John Otto Drum Setup: Limp Bizkit's 'Significant Other' (1999) Gear Breakdown | MetalForge

Frequently Asked Questions

What drum kit did John Otto use on Significant Other?

On Limp Bizkit's 'Significant Other' (1999, Flip Records/Interscope), John Otto played his newly adopted Orange County Drum and Percussion (OCDP) custom kit — a maple/birch hybrid-shell kit known for its balanced warmth-to-attack character, replacing the Pearl kit he'd used since Limp Bizkit's Three Dollar Bill, Y'all$ era. The configuration included a single 22" bass drum, 10" and 12" rack toms, and 14" and 16" floor toms. Otto paired the kit with Zildjian A and A Custom series cymbals — his cymbal endorsement since his earliest recordings — known for their bright, cutting, high-projection tone that served Limp Bizkit's dense nu-metal arrangements well. See the full drummer profile: [John Otto at MetalForge](/drummer/john-otto). For the follow-up album's setup: [Chocolate Starfish drum setup](/articles/chocolate-starfish-drum-setup).

What is Limp Bizkit's best-selling album?

'Significant Other' (1999) is Limp Bizkit's best-selling US album, certified 15× Platinum — making it the band's highest-certified release. However, 'Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water' (2000) holds the record for first-week sales in the band's discography: 1.05 million copies in one week, then a record for fastest-selling album in the US. Both albums debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200. Together they represent the commercial peak of Limp Bizkit and of nu-metal's mainstream moment. See: [Chocolate Starfish drum setup](/articles/chocolate-starfish-drum-setup).

What makes John Otto's drumming style unique in nu-metal?

John Otto is one of the few nu-metal drummers who genuinely integrates jazz technique into a heavy context rather than simply applying hip-hop aesthetics. Otto studied jazz drumming at the Douglas Anderson School of the Arts in Jacksonville, FL — and that education is audible on 'Significant Other' in his ghost note work, his swing-inflected kick timing, and his fill vocabulary, which phrases over bar lines in a jazz-aware way rather than resolving neatly on beat one. Modern Drummer described his playing as 'grounded in metal, jazz, and hip-hop.' His single-kick approach on an album where double-kick was the nu-metal norm demonstrates his groove-first compositional philosophy. Full technique breakdown: [John Otto at MetalForge](/drummer/john-otto).

What cymbals did John Otto use on Significant Other?

John Otto used Zildjian A and A Custom series cymbals on 'Significant Other' (1999) — the same endorsement he'd carried since his earliest recordings with Limp Bizkit and continues to this day. Zildjian's A Series is cast from B20 bronze and characterized by bright, cutting, high-projection tone — well-suited for nu-metal's dense arrangement where cymbals must cut through detuned guitars, bass, and turntable samples. The setup included 14" hi-hats, 16" and 18" crashes, a 20" ride, and an 18" China. The A Custom crash's clear bell definition and focused decay served both Otto's groove sections and the album's aggressive moments. See: [John Otto at MetalForge](/drummer/john-otto).

How did Significant Other change nu-metal?

'Significant Other' (1999) arrived at the peak of nu-metal's mainstream breakthrough — but Limp Bizkit's approach was rhythmically distinct from contemporaries like Korn or Deftones. John Otto's jazz-hip-hop groove foundation gave the band a commercial radio-readiness that extreme-leaning nu-metal bands lacked. The album debuted at #1 Billboard 200 with 645,000 first-week copies and went 15× Platinum US — numbers that validated hip-hop/metal fusion to the major label world. Its success directly enabled the even bigger 'Chocolate Starfish' campaign in 2000. See: [nu-metal drummers top 10](/top10/nu-metal-drummers).