Carter Beauford has one of the largest and most diverse drum kits in the drumming industry.  With its sparkling chrome hardware, rich ebony shells, and shimmering bronze cymbals, his kit lures you in as it sits on stage.  If you're not drawn in by its remarkable appearance then the kit's sheer size will demand your attention.  Carter's drum kit includes an array of professional drums, cymbals, hardware, and percussion equipment.

What sets Carter's kit apart from other drummer's equipment is its inclusion of so many different percussionist elements (cowbell, chimes, timbales, etc.). Carter credits Miguel Valdez as his inspiration to become the role of a percussionist behind a drum kit.  Valdez played percussion with the Dave Matthews Band occasionally when the band first got started in the early ‘90s and also moonlighted as a member of the musical group the C-ville All Stars.  After Miguel's unfortunate passing in 1993 Carter felt it was necessary to include in his kit more instruments that a percussionist would normally play.  Carter explains that with Miguel gone he was noticing the absence of so many things, percussion-wise, which he felt that he needed to fill in.

Every year it seems that Carter's kit is growing larger and larger.  One year Carter even decided to add a second bass drum to his kit.  The one thing that seems to change the most is his cymbal setup.  Every now and then Carter will experiment with new cymbals and sounds.  It's not rare to find Carter playing different hi-hats, rides or crash cymbals each tour. 

In addition to what's included in his drum kit, Carter also plays the bongos, congas, and other hand percussion on many of the band's albums.  It can be said that Carter's drum kit is a continuing experiment that keeps evolving.  One of the biggest thrills of being a Carter Beauford fan is waiting to see what he'll add to his drum kit next. 

Much credit should be given to Carter's drum tech, Henry Luniewski.  Luniewski is responsible for assembling and disassembling Carter's kit and mics before and after each show.  Henry also tunes the kit to percussive perfection.  He can often be seen lingering around the kit onstage while Carter's pounding away to ensure that each lugnut is tight and all of the kit's parts are stable.

I took on the task of tracking Carter’s drum kit progress and development many years ago.  After finding several outdated and inaccurate diagrams I decided that an accurate layout of his kit needed to be provided for the many fans and drummers.  I grew tired of not knowing what a certain item was on his kit so I set out to gather as much information as possible on what he plays.

I collected information from many sources.  I spent countless hours pouring over video footage, concert photos, recordings, and interviews.  I even received assistance from Ronn Dunnett (http://www.dunnett.com), Carter’s custom snare drum builder.  After doing all this I feel that I have created one of if not the most comprehensive and accurate listings of Carter's equipment.  Even though I don’t claim it to be perfect I feel it’s pretty close.

As always I welcome any comments or feedback you might have on this little project of mine.  Please feel free to email me.  I always love talking with people about Carter’s kit and his drumming in general.  I find no greater joy than spreading around the passion of his drumming.

- Justin "BeaufordBuddy" Scott

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

Archived updates can be found here.

Please be patient while the drum kit diagram image loads below, it's quite large.  If it doesn't display automatically and you see a broken image icon (or a box with a red X inside) just right click on the icon and select "Show Picture."  If you don't see any icon at all then right click on a blank white space immediately below and select "Show Picture."

Drum kit photos: Pic 1  |  Pic 2  |  Pic 3  |  Pic 4

Note: The above photos of Carter's drum kit were taken prior to the band's 2004 performance at The Gorge Amphitheater.  The photos do not reflect recent changes made to Carter's kit.  Always refer to the diagram posted above for up-to-date and accurate information.

Carter Beauford endorses the following products:

Yamaha Drums | Zildjian Cymbals | Pro-Mark Drumsticks|| Remo Drumheads | Latin Percussion | Drum Workshop Pedals

The above drum kit diagram and equipment listing was compiled from several sources including many photographs, video footage, first-hand accounts from different individuals, other older and outdated diagrams, and just plain common drum sense.  To the best of my knowledge this listing is accurate as of the date listed below, however, minor mistakes or misrepresentations may be present.  The diagram is not to scale and some items might be slightly out of place due to space limitations.  Thanks to Ronn Dunnett for his assistance, Henry Luniewski (Carter's drum tech) for doing such a great job at keeping this massive kit tuned and maintained, the many fans and fellow drummers who inspire me to do this, and most importantly Carter Beauford for being the biggest inspiration behind my passion for drumming.

Page last updated: July 12, 2008
Diagram last updated: July 12, 2008