DRUMMER CAFE - Community Forum

Hi All,

I'm looking at upgrading my kit and am starting with the most essential ingredient - the snare drum. 14 x 5.5. I have narrowed it down to the following three and was looking for advice on how others have found these drums:

Craviotto maple shell
Noble and Cooley SS maple
Brady

I am in Australia - the only drum I have not physically tried is the N&C. They don't distribute here ???. I I have listened to the samples on line and had correspondence with Nick and N&C.

Any feedback at all is highly valued. This drum is going to be a keeper :)

Cheers,
Dan

Craviotto and N&C are equally good.
You wont hear a big difference in the sound.
Brady have a different sound, especially as they use local woods such as Jarrah.
They are all good choices.
I would advise that a maple drum will be more flexible and versatile than a Jarrah (or similar native wood).
It depends on the sound you are after and your budget.
I would suggest trying a Brady and a Craviotto and take it from there.
Again, all three companies make very good snare drums.

Cheers Chris. The Brady was Jarrah and has a distinctly different tone to the Crav.
The Craviotto is a 2nd hand drum from 2004. I don't have a problem with this, I am confident in the integrity of the source. Is there anything I should be taking particular notice of as far as the integrity of the Hoops, snarethrow off, lugs etc?

I think it looks fairly good, just want to be sure before I dish out the dollars :P

I've been playing a 6x14 DW snare with maple Craviotto shell for the last several years that I found on ebay.  It took me a little time to dial it in (snare drums often give me fits), but it rapidly became my goto snare drum.  I play rock, country, and big band and small group jazz, and it has never let me down.  The drum is crisp and sensitive at low volumes, and rim shots will cut right through loud guitar amps or large horn sections.  I did replace the DW drop down strainer with a Trick, and put Puresound snares on the bottom.

I have no experience with the N&C or Brady snares, but would not hesitate to buy another Craviotto, and feel no need to add to my meager collection.

+1 for another vote for the noble and cooley SS.

I like craviottos also, but if I had my choice, N&C

Really like the Phattie stave snare drums also.

I purchased a Craviotto 5.5x14 birdseye maple snare when he first started making them. Matter of fact it's #33 of the run. I was so happy with the sound I went back and bought a 6x14 Cherry snare to go with a Mapex Cherry set I have. I have a number of snares to pick from, but those two are both "go to" snare drums. Nice woody sound with an "awesome" factor.  ;)

I'm a big, big fan of Craviotto.
I wouldn't hesitate to buy one second hand.
The only thing to look out for (off the top of my head) would be the snare mechanism.
If it's a Nickel, you'll probably have to change it. You might want to factor that into the price you pay.

Last few Cravs I've seen (mine included) use the Trick throw, and I've seen a couple Unlimiteds with the Dunnett R -- haven't seen any with Nickel lately, so fortunately that may be a non-issue.

That being said: Add another vote to the Craviotto pile -- they are great. However, I haven't heard the N&C you mention.

I have a 6.5 x 13 Crav and a 7 x 14 N&C.  The N&C is a little more versatile for me but only by a little.  The cross-sticks sound better on the N&C. 

BUT..........

For the funk and rock stuff, I always go with the Crav. 

cc

All my Crav's now have the Trick. Dan mentioned a second hand drum from 2004, which is why I brought up the Nickel issue.

Chris this quote is great "All my Crav's". All, being plural, I had to show the Mrs that it is healthy and common for we drummers to have more than a few high quality pieces of snare ware ;)

I am still pondering this one - I have again tried the Crav and the Brady. Definitley the Crav is more suited to my ear and what I play. Looks like my heart will win out over my head and wallet yet again.

Thanks for all your advice and wisdom guys :)

I'll let you know when I have brought home the goods!

Is the 2004 Craviotto more expensive than the Brady?
Is the Brady also used?

All things being equal, I would honestly go for the Craviotto, unless you came across a used N&C to try too.

I have 4 x Craviotto snares, probably 2 too many. But I do make a living from my drum sounds..............

The Crav is cheaper than the Brady, though to be honest the sound was the key thing for me. What tone, simply amazing. No nickel by the way on the throw off.

