All Craviotto solid, one ply drum shells, from seasoned boards to finished instruments, are crafted with care in the USA. We use premium selected maple, walnut, cherry, oak, ash, mahogany and other exotic woods from around the world. Our drums are designed and built at the Craviotto factory in Freedom, California. We use Trick and Dunnett throwoffs on our snare drums, as they are the smoothest and most reliable throwoffs in the industry. We use the latest generation of Gauger (GPI) original RIMS alloy suspension systems. Our signature diamond tube and cast lugs, diamond clamps, custom snare wires and other fittings are Craviotto proprietary designs, made to our specifications and standards by trusted overseas suppliers. We are proud to fit our drums with premium REMO drumheads made for Craviotto in the USA.

Using a combination of hand-selected hardwoods and hand-crafted construction methods, Craviotto Solid Wood Drumshells begin as single, hand-selected planks of wood that are precision cut, steam-bent and painstakingly transformed into fine musical instruments.

Due to the organic variety of the grain pattern, density and mass of each board, this time-honored style of drum construction allows a distinctive quality of sound and response to emerge from each drum. Because each drum has its own inherent tonal and performance characteristics, not only do Craviotto drums differ from all others, each also subtly differs from one another. In other words, each and every Craviotto drum and drumshell has a unique voice all its own. This uniqueness and quality of materials along with the uncompromising attention to detail during all phases of Craviotto’s proprietary production process provides the physical and acoustical perfection that has made Craviotto drums and drumshells a legend among drummers and drum makers.

As a drummer and drum maker, Craviotto continues to refine the age-old art of solid-shell custom drum construction— building on his “solid” reputation as the reigning authority on the tradition. Craviotto drums remain among the most prestigious instruments of their kind and are used and endorsed by many of today’s leading drum artists. The perfect blend of tradition and innovation, Craviotto represents the world’s most classic drum design in its most modern form.

American Ash Ash is also one of the most popular woods for electric guitar and bass bodies. However, despite its availability, ease of use and excellent tonal characteristics, Ash has rarely been used in drum manufacturing. Perhaps its inclusion as one of the four select wood types in the Craviotto Diamond Tube Lug Editionsnare drum collection will help establish it as a mainstream material for drum construction, as well. Like all Craviotto snare drums, the American Ash models feature a custom-crafted solid shell with matching reinforcing hoops, carefully applied and inspected sound edges and snare beds, exclusive “Diamond” tube lugs and the highest quality components, including a state-of-the-art GS007 throw-off by Trick, Remo drumheads, Puresound snare wires and a choice of 2.3mm steel triple-flanged, vintage-style brass or heavy-duty diecast counterhoops— all with highly polished nickel-plating. Craviotto Diamond Tube Lug EditionAmerican Ash snare drums are available in a choice of two traditional sizes and, along with their lightning-fast stick response, both drums possess a clean, penetrating sound that is slightly darker and drier than Maple yet brighter and fuller than Birch— creating a unique collection of drums that offer a level of performance that must be experienced to be fully appreciated.

Birds Eye Maple Birdseye figuring occurs in only a small percentage of all Maple trees. As unpredictable as it is rare, Birdseye is random in pattern and appearance and is not created by soil, wind, climate or other external conditions like other types of figuring that are present in Maple variants such as Curly, Quilted and Fiddleback. Instead, it is part of each tree’s genetic make-up— much like freckles in human beings. This individuality of appearance complements the wood’s tonal personality and makes each drum even more unusual and unique. Craviotto’s Maple solid-shells have long been used to create many of the world’s most popular and prolific snare drums. The shell features a single, steam-bent piece of highly-figured North American Rock maple with matching one-piece reinforcing hoops at the top and bottom to help maintain the strength and shape of the shell while raising it’s pitch for increased power and projection. Craviotto Diamond Tube Lug EditionBirdseye Maple snare drums are acclaimed for their unsurpassed visual beauty as well as their uncommon consistency, stick response and articulation. With a tonal character that features a well-balanced blend of low-end body, midrange focus and high-end crack, Craviotto Birdseye Maple snare drums have the quality and versatility to excel in both general-purpose and special-purpose drumming situations.

