Paul Wells is back on the show to take us on a journey through the gear of Tony Williams in extreme detail. Tony Williams is one of the most iconic drummers of the 20th century, with a meteoric rise from his days with Miles Davis to his Lifetime project, and he became jazz royalty through his tireless pursuit of pushing our instrument to its limits. Tony Williams will always be one of the greatest drummers of all time, and his gear is almost as legendary as his playing. However, it wasn't always the big yellow monster Gretsch kit... We cover every single detail in this 4-part series, from his childhood Slingerland Radio Kings, through his yearly change of Gretsch kits in the 60s, the advent of the big yellow kits, and his transition to DW. We also cover his cymbals, sticks, heads, and hardware in a later part of the series—the cymbals deserve an entire episode! Be sure to follow and subscribe to Paul's YouTube channel to show your support for the immense amount of time he has put into this project! Here is Paul's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@paulwells2227 and find him on social media at @paulwellsdrums Thank you to GM Designs Cymbals for sponsoring this episode! https://gmdcymbals.com/ **DRUM HISTORY MERCH** https://www.teepublic.com/stores/drum-history-podcast?ref_id=26024 ** CHECK OUT MY GEAR ON SWEETWATER ** https://imp.i114863.net/yRYRGN ** 30 DAY FREE DRUMEO TRIAL ** https://drumeo.pxf.io/c/3607735/1268414/14652 **JOIN PATREON** https://www.patreon.com/drumhistorypodcast **I record interviews with Riverside.FM - I highly recommend it. use code DRUM to save 15%*** https://riverside.fm/?via=bart-vanderzee