My memory from close study of album covers many moons ago is he played Ludwigs, 5 piece, with a Supra.

When I go to test that memory online, I keep seeing him at live shows playing Sonor. I expect that a fair number of rental kits were used onstage.

Patrick

Check out "The Old Grey Whistle Test Vol1" dvd....the Wailers are on that one....I believe he is playing Ludwig on that show.....as to the finish, I can't remember off the top of my head.

I asked the person for more detail to the original question

i think about the show in dortmund1980 wich was trasnmitted on german

tv, or the show in santa barbara wich was also filmed on video. the

recordings i would like to know were "surviaval" and "uprising". it

would be great if you could give me some information!

Wiki is pretty clear that he used a Supra with the snares off and the head at high tension.Thanks

David

Carlton used a standard five-piece drum set consisting of a bass drum, two tom-toms (mounted on the bass drum), a floor tom-tom, and a snare drum. Each tom-tom had only one drumhead, which gave the drums a dry sound that was ideal for the close-miked environment of the recording studio. However, it was Carlton's snare drum which was perhaps the biggest part of his signature sound. Carlton used Ludwig Drums, and his snare was the popular Supraphonic model, which is made of "ludalloy", an aluminum alloy. The metal construction of the drum, in combination with the extremely high head tension that Carlton preferred, produced a loud, cutting "crack" sound that was a very prominent element of the Wailers' recordings. Carlton almost always left the snare wires of the drum disengaged, making the drum sound very similar to a timbale. It is unknown exactly what make and model of cymbals were used on Carlton's drum set, although it is very likely that they were made by the Avedis Zildjian Company in the United States and imported into Jamaica. Carlton used only a pair of hi-hat cymbals (relatively light in weight), at times with a cloth placed between the two cymbals, and two crash cymbals (most likely of medium weight). Due the nature of Carlton's style, in which the snare drum, bass drum, and hi-hat cymbals were the primary timekeeping instruments, he did not use a ride cymbal. He also used a cowbell for live performances, evident in Bob Marley & The Wailers album Live!.

He also (at least some of the time) used fabric on top of his toms. Giving you that rehearsal room bippitybippity sound. His snare drum was similarly muffled, along with the snares disengaged. The sonics of his kit, combined with Family Man's distinctive bass patterns, and Carton's one drop groove confounded me until I finally got to see a performance.

Truth, I don't think ANY good professional kit would sound different one from another after he had it set up for his specs. Not a criticism, I admire him and the Wailers.

Patrick