4/26/09 - Much excitement is in the air as Carter and the rest of Dave Matthews Band kick off their spring/summer tour in support of their new upcoming studio album. And as tradition has proven the start of a new tour means there is potential for changes with Carter's kit. This became immediately apparent when photos came back showing him playing...brace yourself...a new snare!? See for yourself...
It's not certain the exact make and model of the snare quite yet but it looks somewhat similar to Ludwig's 100th Anniversary limited edition snare drum. Also, it's undetermined whether it's the Black Beauty model or the Black Magic. You can tell by the beaded shell and short tubular lugs that this looks awfully similar to one of these limited edition snares. The etching on the shell is hard to make out but that could be because of glare, angle, or reflection. Only 100 of these snares were produced a piece so its uniqueness and rareness definitely seems like a selling point for Carter. CORRECTION: It appears that the new snare is actually a Ludwig LB417T Black Beauty Supra-Phonic snare drum. This would explain the lack of etching on the snare in the pics linked above. The batter side seems to be fitted with a die-cast hoop whereas the snare side has a triple flange hoop. Here's a pic of a 6.5"x14" Ludwig Black Beauty Supra-Phonic snare drum...
In addition Carter is using a 19" K Custom Hybrid China as his third "auxiliary" trash above his ride cymbals. Take a look...
2/5/09 - A couple pictures have surfaced of Carter's kit in the studio for the recording of the band's new studio album set to be released June 2, 2009. Check 'em out...
Notice the collection of a few snare drums in the background of that second shot.
In other drum kit news, with the help of a fellow Carter fan of mine I believe I've been able correctly identify item #22 in the diagram below. I had previously thought it was a splash cymbal of some sort but it turns out that it's more likely to be a 7" LP Ice Bell underneath his upside down 6" Zildjian Zil Bel. You can kind of gather this by taking a look at the second studio pic above.
7/12/08 - Recently Carter has included on his kit a 6" A Splash mounted directly underneath his Zil Bel. His Zil Bel is now mounted upside down with the Chinese wedding bell protruding out. It is unclear at this time if this splash cymbal is the same splash that was mounted on his flat top ride or if this is a new splash entirely. It has also been discovered that Carter is no longer playing a K Custom Hybrid China as his top china. Instead he is now playing an 18" Oriental Classic China. I've also noticed that during some shows Henry, Carter's drum tech, won't setup certain items on Carter's kit, namely his agogo bells and his Hammer Accessory Pad trigger. It's not certain if there's a reason for this, maybe Henry looks at the setlist and decides what to setup based on what songs will be played or maybe there is no method to at all. I guess sometimes drum teching isn't an exact science.
6/10/08 - After looking at some more concert photos from Jay Yee it can be determined that the china cymbal above Carter's rides is not a Oriental Classic China as previously thought to be. These photos capture the underside of the china at just the right angle to where you can see visible the "K" logo stamped. And due to the finish and hammer markings of the cymbal it can be further determined that this cymbal is a 19" K China. This would make the second 19" K China in Carter's cymbal arrangement. The other one is his bottom piggybacked china mentioned below. Due to the angle of these photos it can also be confirmed that he no longer has the 14" ZXT Trashformer in his setup.
6/1/08 - After further review of early tour photos it appears that Carter is no longer playing a 20" Oriental Classic China in his piggybacked china arrangement. Due to the traditional finish and logo markings of the cymbal he's now playing it can be determined that the new bottom china cymbal is a 19" K China.
5/31/08 - The band kicked off their Summer 2008 Tour last night in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania and it didn't take long to notice the first change to Carter's kit this year. It is evident from early reports, photos, and video that he is utilizing Yamaha's new Hex Rack System which was unveiled this past January at the Winter NAMM 2008 show. This was anticipated since Carter has generally embraced new hardware and products from his endorsers and has incorporated those items into his kit (more notably the A Custom EFX and Armand crashes). There's no doubt that if a manufacturer wants to get its new product noticed they can put it on Carter's kit. The Hex Rack System comes in two prepackaged configurations according to Yamaha, the HXR3L designed to accommodate a six-piece drum kit and the HXR2L designed to accommodate a five-piece drum kit. Since Carter's setup isn't considered a five- or six-piece kit (it's technically a seven-piece kit) it is uncertain what combination of these racks, mounts, and clamps he is using. It is quite possible that he is using a custom setup of the Hex Rack System to fit his particular drumming needs. Below are some links to photos of the Yamaha Hex Rack System including a few from the unveiling at the Winter NAMM 2008 show (none of the photos actually display Carter's kit with the rack, however).
Hex Rack 1 Hex Rack 2 Hex Rack 3 Hex Rack 4 Hex Rack 5 Hex Rack 6 Hex Rack 7 Hex Rack 8 Hex Rack 9 Hex Rack 10 Hex Rack 11 Hex Rack 12 Hex Rack 13 Hex Rack 14
Lastly, what would a DMB tour be without another change in Carter's cymbal setup? This tour definitely is no exception because from early photos and video it can be seen that there is a noticeable change to his cymbal arrangement. It can't yet be determined all of the exact changes but for now it looks like he is no longer using his 20" Oriental Crash of Doom, 9" K Custom Hybrid Splash, and the 10" K Splash/8" A Splash piggyback setup (instead it appears to be his 14" K Dark Thin Crash in its place). In position where his 14" K Dark Thin Crash use to sit now appears to be a new unknown cymbal which looks like a 16". It also seems that he is no longer using his 14" ZXT Trashformer and that his 18" A Custom EFX Crash is positioned lower than normal, possibly due to the Trashformer being gone.
