This excerpt is taken from the complete article that appears in the September 2015 issue,
which is available here.

Product Close-Up

Craviotto Johnny C. Series Snare Drums

“Affordable” was never a word associated with the king of steam-bent shells…until now.

When it comes to high-end, ultra-sophisticated, custom-made drums, there’s no name quite as ubiquitous as Craviotto. Company founder Johnny Craviotto has been building the very best of the best single-ply, steam-bent snares and drumsets for decades, and collectors and drummers alike swoon at the thought of owning some. Studio legends Matt Chamberlain and Chris McHugh, rock greats Ronnie Vannucci and Jason McGerr, and jazz stars Marcus Gilmore, Billy Martin, and Matt Wilson are proud endorsers, and many more top players have at least one Craviotto snare in their arsenal for sessions and live work.

While such quality and notoriety often come with a hefty price tag, the company recently developed a line of more affordable snare drums, dubbed the Johnny C. series, designed to be dependable instruments for everyday working drummers. The snares are available in 4×13, 5.5×13, 6.5×13, 4×14, 5.5×14, and 6.5×14 sizes and come with a natural-satin-finish single-ply maple shell, 45-degree bearing edges, a black Trick GS007 three-point throw-off, Remo drumheads (Coated Ambassador batter and Clear Ambassador bottom), twenty-strand Craviotto-branded wires, and ten Diamond Cast lugs. The MAP (minimum advertised price) is $649, which is about half the cost of a Craviotto custom-shop snare. We were sent 5.5×14 and 6.5×14 models to review.

Check out video demos of these drums, showing their entire tuning range, below.

Michael Dawson

5.5×14 Single-Ply Maple

 

6.5×14 Single-Ply Maple

 
For more on these drums, check out the complete review in the September 2015 issue, which is available here.