Motörizer Drum Setup: Mikkey Dee's Gear on Motörhead's 2008 Album | MetalForge
Mikkey Dee recorded Motörizer (2008) on a Pearl Reference Series kit with a Pearl Reference Steel Snare snare.
Discover the exact drum kit, cymbals, and gear Mikkey Dee used on Motörhead's Motörizer (2008) — recorded at Dave Grohl's Studio 606 and the band's highest-c...
Frequently Asked Questions
What drums did Mikkey Dee use on Motörizer?
On *Motörizer* (2008), Mikkey Dee played the same Pearl Reference Series kit he'd introduced on [*Kiss of Death*](/articles/kiss-of-death-drum-setup) two years earlier, now expanded to a four rack tom configuration (10", 12", 13", 14") alongside the same 22" x 18" bass drum and 16" floor tom. The kit was recorded at Studio 606, Dave Grohl's Foo Fighters facility in Northridge, California, which gave the drums a more natural, spacious room sound than earlier Cameron Webb-produced Motörhead albums. See the [Mikkey Dee drummer profile](/drummer/mikkey-dee) for his complete gear history.
Why was Motörizer recorded at Dave Grohl's studio?
*Motörizer*'s drum tracks were recorded at Studio 606, the Northridge, California facility built by Foo Fighters frontman and former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. The studio was designed with an emphasis on capturing natural, powerful drum sounds, which producer Cameron Webb used to give Mikkey Dee's Pearl Reference kit a more open, live-feeling character than the tighter production of [*Inferno*](/articles/inferno-drum-setup) and [*Kiss of Death*](/articles/kiss-of-death-drum-setup). Mixing was completed separately at Sage and Sound in Los Angeles.
How did Motörizer perform on the charts?
*Motörizer* reached #32 on the UK Albums Chart — Motörhead's highest UK chart position since *1916* in 1991 — along with #5 in Germany, #9 in Finland, #2 on the UK Rock & Metal Chart, and #82 on the Billboard 200 in the United States. The track "Rock Out" gained extra visibility as the theme song for WWE's Unforgiven pay-per-view event, putting Mikkey Dee's drumming in front of an audience well outside metal's traditional fanbase.
What cymbals did Mikkey Dee use on Motörizer?
By *Motörizer*, Mikkey Dee's cymbal setup had shifted almost entirely to the Paiste Signature line — 15" Sound Edge hi-hats, an 18" Fast Crash, a 20" Power Crash, and a 22" Full Ride — with only an 18" China cymbal retained from the brighter Paiste 2002 series used on [*Inferno*](/articles/inferno-drum-setup). Dee has been a Paiste artist since April 1987, and this setup represents the maturation of that decades-long relationship.