On this episode of DTB’s “Gear Masters”, Erik Jimenez, drummer of the garage punk band, Together Pangea, shows off the gear that he uses onstage, while on the Hard Days Were Harder At The Time 2026 Tour with The Red Pears. Together Pangea is currently supporting their newest album, Eat Myself.
ABOUT DIGITAL TOUR BUS: Digital Tour Bus is your backstage pass to your favorite touring artists! With daily video releases, we cover all genres, and have had the pleasure of featuring the likes of Matchbox Twenty, Twenty One Pilots, Megadeth, MGK, Papa Roach, AJR, Pierce The Veil, Simple Plan, A Day to Remember, and thousands of others over the past 15 years. "Bus Invaders" takes you inside an artist's home on the road, "Cooking at 65mph" showcases the culinary skills of artists on tour, "Gear Masters" unveils the equipment musicians use on stage, and "Stage Threads" dives into the meaning and inspiration behind the clothing artists wear during their performances.
Affiliate Disclosure: Some of the links in this description are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you if you make a purchase. Your support helps me continue to create content like this. Thank you!
AI Generated·May contain errors
Video Summary
AI Generated
Eric Jimenez, drummer for Together Pangea, shares a detailed walkthrough of his drum gear and recording experiences. He discusses his preference for a bright, punchy rock sound, his custom Ludwig maple kit, and his pragmatic approach to selecting cymbals and hardware while on tour.
I'll look at the back of the drum head and be like,
I'm feeling warm today or punchy or bright.
None of these are my first choice except for this Armand.
It's just kind of what's out there at Guitar Center.
What's up? I'm Eric Jimenez. I play drums in Together Pangea
and we're on tour in Chicago at the Bottom Lounge
and we have a new record out called Eat Myself.
So, yeah, come see us on tour.
These are my classic maple Ludwig
that I purchased in 2017
and it was my first real kit
because before then I was just
frankensteining kits together for a very long time.
And I went to Pro Drums in LA and saw Jerry
and I was looking for a vintage kit
and he sort of talked me into just like
specking out my own kit directly.
So we sat down and did that.
There's nothing too crazy.
It's, you know, 13, 16, 22.
This one I think is a little longer, I think.
This was like 11 years ago
and I'm not super nerdy about this stuff.
And I think instead of 16, I think it's 18.
I think it's a little bit longer.
And then the only thing I really wanted
were these like 70s style,
I forget what you even call them,
but they like kind of swoop out
instead of like kickstand out.
It was a toss-up between maple and mahogany
and mahogany's a little darker
and I wanted kind of a bright, punchy rock band sound
because this band is a loud, punky rock band.
And so, yeah, I got this kit
and I thought I'll probably never
need another drum kit ever again
and I probably won't.
This is it for me.
Snare is actually William
who we were just talking to's snare drum.
It's a DW Design Series aluminum
and it's 14 by 6 1⁄2
and it's just loud.
It just cuts through
and I like to tune it pretty cranked on both sides.
I'm not super particular on heads.
As you can see, there's some Remo, there's some Evans.
It's really just how I feel in the moment.
I'll look at the back of the drum head
and be like, oh, I'm feeling warm today
or punchy or bright, so I'm not too particular.
These are just kind of medium.
I love this kit because you can tune it really high
when I fake my little jazz stuff when I'm at home
or if you go really low, they're really boomy.
I've tried both with this band
and other bands I've played with
and just kind of in the middle, medium sort of tuning
works best, I think.
Zildjian Armand hi-hats.
I don't think they make the Armand series anymore
but I used to have all Armand ----
and it was the best.
I love the sound of those, so when I can find them,
I'll pick them up.
Bottom hi-hat is unknown
because, of course, I go through cymbals really quickly.
Oh, these are 14s.
Yeah.
I'm always 14 on the hi-hat.
This I bought yesterday at Guitar Center
because it was the cheapest cymbal they had.
It's medium thin, A, Zildjian.
And then Sabian AAX thin ride, 21 inch.
I like a ride cymbal that I can crash,
so that's a big selling point for me.
Also bought at Guitar Center on tour
when I cracked a cymbal.
None of these are my first choice
except for this Armand.
It's just kind of what's out there at Guitar Center.
Vader Los Angeles 5As.
Wooden tip, although sometimes I play with nylon tips
and I get a lot of ---- from my friends who are drummers.
They go, why do you use nylon tips?
But yeah, so wooden tip.
These are just perfect.
I've been a fan of Vader for a long time.
I like an Iron Cobra by Tama 200
with a DW beater.
Mishmash all day long.
Throne was...
I don't even know who makes it. It might be DW.
It was a gift from my friend Joey Mullen
who's out on tour right now.
It's big and fat.
Maybe that's why he gave it to me.
Maybe he didn't like it.
Okay, so the thing with the record,
when we recorded it, I had just had a baby.
And my baby was three months old.
So we went to the studio in Eagle Rock
called Lucy's Meat Market.
They had a kit set up and I said, great.
And it was a mishmash.
I think it was like a CNC kick.
No rack tom, just the floor tom.
I couldn't tell you what snare I used.
They put a Linn drum behind every snare hit anyway.
It was my moment in the band to finally be like,
I'm going to let go a little bit of the drum sound.
I'm not going to be too particular.
I have life stuff going on.
But I think it turned out great.
I'm really stoked about it.
Yes, we did a record in 2021 called Die
that this kit was used on.
And a few EPs.
Every EP we've done since 2017 to now is this kit.
Our record is out now.
It's called Eat Myself.
And you can pick it up.
Check it out at Pangea.com
or record stores, maybe.
