# Raymond Herrera vs John Otto — Drum Kit Comparison > Side-by-side gear comparison between Raymond Herrera (Fear Factory / Arkaea / Brujeria) and John Otto (Limp Bizkit). **Category:** Alternative / Nu-Metal · **URL:** https://metalforge.io/vs/raymond-herrera-vs-john-otto Fear Factory's Raymond Herrera vs Limp Bizkit's John Otto — industrial metal machine-precision versus jazz-trained nu-metal groove. Two contemporaries who built opposite double-kick philosophies. --- ## Raymond Herrera Setup - **Drums:** Tama Starclassic - **Cymbals:** Zildjian A Custom & Z Custom Series (14" A Custom Hi-Hats, 18" & 19" A Custom Crashes, 21" Z Custom Mega Bell Ride, 18" A Custom China) - **Snare:** Tama 14x6.5" Brass - **Pedals/Hardware:** DW 5000 Series Double Pedal, Tama Power Tower Custom Rack, Tama Wide Rider Throne - **Sticks:** Pro-Mark 5A Oak Nylon Tip ## John Otto Setup - **Drums:** Orange County Drum & Percussion (OCDP) Custom Type 5 Acrylic - **Cymbals:** Zildjian (13" A Custom Mastersound Hi-Hats, 16" & 17" A Custom Projection Crashes, 20" A Custom EFX, 20" FX Oriental Crash of Doom) - **Snare:** OCDP 14x6.5" 40-ply Vented, OCDP 10x6" 20-ply - **Pedals/Hardware:** Gibraltar G Class Bass Drum Pedals, Gibraltar Custom Racks - **Sticks:** Zildjian Artist Series ## Playing Style Raymond Herrera co-founded Fear Factory in 1990 and spent nearly two decades — through "Demanufacture" (1995), "Obsolete" (1998), and "Digimortal" (2001) — pioneering a hybrid acoustic/electronic drumming approach built for a band whose entire lyrical and sonic identity revolved around the collision of humanity and machine. Every drum in his kit ran through triggers, layering an electronically processed sample beneath each acoustic stroke to produce a sound that was simultaneously raw and robotic. John Otto co-founded Limp Bizkit in 1994 and took an almost opposite route to nu-metal: trained in jazz at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, Otto brought hip-hop groove placement, ghost notes, and genuine swing to Limp Bizkit's rap-metal fusion, powering "Significant Other" (1999, 15x Platinum) and "Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water" (2000, #1 debut) with feel rather than force. ## Technique Herrera's defining technical signature is the machine-gun double-kick — sustained sixteenth-note grids at 190–210 BPM on tracks like "Replica," executed with such consistency that each stroke fired its ddrum trigger at near-identical velocity, making the kick function almost like a sequencer beneath the riffs. Otto took the opposite approach entirely: at a time when double-kick was nu-metal's default status symbol, he played single kick throughout "Significant Other," placing each hit with hip-hop-informed micro-timing — landing slightly ahead of or behind the strict grid rather than locking mechanically to it — to create the swinging pocket that made tracks like "Nookie" groove rather than merely pound. Where Herrera pursued absolute mechanical consistency, Otto pursued rhythmic feel; both approaches were revolutionary within nu-metal-adjacent metal, just aimed at opposite ends of the precision-versus-groove spectrum. ## Key Differences Herrera's kit was a Pearl Reference Series set — 22"x18" double bass drums and a full tom spread, every single piece fitted with ddrum and Roland triggers — driven by a Pearl Eliminator double pedal, cut through the mix with Zildjian Z Custom cymbals, and struck with heavier Vater Power 5B sticks built for high-impact touring durability. Otto's setup centered on custom Orange County Drum and Percussion (OCDP) shells built to his specification, though on "Significant Other" specifically he played a Sonor Force 3007 kit with beech shells and a single 22"x18" kick, paired with Paiste 2002 series cymbals for their bright, cutting projection through Limp Bizkit's dense turntable-and-guitar mix; he later moved to Zildjian A and A Custom cymbals and Gibraltar hardware for his ongoing OCDP setup. Herrera's defining technical signature is the machine-gun double-kick — sustained sixteenth-note grids at 190–210 BPM on tracks like "Replica," executed with such consistency that each stroke fired its ddrum trigger at near-identical velocity, making the kick function almost like a sequencer beneath the