DW Collectors or Craviotto Snare

[philiprst]

Folks,

I am seeking some advice and guidance. I have an old Pacific snare and now I am in a position to make a serious (for me!) investment in a good quality snare. I have been around the local stores and tried evey snare I can lay my hands on, both new and used, I know I want a wood snare that has a lot of punch and a sharp well-defined attack with a lot of body and richness. I don't anything that sounds "thin" or "muddy".

Of all the snares I have tried I like the DW solid maple best. This also happens to be the snare my drum teacher has so I a fairly familiar with the sound. However, because I only have GC stores or independents with virtually identical stock near to me it is also the only real high end snare I have tried. Even though the DW is nice, it still lack a little body for my tastes. I was thinking that the DWs and the Craviotto's have similar shells, maybe a Craviotto with a different wood and slightly more depth would be perfect. I was thinking of maybe a 6.5 or 7 or 8 x14 in cherry might fit the bill. Does anyone have any thoughts they would like to share. There is nowhere around her I can try the Craviotto.

Thanks!

[Steady Freddy]

I have a 6.5 X 14 DW/Craviotto and it is a great drum. It'll crack when is cranked up and has all kinds on mid to low end at medium tension.

I also have a 4 X 14 and 5 X 13 DW/Craviottos. My 5 X 14 DW solid is a nice drum also. Needless to say I'm into the solids.

Check out e bay. There's usually a few listed.

[philiprst]

Thanks Freddy. If I try e-bay is there anything I should be looking for or to avoid?

[Steady Freddy]

Stick with sellers with over a hundred transactions and good feed back. Use pay pal.

You should be able to get one for around $500.00.

[d.c.drummer]

Seriously, go with cheaper one. The sound is not DRASTICALLY different and they both sound good. Unless you have 4 drum mics on your snare drum on your solo drum album, no one will know the difference except your wallet.

Also DW not the only people who make drums. You can go to a smaller custom company like Maryland Drum Co, and for the same price get EXACTLY the snare you want.

[philiprst]

Thanks D.C., I wasn't quite sure what you meant by the cheaper one? Do you mean the DW instead of the Craviotto or a ply DW?....

If you are on the DC area I would love to here your opinions about local places to buy drums.

[Synthetik]

Craviatto (and IIRC Dunnett) make shells for DW. So, there are some DW models you buy and you are getting a Craviatto.

There are also solid shell snares like Luka, and stave shells like Joshua tree percussion. Worth the investment.

[Steady Freddy]

I've been playing my 5 X 14 DW solid today and that drum has so much mid and bottom end it makes you teeth hurt. The rim shots ring out nicely too.

I use a Evans Genera Dry for practice and a reverse dot when I play with other musicians. That opens up the drum and let's it cut through. Usually an Evans 300 on the snare side.

I'm starting to lean more to the 200s on the snare side. It's thinner and lets the wires bite in a bit more. Gives more of a snarie (snary?) sound.

I'm gonna put a 200 on my deep drum along with a 30 strand wire and see how that works out. I'm changing heads more often than my sock, and. I wonder why I'm broke.

[philiprst]

Thanks for all the advice. I am patiently looking for an e-bay deal.

In the meantime I checked out a local store that usually just has low end kits but the occasional used snare they get in trade or for cash. They had couple of Pacific snares and a 6.5x14" made by a company called Canopos. I have never heard of them but the salesguy said they were made by a Taiwanese company. The head had a huge amount of wear but it sounded really good. Anyone know anything about these drums?

[jazzbo]

Thanks for all the advice. I am patiently looking for an e-bay deal.

In the meantime I checked out a local store that usually just has low end kits but the occasional used snare they get in trade or for cash. They had couple of Pacific snares and a 6.5x14" made by a company called Canopos. I have never heard of them but the salesguy said they were made by a Taiwanese company. The head had a huge amount of wear but it sounded really good. Anyone know anything about these drums?

The " sales guy " got it wrong . Canopus is a Japanese company based in Tokyo . I've been to there store on several occasions and was always treated well .

As far as I know their wood snare drums are made in Japan . Not sure if this is the case with metal snares , but I could find out . Canopus drums first class products all the way . Check out their website and see if you can find the model you were looking at and its price .

[philiprst]

Thanks so much!

With the correct spelling I found the website easily. They seem like nice drums. This was a wood drum so I guess it must be their maple shell model although it didn't look like maple wood to me. Looked more like a tight grained oak or mahogany. This one had a dark finish so it may be the black laquer or some sort of custom finish.


The " sales guy " got it wrong . Canopus is a Japanese company based in Tokyo . I've been to there store on several occasions and was always treated well .

As far as I know their wood snare drums are made in Japan . Not sure if this is the case with metal snares , but I could find out . Canopus drums first class products all the way . Check out their website and see if you can find the model you were looking at and its price .

[jazzbo]

How much was the shop asking for the snare ? It may have been Canopus' top of the line ZELCOVA wood snare drum , the shell of which is a hollowed out tree trunk ! $$$

[philiprst]

Hi Jazzbo,

It was tagged at $429.99 which seems like a good price given what the official Canopus price list said. Of all the snares on the Canopus site it seemed to look most like the Zelnova you mentioned but I didn't take a look inside so I have no idea about the tree trunk thing. I'm also sorta doubtful that it would be one of those given the price. The drum needs a good cleaning and all the heads replaced. It's been well used but sounded much better than anything else the had there. Maybe I should go back and take another look.

Philip

[ALGebraic beat]

I just got the 8x14 cherry Craviotto. Truly an amazing drum. Compared it with 8x14 ash and an 8x14 maple Craviotto. The cherry just has something special about it. Looked at drums from DW, Gretch, Pork Pie, C&C, Spaun, and Black Panther(Mapex). I can get a high end crack that sounds better, with more body than any of my shallower snares. Plus I can tune down for a fatback sound that none of those snares can pull off. Check it out if you get the chance. I can post pics if anyone is interested.

[macmarkus]

... the DWs and the Craviotto's have similar shells ...

you're right. i believe, they're the same. ;)

my 13x5,5 dw solid (2005 model) shell is originally made by craviotto ...
http://freenet-homepage.de/pilldaz/files/page0-1008-full.jpg

... like this one (14x5,5 dw craviotto)
http://freenet-homepage.de/pilldaz/files/page0-1002-full.jpg

[Skitch]

you're right. i believe, they're the same. ;)

my 13x5,5 dw solid (2005 model) shell is originally made by craviotto

Yes, John Craviotto used to supply DW the shells for the DW/Craviotto series of snare drums. DW now uses Vaugncraft due to the fact that DW and John Craviotto had a falling out a few years ago....

Now, John is building complete drumsets

http://www.craviottodrums.com/


Mike

http://www.mikemccraw.com
http://www.dominoretroplate.com


http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=drummermikemccraw

[baz]

...doesn't pacific make a solid shell snare?

Why not try one of them, I am sure that it would be a lot less expensive than some of these other makes. I bet the shell would be very similar if not identical to the DW.

Incidently, I also have a 13x5.5" (DW) Craviotto. It is a nice drum, but I prefer the regular 14x6" DW maple.

Whatever you decide, good luck, and good drumming.

Barry