Changes needed for SQ2 to stay relevant.

[Hazelwood7]

Hi everyone,

I wrote this on another thread and I this has been on my mind for awhile so here goes.

The SQ2 needs upgrading. They need more options and better mounting options. I will explain after owning 4 sq2 kits, in my opinion they need more on the h mount. It’s just clunky. The way that the mount attaches to the tom arm is very awkward. Depending on how you want to clamp it down, the tom at certain angles will bump against the tone control knob. It makes it difficult to get it into the right angle. The mount bar itself is too short. The Prolite mount id better but still not perfect on this front. The Prolite mount is superior because it does not have the control knob, which over time will beak as the abs plastics gets brittle and breaks. Just like thre Designer. Sonor stopped making Designer parts and thank God for St Drums or there would be no replacement parts. I can get the sq2 replacement parts through them as well. I never tension the tone knob for this reason.

They need to make hardware that won’t break due to design flaws. The Prolite mount has a bolt there so that won’t happen.

The sq2 mount has too much ABS plastic gaskets on it, which makes the mount heavier then it should be. This causes chocking at certain angles. If you are going to make a super high end Drumset it should not have this issue. The rocket launcher is an amazing bass drum mount. It’s just too heavy to lug around. The T bar is a step down in functionality. They could redesign the rocket launcher to be made with lighter metal material or build a a better t bar.

I would like the choices sq2 to get Prolite mounts or the mounts from the sq1.

I should be able to get the prolite level of abs gaskets which makes the drums lighter. I should have a choice between the cheaper t rods and the more expensive round knobs.

They stopped coming out with new finishes several years ago. Still waiting for red stain to come back.

Some of these choices will drop the price of the kit in the configurator.

I want the shell thickness choice for signature and phonic shells.

With the all the price increases over the years, they need to show some improvements here. It’s been the same since 06. They did add the beautiful prolite strainer but not much else I hardware upgrades. So it’s been almost 20 years.

I can’t afford these prices now, and I am their prime market. Or more importantly, why would I continue to buy a new SQ2 today when in 2012 I got my sq2 kit, it was almost half the price. So paying double today for what I got for half price with no improvements is not really a good option just because I want a new finish. There has been 19 years of the used market. Give me some reason to buy a new one. I think the Prolite sound better than a vintage maple sq2 because the Prolite is more open sounding drum. So I expect the momentum series to do the same thing. There is a possibly that the momentum series sounds better then the sq2 counterparts since they removed all the heavy hardware.

Thanks for reading.
Chris

[tcbetka]

Well you have much more experience with the SQ2 line than I do--I only owned one heavy beech kit, and sold that after a couple of years. It may have been a bit less than that. For me, the sweet spot is/was their thin (5mm) or medium (6mm) shell, and Scandi birch is my preference there. Having said this though, since the Vintage series kits are basically their medium beech SQ2 shells with different hardware and bearing edges, I went for a gently used kit recently--and then added a couple of drums. So I'm happy.

After 40+ years of playing drums, I don't really care about finishes anymore. They come and go--buy one, love it...play it...get sick of it. Get another. And so it goes. So the colors don't "do it for me," but the sound sure does. So maybe your point about you being their prime market is correct: Because I know it's certainly not me. For unless I decided to go crazy on a gotta-have high gloss finish, the Momentum kit seems to be a much better deal price-wise. I know the S Classix kit I owned while waiting for the SQ1 kit to get built sure was. Had I owned that one before ordering the SQ2, I never would have spent that money.

[Scott_M]

I think one of the things I would have liked to see was to move away from the round prism clamp,

First time I saw that same round clamp design was on a Ludwig Accent kit (budget/entry level). The next thing you know, everyone started using them on the Asian-made stuff. That 1st impression has stuck with me, and I think the even the German-made stuff looks cheapened because of it.

A functional complaint I have about those is the wing bolt on the top of the clamp - it makes it a lot deeper than it looks and doesn't fit in rigid cases particularly well.

I would love it if the SQ2 were available with the same style clamps as on the Vintage series with the wing bolt on the side of the clamp, making it lower profile, and sticking with "doing their own thing".

The other thing I think they could do would be to add more options to the configuration. I don't think adding rounded bearing edges would be too much to ask, since they're already making them for the Gavin Harrison snare and the Vintage series. Possibly add the lugs they're using for their marching snares (Lite single and double lugs, and the phonic-style double lugs), even if it means limited the sizing with the shells...

[James Fullier III]

.

If Sonor were to offer all the Phonic drum hardware as an option on SQ2 including any shell option.. that would light up a lot more interest IMO.

and yeah I have heard more than a few mention that SQ2 suspension chokes the drum just a tad and I can tell in many videos. I have told a few friends they should experiment with RIMS and see if they open up even more. Fix the SQ2 suspension but bring back Designer metal parts with holes for the fixed suspension instead of the slits they use now. They looked much better with the holes IMO.

[Scott_M]

Fix the SQ2 suspension but bring back Designer metal parts with holes for the fixed suspension instead of the slits they use now. They looked much better with the holes IMO.

I used to use one of the holes on the H-Bar on my 12" Designer tom as the mount point for the MAY mic connector (Randy May's idea actually), since the actual vent was blocked by the H-Bar.

Can't do that on the "slotted" H-Bar mounts...

[Jeremy Bender]

I'd like a 5.75" deep snare option in the Configurator to get through a dealer when ordering a new snare drum.
They're already cutting the shells for the Momentum's in that depth. Give the customer the option of the finish they really want.

[Jules]

You can request the depth and they will do it. Coordinate that with your dealer. As to the finish, you cal also get your dealer to look into the finish you want as well and if they can do it, I think they will. I am not sure they would procure a rare veneer just for one run, but if I just had to have a certain finish, I would ask.

Mark Eldridge at Artisan Customs is going to order an SQ2 next year with California Redwood veneer. He is providing the veneer and sending it over. So, some things are just a matter of how badly you want them.

[drummermark]

Mark Eldridge at Artisan Customs is going to order an SQ2 next year with California Redwood veneer. He is providing the veneer and sending it over. So, some things are just a matter of how badly you want them.

Talk about a one of a kind kit. Can’t wait to see that finish!

[DaveInNZ]

Mark Eldridge at Artisan Customs is going to order an SQ2 next year with California Redwood veneer. He is providing the veneer and sending it over. So, some things are just a matter of how badly you want them.

Talk about a one of a kind kit. Can’t wait to see that finish!

Yes very intrigued... we have a small redwoods forest here in NZ, planted a loooong time ago as part of experimentation for trees and fauna as NZ was developing. The 'redwoods' forest in Rotorua is really only a large clump of them amid a larger forest but boy do they bring people in. We're all told not to touch the bark though so as not to damage the trees, and of course the trunks are very craggy and with deep fissures. I assume the veneer will be from deep within the tree? Quick google suggest a very knotted, wormy look.

[Jules]

As to square lugs for the SQ2 system, I don't think there is a robust enough market for those to be offered. Not to mention, they would absolutely fly in the face of the fundamental of the SQ2 completely. Including myself, I think it's common for many people to want what they can't have, and then when they can have it, they no longer want it.