Maple Craviotto’s original Maple Solid-Shells have been used to create some of the world’s most popular snare drums. The shell features a single, steam-bent piece of North American Rock maple with matching one-piece reinforcing hoops at the top and bottom. Besides being a traditional design element in many classic drums, the reinforcing hoops help maintain the strength and shape of the drum while raising its pitch for increased power and projection. Craviotto Maple shells are noted for their characteristic blend of low-end body, midrange focus and high-end crack as well as its unsurpassed consistency, response and articulation. Available in a complete range of sizes to meet the needs of any performance situation, the shells include bearing edges and snare beds that are painstakingly applied. Snare Drums made from Craviotto Maple Solid –Shells are used by many of today’s leading drum artists, including: Terry Bozzio (solo artist), Scott Crago (Eagles), Sheila E. (solo artist), Josh Freese (A Perfect Circle), Tommy Igoe (independent), Tris Imboden (Chicago), Kenney Dale Johnson (Chris Isaak), Jim Keltner (studio legend), Joe Morello (independent), Gary Novak (independent), Neil Peart (Rush), Stephen Perkins (Jane’s Addiction), Chester Thompson (Phil Collins) and Paul Wertico (independent).

Exotic Solid Shells Offering a more exclusive, more esoteric choice of performance and appearance, Craviotto Exotic Wood Solid-Shells provide drummers with an extended range of tonal and visual options. And, while the natural differences in color and figure are more visible, each type of wood naturally creates its own set of performance parameters, too. Although drums with Mahogany (Dry, Warm, Round) and highly-figured Curly and Birdseye Maple shells (Softer, Warm, Low-end body, Midrange focus + High-end crack) have been quite musically and commercially successful throughout the history of modern drumming, Cherry (Crisp, Clean, Precise, Full, Rich, Textured, Focused, Articulate, Sensitive, Warm & Bright), Birch (Clean, Warm, Responsive), Oak (Roomier, Open + Soft) and Walnut (Dark, Warm, Complex) have more recently become among the most popular Exotic woods.

Lake Superior The world’s first drum made from a single piece of 700 year-old Birdseye Maple wood salvaged from the bottom of Lake Superior was built by Johnny Craviotto with wood that Tom Freer had supplied. The world’s first Lake Superior Birch drum was built for Mr. Ron Spagnardi of Modern Drummer magazine, and was presented to him in May of 1998. Truly unique in tone and appearance due to its advanced age and preservation in the depths of the lake, a legend was born. Early the following year, Craviotto introduced the Diamond Tube Lug EditionLake Superior Solid Maple 5.5x14" Snare Drum which featured an exquisite Birdseye Maple shell with engraved hoops and 24k Gold-plated hardware. These 200 drums rocked the drum world and were quickly treasured by both players and collectors. In 2002, a second edition of 100 Lake Superior Solid-Shell Birch 5.5x14" Snare Drums was released to similar acclaim. The new Lake Superior models incorporate a solid 700-year-old Birch shell with engraved hoops and the classic look of Nickel-plated hardware.

Mahogany Not only is the Mahogany used for Craviotto drums selected and harvested from forests in Peru where only two trees out of a thousand are taken so as not to disturb the delicate ecological balance, the Craviotto Drum Company regularly contributes to replanting Mahogany and other types of trees in forests around the world. During the first half of the 20th Century, Mahogany was a common shell material for drums made by revered American companies like Ludwig, Leedy and Slingerland. In fact, vintage drums using the classic Mahogany shell and Maple reinforcing hoop design remain highly-coveted by many collectors. However, these instruments should not be confused with more recent student model drums made from “Philippine” Mahogany in areas such as Japan, Taiwan, China and Indonesia. Craviotto Diamond Tube Lug EditionMahogany snare drums have a distinctively dark, earthy tonal quality derived from the more porous, less dense wood that naturally filters the instrument’s high frequencies. The Maple reinforcing hoops are used as a way to help counterbalance the Mahogany’s prominent lower overtones— stabilizing the shell, raising the pitch and increasing its projection without sacrificing its unique tonal tendencies.