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Matt Cameron

Documented by Drum Faster

Soundgarden from 1986 and Pearl Jam from 1998 — for a stretch in the 2010s, both at once. Odd time signatures that never sound like odd time signatures, one bass drum pedal, and the Gregg Keplinger cast steel snare that made "Black Hole Sun" sound like that.

2024 — Dark Matter

Pearl Jam recorded fast and live in a room, and it is the best-reviewed thing they have done in twenty years. His road kit is a custom Yamaha Maple Hybrid in flat black, with a dark, dynamic Zildjian setup rather than a bright rock one.

Bass drum — Yamaha Maple Hybrid custom kit Floor tom — Yamaha Maple Hybrid custom kit Rack tom — Yamaha Maple Hybrid custom kit Rack tom — Yamaha Maple Hybrid custom kit Snare — Gregg Keplinger 14"x7" cast steel snare 14"Hi-hats — Zildjian K 14" Light Hi-hats 14"Crash — Zildjian K Custom 17" Dark Crash 17"Crash — Zildjian 19" Projection Crash 19"Crash — Zildjian 20" Rezo Crash 20"Ride — Zildjian K 18" Crash Ride 18"
The 2024 kit at a glance. Tap a piece to find it below; sticks, pedals and hardware aren't drawn.
Yamaha Maple Hybrid custom kit flat black finish — his road kit ⤷ who plays this
Gregg Keplinger 14"x7" cast steel snare still in the rig thirty years on ⤷ who plays this
Yamaha 14"x6" snare the second snare ⤷ who plays this
Zildjian K 14" Light Hi-hats ⤷ who plays this
Zildjian K Custom 17" Dark Crash ⤷ who plays this
Zildjian K 18" Crash Ride ⤷ who plays this
Zildjian 19" Projection Crash ⤷ who plays this
Zildjian 20" Rezo Crash ⤷ who plays this
Zildjian A 22" Medium Ride ⤷ who plays this
Yamaha FP9500C single pedal ⤷ who plays this
Yamaha DS950 throne ⤷ who plays this
Remo Coated Controlled Sound ⤷ who plays this

2009 — The Yamaha years

He moved to Yamaha in the 2000s: Birch Custom Absolute first — higher-pitched than maple with fewer overtones, which suits a very loud band — and then Oak Custom from around 2009. The Keplinger snare came with him.

Bass drum — Yamaha Oak Custom kit 22"Floor tom — Yamaha Oak Custom kit 16"Rack tom — Yamaha Oak Custom kit 12"Rack tom — Yamaha Oak Custom kit 13"Snare — Gregg Keplinger 14"x7" cast steel snare 14"Hi-hats — Zildjian K 14" Light Hi-hats 14"Crash — Zildjian K Custom 17" Dark Crash 17"Ride — Zildjian K 18" Crash Ride 18"
The 2009 kit at a glance. Tap a piece to find it below; sticks, pedals and hardware aren't drawn.
Yamaha Oak Custom kit 22" kick, 12"/13" racks, 16" floor ⤷ who plays this
Gregg Keplinger 14"x7" cast steel snare ⤷ who plays this
Zildjian K 14" Light Hi-hats ⤷ who plays this
Zildjian K Custom 17" Dark Crash ⤷ who plays this
Zildjian K 18" Crash Ride ⤷ who plays this
Zildjian A 22" Medium Ride ⤷ who plays this
Yamaha FP9500C single pedal double chain drive ⤷ who plays this
Remo Coated Controlled Sound ⤷ who plays this

1994 — Superunknown

The Soundgarden peak, and the record that put a 14"x7" Gregg Keplinger cast steel snare into drumming folklore. Cameron was a DW player at this point, in a Gray Slate finish.

Bass drum — DW kit, Gray Slate finish 22"Floor tom — DW kit, Gray Slate finish 18"Rack tom — DW kit, Gray Slate finish 12"Rack tom — DW kit, Gray Slate finish 8"Rack tom — DW kit, Gray Slate finish 13"Snare — Gregg Keplinger 14"x7" cast steel snare 14"Hi-hats — Zildjian 14" Hi-hats 14"Crash — Zildjian A 18" Crash 18"Ride — Zildjian A 22" Ride 22"
The 1994 kit at a glance. Tap a piece to find it below; sticks, pedals and hardware aren't drawn.
DW kit, Gray Slate finish 22"x18" kick, 12"x8" and 13"x9" toms, 15"x13" floating floor tom ⤷ who plays this
Gregg Keplinger 14"x7" cast steel snare the "Black Hole Sun" drum — raw, huge and slightly ugly ⤷ who plays this
Zildjian 14" Hi-hats ⤷ who plays this
Zildjian A 18" Crash ⤷ who plays this
Zildjian A 22" Ride ⤷ who plays this
DW single pedal no double kick — the restraint is why the heavy parts land ⤷ who plays this
Remo Coated Controlled Sound snare batter ⤷ who plays this

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