I'll leave you with some beautiful quality photos of Carter's kit from the band's two-night performances at the Post-Gazette Pavilion at Star Lake in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania. Notice the changes that were mentioned above.
Big thanks goes out to Jay Yee for these great quality photos: Pic 1 Pic 2
Even bigger thanks goes out to Matt Grable for these excellent quality photos (warning, they are quite large): Pic 1 Pic 2 Pic 3 Pic 4 Pic 5 Pic 6 Pic 7 Pic 8 Pic 9 Pic 10 Pic 11 Pic 12 Pic 13
10/11/07 - Another update on the previously mentioned signature drum which was discussed in the update below. I heard back from Dave Rollans, the individual with the connections on Carter's signature snare currently under development by Yamaha. It seems that the snare will actually feature a brass shell instead of aluminum as originally thought. Carter was toying with two different prototypes in that size, one aluminum and one brass. He has settled on the brass shell apparently. Carter played the brass shell prototype at the band's Las Vegas shows this year. It featured a matte chrome finish over the natural brass finish. Another update is that the snare might feature a yellow finish when complete, a color which Carter is leaning towards. Perhaps it's the Dennis Chambers inspiration inside him. First a purple Dunnett Ti and now a yellow Yamaha. Hmm, I wonder if Carter is a Minnesota Vikings fan?
You can download a high resolution shot of Carter's kit from the 3/23/07 show (Las Vegas Night 1) by visiting here. This shot gives you a glimpse of the brass shell signature snare prototype (with matte chrome finish). Photo credit goes to WeeklyDavespeak.com.
Check out a preview of what the new snare might sound like by listening to the Dave Matthews Band's Live Trax Volume 9 release which was recorded on 3/23/07 and 3/24/07 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. It can be purchased here. You can download and listen to a small preview clip of Carter playing the snare during the song The Maker here.
Continued thanks goes out to Dave (and his secret connection) for the juicy details that we're all so eager to hear about!
10/06/07 - Recently at the Coors Amphitheater in San Diego Dave Rollans, a fellow drummer and Carter fan, was fortunate enough to meet the man himself, Carter Beauford, duh! He got invited onto his tour bus and was able to talk drums with him for awhile. Dave was kind enough to share some of what was talked about with me. One of the things that was mentioned was Carter's new Yamaha signature snare drum that has been in the works for quite awhile now. Some of the specs were discussed and it was revealed that the snare will be made from aluminum and will feature a 6 1/2"x14" shell. It's a change of pace for Carter since his past snares have been carbon steel, bronze, and titanium. Some other features include tube lugs and die cast hoops. There's still some finishing touches being applied to the snare before production. The snare has a possibility of being revealed at the Winter NAMM show in January. If the final changes haven't been made in time for that then it'll probably be revealed at the Summer NAMM show instead. All of this information is subject to change, there are no guarantees. But to date these are the most solid details we've heard about the signature snare drum.
Some other things Dave clued me in on were that Carter is really digging the new Armand series of cymbals from Zildjian (check the update below). On tour he's been switching his hi-hats between 13" K Custom Dark and 13" A Armand hats. Also Carter's been changing up his main crash arrangement from his normal 17" and 18" K Dark Medium Thin crashes to 18" A Armand Thin crashes. In addition Carter's 10" A Custom splash has been replaced by a 10" A Armand splash. So it seems that Carter is giving these new Armands a workout!
All the changes above have been made to the drum kit diagram. I also added a miscellaneous section for some of the random information that doesn't fit anywhere else. I've received a lot of questions about what kind of gloves Carter has been wearing on tour. You can find the answer in the new section. Fore!
8/10/07 - During the band's recent stop in Boston Carter had a chance to visit the Zildjian cymbal factory in Norwell, MA. The Zildjian news article can be found here. After reading the article I wouldn't be surprised to see cymbals from the new Armand Zildjian Series pop up on his kit. Here recently Carter's kit has proven to be the test ground for Zildjian prototypes and new line of cymbals. I'm sure that Carter can give the new line a run for its money. In addition to talk about his recent visit it was also mentioned that he might be participating in an online chat session after the Summer tour is over. This will be the first time that Carter has held any one-on-one chat session with his fans and other drummers. Lets keep our fingers crossed in anticipation that this actually takes place!
3/27/07 - I just received initial word from a friend that recently attended the DMB Las Vegas performances that Carter's cymbal arrangement has changed yet again. I'm still going over the details and specifics. I'm not sure if Carter was playing a different arrangement just for this set of shows or if this change is permanent. In the past Carter has been known to play different or stripped-down kits for shows outside the band's normal touring schedule. I might wait until the actual summer tour gets underway before making any official changes to the diagram. Either way I'll keep you updated.
2/18/07 - Zildjian recently announced two new A Custom EFX crash cymbals (16" and 18") at the Winter NAMM 2007 show. These new cymbals feature laser generated "cut outs" which give them a fast response with a quick, dry, and trashy sound. Both sizes feature the A Custom brilliant finish. I am led to believe that the previously unidentified cymbal with cut outs on Carter's kit was an early prototype of this cymbal. After looking at several concert photos I am fairly certain that this cymbal is a size 18". The diagram has been updated to reflect this change.
2/15/07 - I am proud to announce that the Dave Matthews Band official homepage has decided to include the drum kit diagram on their site. I consider it a great honor and privilege. The diagram has slightly been altered on their site to fit into the overall design. You can find the diagram here. Still I encourage you to visit this page instead for the latest updates and changes as they occur.