Cameron's drums: need drummers insight?

locked · October 2011

I love Matt Cameron , he is the best thing about Soundgarden and he is THE BEST drummer PJ ever had.

Now here's my confusion;
Matt's drumming in SG has all the funky tribal beats, snare drum snaps , lobs and Tom Tim's...
Matt seemed to preserve this drum sound when he joined PJ during the 1998 tour and the European 2000 leg boots show he was still embracing the great SG drum sound.
Somewhere afterward his drum sound in PJ became more polished , less "snap" less drum lobs... More "muted"...
Then I am blessed to see SG reunion in Mansfield 7/10/11 and the "old" Matt Cameron SG sound was back in perfect form! Straight ahead up front sound on stage...
Then at PJ 20 alpine, he seemed to change it back again to a more muted sound??
Can anyone who is a drummer explain why there are the differences as outlined?
Thanks in advance

Adam Hewett · October 2011

i wish i could help with this, really good post!

i have noticed since the '03 tour he seems less animated in his playing.

what a beast, though! he is an incredible drummer, so strong and consistent live. i really like his vocals, too.

Newch91 · October 2011

One thing I can think of is he probably changed the tuning on his drums.

drummerboy_73 · October 2011

Well, let's talk about the drums themselves first. During most of his time with Soundgarden and his first few years with Pearl Jam, Matt was playing Ayotte drums made from maple, and the drums had wood hoops instead of the more common steel hoops on most drums. Maple is a more "warmer" sounding wood and provides more sustain. Since he started endorsing Yamaha in 2003, he's played a variety of their drums. I believe the first kit he was playing was a Stage Custom kit made from birch, which has a higher pitch than maple. In 2007, he played a Steve Gadd Signature 30th Anniversary Drum Set, which mixed wood types according to Gadd's exacting specifications, including a Maple custom bass drum, Birch toms and a Gadd Signature Snare Drum. I believe the kit he is currently playing is Birch Stage Custom, with wood hoops. I see various snare drums in recent photos, but I know he typically plays steel snares, either Keplinger snares (made by Gregg Keplinger, a drum maker and Matt's long time drum tech) or Yamaha steel snares.

As far as the recorded sound of the drums, it's really got to do with the mix and post-production. Over the years, the mixes with Pearl Jam seem to have put the drums more to the back and seem to incorporate more of the crowd into the mix. I love the sounds of the '98 and '00 European boots personally. I think LO2L has some of the best live mixes of any PJ recordings - everything seems to be balance pretty well and has a nice, crisp sound. 2003 boots are good too, but in my opinion, mixes since then have gotten a little flatter and I notice some lack in certain EQ frequencies. I haven't seen a full PJ concert since '06, so I can't really speak to the live sound of the show itself, but that's going to be a combination of the venue, PA, and overall mix.

As far as Matt's playing, I don't know if it's conscious or not, but I definitely see him integrating into the band's constantly evolving sound as more of a writer/musician, than a "performer". I think as somewhat of a "hired gun" for the '98 tour, he was still learning the songs, and putting his own spin on things and trying to give the best live performance he could to a band that just lost a drummer. As time went on and he became a band member and also began to contribute more as a song writer, there's definitely been more variation in the sounds and feels to the songs themselves. Soundgarden always had a heavy sound, and was pretty consistent with odd time signatures and groove-driven songs, whereas Pearl Jam has always been a bit more melodic and vocal-based. I think Matt has kind of found that middle ground between the two, and as evidenced by the recent SG shows and his playing on the WWC and Harrybu records, he can play with totally different style and feel and adapts to the task at hand.

I hope the next PJ record brings back some more of the "groove" and heavier sounds of Vs./Vitalogy. Granted, the bands in a more positive frame of mind, but it would it hurt to just let loose and go nuts for another record?

Hope this helped!

superunknown1 · October 2011

As a drummer of 17+ years, I've never heard of the terms "lobs and Tom Tim's," but I'm assuming you are referring to the fact that many of Matt's drum parts with SG are more tom-based, as with Pretty Noose, Head Down, Never the Machine Forever, JC Pose, etc. Much of his drumming with PJ (especially their music on the last 3 or 4 records) is more straightforward- more in a punk rock style. Much of this has to do with the fact that many of SG's songs are in odd time signatures and require more than a typical 4/4 rock beat. Also, SG's music is much more experimental and allows for a drummer to really stretch out and go to a lot of different places. Most of PJ's music is straight 4/4 time, and that can limit a drummer in some respects. But a drummer's job is first and foremost to play to the music, so he is simply playing in a style that compliments each band the best.

As for the "sound" of his drum kit, you're right in that his drums sound a lot different nowadays. He's always played Yamaha drums for the most part (he played Ayotte drums for awhile around Down on the Upside), but the past few years you'll notice that his kit has all wood rims on the drums. This gives the drums a warmer tone- less of that "crack" you hear on the older Louder than Love/Badmotorfinger stuff. I think he usually plays a Keplinger snare, which is a huge, handmade drum, with a really wide tuning range, so I imagine he tunes it very differently in SG and PJ (William Goldsmith of Sunny Day Real Estate also played Keplinger snares). I personally don't love the way Matt's recorded drums sound on the PJ albums that he's played on, but his drumming is always amazing. I think the Temple of the Dog record has some of his most loose, exciting playing on it. He also has some unique drum sounds on the Wellwater Conspiracy records- I had the pleasure of meeting Matt, Ben, Jack Endino and Jon McBain at a Wellwater gig about 10 years ago. All super-nice guys. Matt was very humble and down to earth. The shots of whiskey I did with Ben are something I'll never forget! Hope this helps answer your questions!

Brisk. · October 2011

Awesome awesome awesome posts from the 2 guys above.

I don't really now anything but here is my take...he had his Ayote kit for SG and 98 and 2000 which sounded just fucking amazing, there was slight variations I think with snares n actual drums but the same sorta amazing sound was there. In 03 he then signed a deal with Yamaha I'm guessing as he had the orange kit from 03 till 09 and had a pretty bad snare sound. I don't know the tech specs of them all but since he rejoined Soundgarden he has changed his snare back to one which sounds a little bit like the one he had in SG and in 98 and 2000.

locked · October 2011

How great is this board to get such tremendous insight from the posters who responded!
I love this place!
(and yes I did butcher the drum terms... And some typos .. But I'm a bootleg collector ... Not a musician dammit!)

drummerboy_73 · October 2011

superunknown1 wrote:

He also has some unique drum sounds on the Wellwater Conspiracy records- I had the pleasure of meeting Matt, Ben, Jack Endino and Jon McBain at a Wellwater gig about 10 years ago. All super-nice guys. Matt was very humble and down to earth. The shots of whiskey I did with Ben are something I'll never forget! Hope this helps answer your questions!

Cool! I met Matt and John about 10 years ago at a WWC gig too - my avatar pic was taken by John. I even helped them load their van afterwards! Good times...

HailHailOZ · October 2011

Your original question has to have been answered I'd think suffice to say that MC plays what is needed. His more comfortable space in Pearl Jam I'd imagine allows Matt to be the solid drummer type and not lead drummer which he needs to be in Soundgarden. So much of his gig is playing "covers" of the PJ hey day... Matt Cameron has found himself in the best most difficult job in our world.

Brisk. · October 2011

locked wrote:

How great is this board to get such tremendous insight from the posters who responded!
I love this place!
(and yes I did butcher the drum terms... And some typos .. But I'm a bootleg collector ... Not a musician dammit!)

I come from bootlegs too but I have been tapping on tables for years and annoyed many a people. Need to get a drumkit when I get an actual home!

Cameron's drums: need drummers insight?

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