You mention a Craviotto kit in here - how did that stack up compared? And what spec was that?
A Crav kit, along with my Yamaha Recording Custom are basically about the only things that could tempt me off a Sonor kit.
I had two Craviotto kits:
1) 10/12/14/16/22 cherry/walnut. These were awesome -- but I still like the sound of birch toms, like in the YouTube video of Aaron Holler's that I linked to earlier in this thread. I think that kit was about $7500 when I bought it a couple of years before the mahogany one.
2) 12/14/16/22 mahogany. These sounded great, but not as "awesome" as the cherry/walnut did to my ears. I don't think I had a 10" tom with them as I recall--but they still cost well over $9K when I bought them in like 2011. It was right before Johnny died, maybe 1-2 years? Something like that.
To be honest, the Craviotto drums (while great) are a lot of hype. I mean are they worth the price? I guess so--people keep paying it. But when I bought the sub-$2k S Classix (used) kit and it absolutely blew my mind in terms of sound--are the Craviotto drums worth $5-6K+ more than that? Not anymore.
Over the years I've spent a LOT of money on drums. I was practicing medicine as a doctor back then, and had the disposable income...so I bought expensive drums, for better or for worse. Nothing wrong with doing it if that's your thing, but it certainly didn't help me play better. In fact I would say it really just increased my stress level, lol. You don't want to take them out due to fear of damaging the shells--and it's certainly NOT easy to get that kind of money when it comes time to sell them. For instance, I sold the cherry/walnut kit to a (now) friend in Canada, and had to drive them from Green Bay Wisconsin (where I lived) to the middle of Michigan, just to meet him so he could drive them back to his house in Canada. Then I think I got maybe $5500 for them, maybe? Something like that. I mean we became Facebook friends back then, and I think he still has them--but it was a pretty bit hit to take for 1-2 years of playing them in my basement. There wasn't a mark on the drums when I sold them--and he got the original heads, which I removed right after I got them.
The mahogany drums were another problem to sell. I found a guy in the Netherlands who was looking for such a kit, and I think he paid me like $8k or so--but I had to completely disassemble all the drums to get them in the MINIMUM number of boxes for shipping. Then we had to do an International shipment via DHL (I think), with insurance. It was a major PITA to be honest. We're still FB friends as well--and is a great drummer who uses them a lot. So in that sense it didn't end badly, but it took several DAYS to get them properly packed and boxed. LOL!
So having said all that, I wouldn't buy another set of Craviotto drums myself. I'm "over" spending that much money on drums. These Vintage drums cost me $4490 for the 10, 13, 14ft, 16ft, 22 and 6.5x14" snare. In MINT condition. Then I spent another $2000 on adding an 12" and a 18"ft. So I have like $6500 into a set that would cost significantly more than that were I to have bought them new. Well, the 12 and 18ft are new of course--I had to order those. But you get the point.
Would I criticize someone for buying a set of ultra high-end drums? Nope. But that's just not for me anymore. If you sit down and play a $2000 set of used S Classix drums and then blow my mind with how good you are as a player, I'm not going to say "Man, you're great--but you really NEED a $10k set of Craviotto shells!" Just not going to happen. I guess I've matured as a player in that groove, techinique and (a distant third) chops are now the most important things to me (in that order). I would expect a great player to have a kit with a certain (minimum) level of quality, but gone are the days when I geek out over the money that drum set cost. There's just not enough time in life for that anymore.
So if you want to buy a set of Craviotto drums--then go for it. They are TOP quality instruments, and if you just want to feel what it's like to own/play them, then you should do it...no sweat. Just be aware that other than to inspire you to play more often (which wears off, by the way), they aren't going to really serve your needs more than a $3k set of Ludwig Classic maple drums...or a $2000 set of used S Classix Sonor shells. I think cymbals mean as much as drums do in that sense, perhaps more. But even at that--these things are just tools, and it's what you DO with those tools that defines you as a player.
Your mileage may vary, of course...
Oh I forgot to add: Prior to getting that used S Classix, my favorite kit was my set of Yamaha RC shells. In fact I had over 25 RC shells at one time, back in the mid 1990s, when Yamaha had their "blow-out" sale on the pre-Y.E.S.S mount drums. I was buying kick drums for like $150, and toms for $50-100, and floor toms for like $125. Crazy prices! Definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity indeed, and that's another good story I'll share someday. So I've always been very partial to the sound of birch shells, but once I got the S Classix drums...they were "it" for me.
That's why if I were to buy another new set of drums, it would be a covered set of SQ2 birch with thin floor toms and medium (or maybe heavy) rack toms. That's really all I want to hear in a set of drums--and I've played MANY high-end kits in my day. About the only real high-end kit I didn't own was a Yamaha Phoenix kit, because I had moved on from Yamaha by the time those shells were released.
S Classix are the best kept secret. I think Sonor named them wrong and poorly advertised them. Not to mention the goofy finishes.
They came out with Delites which were touted as a line above. I found that not to be the case. Just my preferences. Delites did have incredible looks and finishes.
I have several reputable drummer friends with S Classix kits and all say the same thing. They won't part with them.
I've always been tempted to get a kit but that's when Sonor started the shallow tom thing and it never worked for me. S Classix might be the kit that can finally change my mind.
They're much smarter than I am (or was back then), because I should never have sold that kit. You should have seen it when I bought it--Shane gave me an "as-is" price, so they didn't even have to spend the time to remove all the duct tape GOO from the drums. Whoever the idiot was taped that them all up needs to be given some schooling in tuning a set of drums. It took me hours to remove all the goo from the hoops (worst problem) and covering. Luckily they were covered and not lacquered, because I had to use some lacquer thinner to get all that sticky crap off them. But then I replaced every head on the kit, tuned them up...and VOILA: Instant magic!
Then, like an idiot, I sold them when the heavy beech SQ2 kit arrived. What a moron...
"Then, like an idiot, I sold them when the heavy beech SQ2 kit arrived. What a moron..."
lol
Tom, we all suffer from that. I have a couple regrets.
Yeah, I suppose you're right... What can you say about a bunch of guys who hit things with sticks for a living? I don't make a living that way now, but did for several years back in the day.