"It seems like nobody plays with two rack toms anymore. Most guys seem to have one rack and two floors. I don't like reaching that far. Two rack toms is more comfortable and having bass mounted toms feels more stable than toms hanging off the cymbal stands. I also prefer traditional toms to power toms, which sit too high when you mount them on a bass drum. I'm a big fan of Matt Cameron. He always used traditional sized toms, even with Soundgarden. He felt that if you knew how to tune your drums, You can get every sound you need out of traditional drums."
"So for years, I played the traditional 5-pc kit with 8 x 12 and 9 x 13 racks. For whatever reason, I guess simplicity, when I started playing with the Goo Goo Dolls, I went to a 4-pc. The cool thing about a 4-pc kit is that you can get the ride cymbal in really close."
"However, the new album called for more intricate parts and I went back to five drums. I was thinking of using the traditional 8 x 12 again, but now it sounded too small. Then it occured to me: why not just go with a 9 x 12. Just that extra. Just that extra inch added more power. I was worried about not getting enough tonal separation between a 9 x 12 and 9 x 13, but that's not a problem."
" I first played a traditional 14 x 22 kick. When I got a 16 x 22, I thought it was huge. Just a couple of years ago I made the jump to an 18 x 22. I'm amazed that you can get that much more thump out of that extra two inches. It's crazy, but if you put a 16 x 22 next to an 18 x 22, there's a world of difference."
"I've always returned to where I started from, the traditonal 5-pc kit. That simplicity just feels the most natural to me. Even with my hardware situation, I stay simple. It's like Murphy's Law: if something can go wrong, it will so the less things you have to mess with, the less things that can go wrong."