Owl is an L.A.-based three-piece rock act made up of the pieces of other rock acts -- Chris Wyse of The Cult, Jason Mezilis of Your Horrible Smile and Dan Dinsmore of The Clay People. Drummer Dinsmore talked to Gearwire about his Spaun drum set.

Tell me a little bit about Spaun drums; how you found them, why they appeal to you?

I usually like to stick with solid maple drums, I just grew accustomed to them after my sessions with The Clay People. This was also my kit of choice for the Owl recordings. Owl needed to punch but I needed tremendous dynamics within the music and these drums were right for the overall feel.

They have a great attack and have the right amount of volume and projection I like. The Spaun drums are so easy to work with, they have many sweet spots I can usually go anywhere I want with the tuning and pitch.

Describe your specific kit. Again why does it appeal to you? What is it you like about this specific set from Spaun?

I play various setups and like to experiment. Recently I have been using the following setup in the studio: 8" ,10" ,12" ,16" , 18" toms, 14" wood snare, 14" inch steel snare, 22" inch kick. The cymbal setup for this is 16", 17" crash, 20" earth ride, 14" KZ hi-hats, 8" inch splash, 18" China.

The Spaun kit is just amazing for great tonality. They tune easy and give me a big wide open sound. That's what I was shooting for with Owl. For some of the sessions we used some bigger drums, 12" to 24" -- again, maple. We needed a big back beat sound à la Zeppelin for the song "Preacherman," and a few others.

Tell me a little about the construction. What is it made of?

I really love the maple, but have also done recordings with a birch kit for a soft, plushy sound. It all depends on the situation. On the Owl record I stuck with the maple drums for the versatility and punch.

Tell me a little about how you set up your drums. Do you do anything "special"?

I usually keep my drums at what I feel is a sweet spot. From my experience every kit seems to have a sweet spot, and once I find it I usually stick to it. Typically I like a really open sound. For the Owl record it was so easy because we had such great people working on it and the tonality was pretty consistent.

What sort of player would you recommend Spaun drums to? Is there a genre or style of playing they are most appropriate for?

It's difficult to pinpoint one specific player type best suited for Spaun because the drums are very diverse. I've never have an issue no matter what the situation, so I would say that any type of player could benefit from these beautiful drums. Quality, quality, quality.

What is the best thing about your kit?

There are many great things about my kit. One main factor that comes into play is sentimental value. I love to use the Noble & Cooley snare that my brother-in-law had given me. It's particularly special to me because he is the reason I started playing drums.

Is there anything you do not like or would change?

No. I just like to mix it up a bit though. Sometimes I'll just play a 4 piece kit, and others a larger set. It all depends on the circumstance and my mood. For the next Owl record I'll probably use a larger kit.