“Usually I bring a Gretsch Broadkaster. They are new drums, but they have that older aesthetic.”

Photo: Heernt (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY-SA 3.0
What drums does Mark Guiliana play?
Mark Guiliana uses a Gretsch USA Broadkaster kit with Remo Ambassador Coated heads and Istanbul Agop 30th Anniversary 22 inch rides, per 2025 and 2026 sources. He has said he uses Vic Firth American Classic 85A sticks and a larger Gretsch Brooklyn kit for rock touring.
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What drums Mark Guiliana uses: a sourced gear guide
Independent research by truerecs: every item links to the public source it comes from.
Jazz kit
“Usually I bring a Gretsch Broadkaster. They are new drums, but they have that older aesthetic.”
Rock kit
“I need bigger and lower tones there, so I have my Gretsch Brooklyn set, with a twenty-inch kick, and sixteen and twelve inch toms.”
“They still had warmth and character.”
Cymbals
“I had two 22-inch 30th Anniversary rides. One had six rivets. One had three.”
Drumheads
“On the bop kit, it is basically coated Ambassadors on everything.”
“On the other kit, the drums are tuned much lower. I might have a clear Emperor on the floor tom.”
Hardware
Sticks
“The Vic Firth 85A's feel like an extension of my body at this point. They help me serve the music in each moment.”
Records that shaped me
“The Holy Grail. This is probably the album I've listened to the most in my life.”
“Over the past 10 years, I've listened to Bob more than anybody else.”
“Tony Williams's playing on the title track changed the way I think about the drums.”
“Is it possible that Roy Haynes is underrated? I think so.”
“A friend gave me this record in college, and it completely blew my mind.”
“Richard D James's influence can be heard in nearly everything that has happened in the electronic realm since he started making music.”
About Mark Guiliana's gear.
What drums does Mark Guiliana play?
In a 2026 interview he said he usually brings a Gretsch Broadkaster bop kit with an 18 inch bass drum, 12 inch rack tom and 14 inch floor tom. He has said he used a Gretsch Brooklyn kit with a 20 inch kick while touring with St. Vincent.
What cymbals does Mark Guiliana use?
Istanbul Agop. A 2025 Istanbul Agop video lists his 30th Anniversary 22 inch Ride, 30th Anniversary 22 inch Medium Ride and 30th Anniversary 14 inch Medium Hi-Hats. He has said he used Istanbul Agop Traditionals in 20 and 22 inch sizes with St. Vincent.
What drumheads does Mark Guiliana use?
Remo. He has said his bop kit has coated Ambassadors on everything, and that his lower tuned kit might have a clear Emperor on the floor tom. His Remo artist page also lists Ambassador Vintage Coated, Ambassador Hazy Snare Side and Powersonic Clear.
What drumsticks does Mark Guiliana use?
He has said he uses Vic Firth American Classic 85A sticks, which he described on his Vic Firth artist page as feeling like an extension of his body.
What albums influenced Mark Guiliana?
He has named John Coltrane's A Love Supreme, Art Blakey's Free for All, Miles Davis's Nefertiti, Squarepusher's Feed Me Weird Things and Aphex Twin's Drukqs among the records that shaped him.
Mark Guiliana is an American drummer and composer known for Beat Music, his jazz quartet and David Bowie's Blackstar. This guide covers his drums, cymbals, heads and sticks, plus the records he has named as touchstones.
truerecs put this guide together from public videos, interviews and posts. Each item says how we know and links to the source. Mark Guiliana didn't write it or choose anything on it. How we source gear guides.
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