Sonor Kompressor Series: How Do They Compare to Similar Snares from Other Makers?

[Jules]

Sonor was genuinely excited to introduce the Kompressor Series several years ago. The goal was to deliver a true workhorse, bread-and-butter line of snare drums that still carried that unmistakable Sonor DNA, but at a price point that made sense for a wide variety of drummers.

Which Kompressor-style snares have you played or owned? What are your general impressions of them? Do you feel they live up to the Sonor name?

What other drums on the market do you see them competing with, or what other snares do they remind you of? How do they stack up against those?

[Scott_M]

Sonor was genuinely excited to introduce the Kompressor Series several years ago. The goal was to deliver a true workhorse, bread-and-butter line of snare drums that still carried that unmistakable Sonor DNA, but at a price point that made sense for a wide variety of drummers.

I think they hit that goal, at least with the 14x6.5 Aluminum that I have. Sounds good with the stock heads, tunes up easily. Aside from the throw off (same as used on the AQX/AQ1/AQ2) I would say the overall build quality feels comparable to my Prolites. I can easily see using this as a regular gigging snare without the anxiety of damage/abuse like I would with some of my other snares.

I'll be playing with some head selection and tuning to see how well it can compete with the classic Ludwig Supraphonic (LM 402) sound.

[drummermark]

I have an 80s era Supraphonic that I inherited from my late father. I restored and had been playing it out for a few years but recently decided I didn’t want to risk taking it out of the house anymore, due to obvious sentimental value. Right around that time, become more interested in Sonor and looked at the Kompressor line for a replacement. While the aluminum would be the closest type replacement, the sound is a little too dry for my taste. I tried out the steel but that just wasn’t doing it for me. Swapped that for the brass and to my ears, that was the sweet spot. Like other “budget” offerings from Sonor, this punches way above its weight. Excellent build quality, and while I’d prefer a dual glide throw off, what’s on there is not bad by any means.

[James Fullier III]

Ask @Syncopated1 .. he has done a direct comparison of one or more of the Kompressor snares with Ludwig Seamless shells and I think DW seamed Collectors.

[krusher74]

I dont own a Kompressor, but was interested in an ALU snare as Sonor has never made one, just never bought one as I have too many snare already.

The one thing I find very interesting across the Kompressor range is how the price differs depending on the shell material.
As of today on Thomann in Europe

Steel 6.5 339
Brass 6.5 499 + 160
Alu 6.5 540 + 210
Beech 6.0 579 + 240

Rolling/finishing a steel shell really must cost pennies compared to alu and brass.

[Jules]

Sheet steel is much cheaper than aluminum and brass is much more expensive than either. As to the forming process...

Q) Is it easier to form similar thicknesses of sheet steel aluminum or brass?

A) Aluminum (Easiest): Highly malleable and soft, making it easy to bend and shape, especially in lower-strength, commercially pure alloys (e.g., 1XXX series).

Brass (Moderate): Extremely malleable and, because it is softer than steel, it is easy to work with for smaller components or decorative pieces.

Steel (Hardest): Much higher hardness (220 HB) for stainless) compared to brass (55-73 HB), requiring more force and more robust equipment to bend.