This drum is, to my knowledge, unique.

Although the one piece maple shell is very Craviotto in every sense, the finish and configuration are more non-standard.

The drum features die cast hoops, eight double-ended cast lugs, Craviotto Diamond butt plate, custom ‘C’ logo on the Dunnett snare mechanism, Craviotto snare wires, and Remo heads top and bottom. The Craviotto badge is of the older oval style. 

The shell was made in 2011. I got the drum around 2015 from eBay in the US, oddly enough, directly from the original owner who was someone I already personally knew. He had previously worked for Johnny and had made this drum using the copper mist wrap as a nod to some of the classic Gretsch finishes of the 1950s.

Whilst it does get played, these days the drum mostly resides in a display cabinet in my front room as it’s not something I can readily replace. 

David Bateman

October 2019