riffs. Otto took the opposite approach entirely: at a time when double-kick was nu-metal's default status symbol, he played single kick throughout "Significant Other," placing each hit with hip-hop-informed micro-timing — landing slightly ahead of or behind the strict grid rather than locking mechanically to it — to create the swinging pocket that made tracks like "Nookie" groove rather than merely pound. Where Herrera pursued absolute mechanical consistency, Otto pursued rhythmic feel; both approaches were revolutionary within nu-metal-adjacent metal, just aimed at opposite ends of the precision-versus-groove spectrum. ## Influence & Legacy Herrera's triggered double-kick work on "Demanufacture" became the reference point for an entire generation of industrial and groove metal drummers, directly influencing the hybrid acoustic-electronic setups that followed him throughout the late 1990s. Otto's jazz-informed, single-kick groove approach proved that nu-metal's biggest commercial successes didn't require double-bass density — "Significant Other" and "Chocolate Starfish" together sold well over 20 million copies, validating hip-hop-metal fusion to the entire industry, and Limp Bizkit's 2020s touring revival has kept his groove-first template in front of new audiences. ## Verdict Raymond Herrera and John Otto both emerged in the early-to-mid 1990s building drum setups for genres adjacent to nu-metal, and arrived at nearly opposite philosophies. Herrera fused acoustic drums with full-kit electronic triggering to make Fear Factory's machine-gun double-kick feel genuinely mechanical; Otto leaned on jazz training and hip-hop micro-timing to make Limp Bizkit's single-kick grooves feel genuinely human. One drummer chased consistency through electronics, the other chased feel through restraint — and both approaches sold millions of records and shaped a decade of heavy music. ## FAQ **Q: What are the main differences between Raymond Herrera's and John Otto's drum kits?** A: Raymond Herrera plays Tama Starclassic with Zildjian cymbals, while John Otto uses Orange County Drum & Percussion (OCDP) Custom Type 5 Acrylic with Zildjian cymbals. Herrera's kit was a Pearl Reference Series set — 22"x18" double bass drums and a full tom spread, every single piece fitted with ddrum and Roland triggers — driven by a Pearl Eliminator double pedal, cut through the mix with Zildjian Z Custom cymbals, and struck with heavier Vater Power 5B sticks built for high-impact touring durability. Otto's setup centered on custom Orange County Drum and Percussion (OCDP) shells built to his specification, though on "Significant Other" specifically he played a Sonor Force 3007 kit with beech shells and a single 22"x18" kick, paired with Paiste 2002 series cymbals for their bright, cutting projection through Limp Bizkit's dense turntable-and-guitar mix; he later moved to Zildjian A and A Custom cymbals and Gibraltar hardware for his ongoing OCDP setup. **Q: What drums does Raymond Herrera play vs John Otto?** A: Raymond Herrera plays Tama Starclassic. John Otto plays Orange County Drum & Percussion (OCDP) Custom Type 5 Acrylic. **Q: Who is the better alternative / nu-metal drummer, Raymond Herrera or John Otto?** A: Both are legends in their own right. Raymond Herrera and John Otto both emerged in the early-to-mid 1990s building drum setups for genres adjacent to nu-metal, and arrived at nearly opposite philosophies. See the full analysis at [metalforge.io/vs/raymond-herrera-vs-john-otto](https://metalforge.io/vs/raymond-herrera-vs-john-otto). **Q: What cymbals do Raymond Herrera and John Otto use?** A: Raymond Herrera uses Zildjian A Custom & Z Custom Series (14" A Custom Hi-Hats, 18" & 19" A Custom Crashes, 21" Z Custom Mega Bell Ride, 18" A Custom China). John Otto uses Zildjian (13" A Custom Mastersound Hi-Hats, 16" & 17" A Custom Projection Crashes, 20" A Custom EFX, 20" FX Oriental Crash of Doom). --- *Full comparison: [metalforge.io/vs/raymond-herrera-vs-john-otto](https://metalforge.io/vs/raymond-herrera-vs-john-otto)* *[Raymond Herrera drummer profile](https://metalforge.io/drummer/raymond-herrera)* *[John Otto drummer profile](https://metalforge.io/drummer/john-otto)* --- *Last updated: 2026-07-09 · Source: [MetalForge.io](https://metalforge.io)*