Unfortunately I haven't seen any N&C. It's a bit hard to come by over here / down here. Do you endore them? Maybe a gentle hint to them that there is a market in AUS. Maybe I should open a drum shop in Melbourne and give up the day job....

My lustful need for more drums has led me to purchase the Crav

Cool.  Great snare drums.

Although my Craviotto is 14x6.5 its the maple version.  Everytime I play it Im blown away by the sound and performance.  Its a very flexible/versatile drum.

I almost bought another one on Ebay, it was the same as I have yet had the inlay.  It sold for $550-

I think you did the right thing, especially as the Brady was more expensive.
As an Aussie, maybe a Brady is in your sights down the track.

I do endorse N&C (sort of loosely).

Fair enough, I completely missed that point.

Congrats to the OP on picking up the Craviotto. You're at the edge of a sickeningly expensive and dangerous addiction. ;) Or, if you're lucky, it'll be THE drum for you and you're done. Mine really does a lot for me and I'm really satisifed with it... and on the limited project recording I've done in the last few weeks, sounds absolutely stellar.

I put 42 strand Puresound wires on my maple Craviotto. When I nail rimshots people stop dancing and just look.  ;D

Reading all your messages and the passion about playing drums in general and  snares in particular  certainly has an effect on me ...

I just couldn't resist and bought a brand new never used 2nd hand white marine pearl craviottto 7x14 solid ply maple snare. The guy I bought it from won it at the 2007 The Amsterdam Vintage & Custom Drum Show (http://www.amsterdamdrumshow.com/2007/images/17.jpg). It was a small fortune and I must be out of my mind spending this amount (550 Euros * 1.5 = $$$) considering the fact that I am a beginner and that I will never be able to use it to the max but boy ... it is gorgeous.

 

Smart move Lou!  A snare drum like that is the perfect vehicle for expression.  You deserve it and the places it will be able to take you.

You live in/near Amsterdam?  OMG- I want to retire there... seriously!

Ok, ya gotta splain that one.

Have you ever been to Amsterdam Felix? I used to be a cop there for 15 years (until 97) and I enjoyed it very much but I wouldn't wanna live there to be honest, especially not with kids. It isn't the cleanest city (understatement), traffic (unless you drive a bike) is a real mess and it is an expensive city to live. BUT ... there's a lot of fun, good places to hang out, good music and don't forget our main tourist attraction ... coffeeshops  ;D.

Tomorrow we cellibrate our Queens birtday which means that in the big cities (not USA big  ;)) parties already have started early this evening and they will continue for another 36 hours.

Well I am dutch and I want to spend my retirement or at least some of it painting (I think) in Europe if I can manage to sock away some real money.

But no I have not been to the dam but my friend has and he liked it.  Being from Cleveland just about everywhere is nicer if not different change of scenery.

How cool, you used to work there.  What an interesting person you must be.

 :-\ ... lots of interesting people here Felix ... thats why I enjoy coming here so much. Just let me know when you plan coming over to Amsterdam and I'll show you around. You mentioned that you're Dutch ... from Dutch parents or were you born here?

Anyway as I mentioned yesterday, I bought a beautiful Crav and today I was giving it a try. Its a killer, I love it and Chip you're absolutely right, a rimshot is just something else ...

An update on my Crav.

I love this drum ;D

It blows me away.The thing sounds absolutely amazing whether tuned up or down. Sound great with all types of music and it blends really well with my K cymbals. I really like the versatility and my current band mates are wowed by it too ;)

Can't wait to record with it....

Thanks for all your input.
Cheers
Dan

Good stuff.
 :)

Before you spend any money, a good question to ask is why. I say this having spent more than my share.

What are you after? A great snare sound that fits what you do?  A high end drum that will make the rest of us go "Ah"?  Are you sure that only a solid shell one will do the job?  It may be possible you can find something a bit more affordable that holds up and sounds great. 

Along those lines, what kinds of gigs are you called for?  What kinds of sounds do you need to do these best?   Just because it's a well built  drum doesn't necessarily mean it will give you the sound you need.  Play it first and see if it's a good fit for you.

Great gear is nice -- but it's what we do with what we have, as opposed to what we have -- that makes the phone ring, in my experience.