Name: Carter Beauford
Associations: Dave Matthews Band, Carlos Santana, Bela Fleck & The Flecktones, Victor Wooten
Instrument: Drums
Brands: Yamaha, Ludwig, PHX, Vic Firth, LP Percussion
Musician’s Biography:
Carter Beauford is one of the most popular drummers on the planet. His time with Dave Matthew Band has defined his career and his versatile, open handed, ambidextrous drum style has cemented Beauford as one of the greatest drummers of all time. Even Rolling Stone magazine ranked Beauford number 10 in a readers poll for greatest drummers of all time.
Born in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1957, Carter Beauford began drumming at the age of three.
By a simple twist of fate, a young Beauford was able to accompany his father to a Buddy Rich concert which was the beginning of a lifelong obsession for the young drummer. By the age of 9 Beauford was a professional drummer and stumbled into his open handed style in an attempt to be a mirror image of his favorite drummers as he watched them on tv.
When Beauford began touring his was discovered by a young Dave Matthews who saw Beauford perform while working as a bartender. What started with LeRoi Moore and Carter Beauford recording some parts for Dave Matthews, blossomed into Dave Matthews Band.
Carter Beauford plays a Yamaha Recording Custom drum kit with a Ludwig Black Beauty Snare.
Carter Beauford’s Drum Setup: Yamaha Recording Custom, Ludwig and PHX:
- Yamaha 22″x18″ bass drum
- Yamaha 8″x8″ rack tom
- Yamaha 10″x9″ rack tom
- Yamaha 12″x10″ rack tom
- Yamaha 13″x11″ rack tom
- Yamaha 14″x12″ rack tom
- Yamaha 16″x16″ floor tom
- Yamaha 18″x16″ floor tom
- Ludwig Black Beauty snare
- Ludwig 6.5×14 Alex Van Halen Signature Rosewood snare drum
Cymbals: Zildjian Cymbals
- Zildjian 20″ A custom projection ride/19″ K custom hybrid china (stacked)
- Zildjian 18″ K dark crash medium thin
- Zildjian 14″ K mini china
- Zildjian 6″ A custom splash
- Zildjian 8″ A custom splash
- Zildjian 14″ K mastersound hi-hats
- Zildjian 10″ K custom dark splash
- Zildjian 19″ K dark crash thin
- Zildjian 10″ A custom splash
- Zildjian 16″ K dark crash thin
- Zildjian 22″ K custom medium ride
- Zildjian 16″ A custom crash
- Zildjian 21″ A ultra hammered china
- Zildjian 19″ K china/18″ fx oriental china “trash” (stacked)
- Zildjian 18″ A custom EFX
Heads: Remo
- Snare: Controlled Sound X Coated black dot or Ambassador Black Suede, Ambassador Clear Hazy snare side on bottom
- Toms: Pinstripe Clear, Ambassador Clear on bottoms
- Bass: Powerstroke P3 Clear
Sticks: Vic Firth (formerly Promark sticks)
- Carter Beauford SBEA signature sticks
- RUTE606 fiber sticks
Hardware: Yamaha Drum Hardware
Percussion: LP Percussion
Some of the bands and musicians Carter Beauford has collaborated with include:
- Carlos Santana
- Bela Fleck
- The Flecktones
- Victor Wooten
- Tim Reynolds
- John Popper
- Rashawn Ross
- Vertical Horizon
