom
• 2x Tama Artstar II 18"x16" Floor Toms
• Tama 14"x6.5" Bell Brass Snare Drum
• Remo clear Pinstripe batter heads on toms and bass drums. Remo Ebony Ambassadors as resonant heads. Snare head was a Remo coated CS with reverse dot and Ambassador snare side resonant.
• Tama HP45 Pro Beat Pedals
• Zildjian 14" Z 'Dyno-Beat' Hi-Hats (Primary Hi-hats)
• Zildjian 13" Z 'Dyno-Beat' Hi-Hats (Secondary Hi-hats)
• Zildjian 16", 17", 18" A Rock Crashes (Brilliant)
• Zildjian 17" A Medium Crash (Brilliant)
• Zildjian 20" Z China Boy
• Calato Regal Tip 5B Lars Ulrich signature drumsticks
• Toy monkey and Danish flag mascot sometimes hanging off tom toms, this seemed to disappear in 1992.

Tama Granstar Birch, White Finish, Chrome Hardware

• 2x Tama Granstar 24"x16" Bass Drums
• Tama Granstar 12"x11" Tom Tom
• Tama Granstar 13"x12" Tom Tom
• Tama Granstar 14"x13" Tom Tom
• Tama Granstar 15"x14" Tom Tom
• 2x Tama Granstar 18"x16" Floor Toms
• Tama 14"x8" Birch Snare Drum
• Remo clear Pinstripe batter heads on toms and bass drums. Remo Ebony Ambassadors as resonant heads. Snare head was a Remo coated CS with reverse dot and Ambassador snare side resonant.
• Tama HP45 Pro Beat Pedals
• Zildjian 14" Z 'Dyno-Beat' Hi-Hats (Primary Hi-hats)
• Zildjian 13" Z 'Dyno-Beat' Hi-Hats (Secondary Hi-hats)
• Zildjian 16", 17", 18" A Rock Crashes (Brilliant)
• Zildjian 16", 17" A Medium Crashes (Brilliant)
• Zildjian 20" Z China Boy
• Calato Regal Tip 5B Lars Ulrich signature drumsticks
• Toy monkey and Danish flag mascot usually hanging off tom toms.

It's a Granstar Custom.

Tama Granstar Birch, Custom Finish(to match the stage setup), Custom Black Hardware

• 2x Tama Granstar 24"x16" Bass Drums
• Tama Granstar 12"x11" Tom Tom
• Tama Granstar 13"x12" Tom Tom
• Tama Granstar 14"x13" Tom Tom
• Tama Granstar 15"x14" Tom Tom
• 2x Tama Granstar 18"x16" Floor Toms
• Tama 14"x8" Birch Snare Drum used from march 1989.
• Remo clear Pinstripe batter heads on toms and bass drums. Remo Ebony Ambassadors as resonant heads. Snare head was a Remo coated CS with reverse dot and Ambassador snare side resonant.
• Tama HP45 Pro Beat Pedals
• Zildjian 14" Z 'Dyno-Beat' Hi-Hats (Primary Hi-hats)
• Zildjian 14" Z 'Dyno-Beat' Hi-Hats (Secondary Hi-hats)
• Zildjian 16", 17", 18" A Rock Crashes (Brilliant)
• Zildjian 16", 17" A Medium Crashes (Brilliant)
• Zildjian 20" Z China Boy
• Calato Regal Tip 5B Lars Ulrich signature drumsticks
• Toy monkey and Danish flag mascot usually hanging off tom toms.

Granstar Custom.

2x Tama Superstar Birch, Mirror Chrome Finish, Chrome Hardware

• 2x Tama Superstar 24" Bass Drums
• Tama Superstar 12" Tom Tom
• Tama Superstar 13" Tom Tom
• Tama Superstar 14" Tom Tom
• Tama Superstar 15" Tom Tom
• 2x Tama Superstar 18" Floor Toms
• Tama 14"x8" Birch snare drum. No 6 1/2*14 metal Tama snare. Look at some pictures for proof.
• Tama Cymbal Stands and Hardware
• Remo clear Pinstripe batter heads on toms and bass drums, resonators tended not to be used. Snare head was Remo coated CS. Clear CS was also used as batter skins
• Zildjian cymbals. Platinum live

(Lars used these two probably identical kits throughout the 'Ride the Lightning' and 'Master of Puppets' tours. One was based in the US and the other in Europe.)

Tama Artstar, White, Chrome Hardware

• Remo heads
• Zildjian cymbals

• Not much is known about this kit because it was only used for the Japanese leg of the 'Master of Puppets' tour, possibly borrowed from Tama Japan. It is likely that the same sizes of his regular kit's were used.

Tama Imperialstar, Mirror Chrome Finish, Chrome Hardware

• 2x Tama Imperialstar 24" Bass Drums w/ Metallica logo on the front
• Tama Imperialstar 12" Tom Tom
• Tama Imperialstar 13" Tom Tom
• Tama Imperialstar 14" Tom Tom
• Tama Imperialstar 15" Tom Tom
• 2x Tama Superstar 18" Floor Toms
• Tama 14"x8" Birch snare drum. Wrong 6 1/2* 14 until march 1989.
• Tama Cymbal Stands and Hardware
• Remo clear Pinstripe batter heads on toms and bass drums, resonators tended not to be used. Snare head was Remo coated CS.
• Zildjian cymbals.

Ludwig, Black Finish, Yamaha Hardware

Camco, Unknown Finish

Camco kit used in 1982. Ludwig used in early 1984 in UK where the picture is taken.

Camco kit was blond. Pictures are aviable.

• On the 1983-1984 'Kill 'Em All For One" tour, Ulrich's early kit, a black Ludwig, was stolen along with most of the band's other equipment. The theft took place on 14th January 1984 in Boston, MA, after a gig at the Channel Club. This event forced Metallica to borrow equipment from fellow tour band and friends, Anthrax, for the remainder of the tour. It also famously inspired the suicide-themed song, 'Fade To Black' on Metallica's second album, 'Ride the Lightning'.

• A white 9-piece Tama Artstar II Lars Ulrich Signature kit, which had been played by Ulrich himself at the American Music Awards in January 1993, surfaced on the popular eBay auction website during March 2006 and sold for over $8,500.

v • d • e Metallica

James Hetfield • Kirk Hammett • Robert Trujillo • Lars Ulrich Cliff Burton • Dave Mustaine • Ron McGovney • Jason Newsted Discography Albums and Extended Plays: No Life 'Til Leather • Kill 'Em All • Ride the Lightning • Master of Puppets • Garage Days Re-Revisited • ...And Justice for All • Metallica • Load • ReLoad • Garage Inc. • S&M • St. Anger • Some Kind of Monster • Ninth studio album Videography DVDs and videos: Cliff 'em All • 2 of One • A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica • Live Shit: Binge & Purge • Cunning Stunts • S&M • Classic Albums: Metallica - The Black Album • Some Kind of Monster • The Videos 1989-2004 Related articles Hetfield/Ulrich

A lot of this Lars info has come from my personal research. This is ok to use but its not correct yet.

The black Kill'em'All kit actual brand is not known in public. As for the Ludwig it was bought buy Music for nations Europe label for Lars in 1984 after the theft. It was rebuild by Baz who worked for John Henry PA in London. That is why he is listed on the thank you page on Ride The lightning. I know since I talked with Baz personally a few years ago.