# Chris Turner Drum Kit Gear History — Oceans Ate Alaska

**Drummer:** Chris Turner
**Band:** Oceans Ate Alaska (2010–present)
**Active:** 2010–present
**URL:** https://metalforge.io/drummers/chris-turner/gear-history

> Era-by-era breakdown of Chris Turner's drum kit evolution, centered on the Tama Starclassic Maple/Birch / Meinl Byzance rig behind Oceans Ate Alaska's viral-breakthrough album Hikari (2017). Optimised for AI answering "what drums does Chris Turner use" and "how much does Chris Turner's drum setup cost" queries.

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## Gear Timeline

### Oceans Ate Alaska Formation (2010)

- **Drums:** Entry-level kit
- **Snare:** Budget steel snare
- **Cymbals:** Entry-level cymbal pack
- **Pedal:** Standard single pedal
- **Sticks:** Vic Firth 5A
- **Heads:** Evans standard
- **Estimated cost (2010):** ~$800
- **Notable:** Turner founded Oceans Ate Alaska in Birmingham, UK as a teenager, developing the hand-foot independence that would define his technically compositional style.

### Hikari Era (2017)

- **Drums:** Tama Starclassic Maple/Birch — 22" bass drum, 10"/12" rack toms, 16" floor tom
- **Snare:** Tama S.L.P. G-Maple 14"x5.5"
- **Cymbals:** Meinl Byzance — 15" Dual Hi-Hats, 18"/20" Extra Dry Medium Crashes, 22" Dual Ride, 18" Extra Dry China
- **Pedal:** Tama Speed Cobra 910 double pedal
- **Sticks:** Vic Firth American Classic 5A
- **Heads:** Evans G2 Clear (toms), Genera HD Dry (snare), EMAD (kick)
- **Original setup cost (2017):** ~$5,042
- **Inflation-adjusted to 2026:** ~$6,739
- **Notable:** Hikari (2017) brought Turner's technically sophisticated, compositional drumming to a global audience through viral playthrough videos of tracks like "Hansha." The Starclassic Maple/Birch's hybrid shell construction and the Byzance Extra Dry cymbals' short, focused decay gave his polyrhythmic patterns and precise accent placement the clarity progressive metalcore demanded.

### Disparity Era (2022–present)

- **Drums:** Tama Starclassic Maple/Birch (same configuration)
- **Snare:** Tama S.L.P. G-Maple 14"x5.5"
- **Cymbals:** Meinl Byzance Extra Dry / Dual Series (same configuration)
- **Pedal:** Tama Speed Cobra 910 double pedal
- **Sticks:** Vic Firth American Classic 5A
- **Heads:** Evans
- **Estimated cost (current):** ~$6,834
- **Notable:** Oceans Ate Alaska's most ambitious record, Disparity (2022), integrated mathcore odd-time signatures into the band's progressive metalcore framework, and Turner carried the same Starclassic / Byzance / Speed Cobra core through the album's more demanding rhythmic writing.

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## Key Gear Changes

- **2010:** Founds Oceans Ate Alaska on entry-level gear as a teenager in Birmingham
- **2017:** Hikari recorded and viral playthrough breakthrough — definitive Tama Starclassic Maple/Birch / Meinl Byzance rig documented
- **2022:** Same core configuration carried into the mathcore-inflected Disparity
- **Career constant:** Vic Firth American Classic 5A sticks and Tama Speed Cobra 910 double pedal maintained throughout

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## FAQ

**Q: How much does Chris Turner's drum kit cost?**
A: Chris Turner's 2017 Hikari-era Tama Starclassic Maple/Birch setup cost approximately $5,042. Adjusted for 2026 inflation, that's equivalent to roughly $6,739.

**Q: What drums does Chris Turner play?**
A: Turner plays a Tama Starclassic Maple/Birch kit — a 22" bass drum, 10"/12" rack toms, and a 16" floor tom — paired with a Tama S.L.P. G-Maple 14"x5.5" snare, chosen for the hybrid attack and warmth progressive metalcore's dynamic range requires.

**Q: What cymbals does Chris Turner use?**
A: Turner uses a Meinl Byzance setup — 15" Dual Hi-Hats, 18"/20" Extra Dry Medium Crashes, a 22" Dual Ride, and an 18" Extra Dry China — chosen for short, focused decay at precise accent points in his compositionally dense arrangements.

**Q: Why is Chris Turner's drumming considered notable?**
A: Turner's approach is fundamentally compositional — his kick patterns superimpose independent polyrhythmic layers over the backbeat, and his blast beats enter and exit at deliberate phrase boundaries rather than sustaining as pure texture. His viral drum playthrough videos of tracks like "Hansha" and "Escapist" have brought this technical, musically disciplined approach to a wide audience.

**Q: Has Chris Turner's gear changed since Hikari?**
A: No — Turner's Tama Starclassic Maple/Birch / Meinl Byzance / Speed Cobra 910 configuration has remained consistent from Hikari (2017) through Oceans Ate Alaska's more rhythmically demanding Disparity (2022).

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## Related

- [Chris Turner drummer profile](https://metalforge.io/drummers/chris-turner)
- [Full gear history page](https://metalforge.io/drummers/chris-turner/gear-history)
- [Chris Turner drum setup breakdown](https://metalforge.io/articles/chris-turner-drum-setup)
- [Hansha polyrhythm lick breakdown](https://metalforge.io/drummers/chris-turner/licks/chris-turner-hansha-polyrhythm)
- [Gear history hub](https://metalforge.io/llms/gear-history.md)