What Makes a Sonor Drum Feel Like a Sonor?

[Jules]

Is it just the undersized shells, or is there more to the Sonor magic?

[James Fullier III]

Premier has even a little MORE undersized than Sonor and those don't sound exactly like Sonor so there is obviously a little more going on.. I don't know what part is having more of an impact but other than the undersizing , Sonor shells are the only ply shell on the planet that DOES NOT use internal pressure in the mould. Second the plies are arranged vertically in 3/4 of the shell and then Third there is the almost razor 45 edge which I am pretty sure nobody else uses. Remember never to tell John Good from DW about any of this because he loves to copy LOL.

A couple of things Sonor abandoned in the shell manufacture process is they used to utilize a lock type seam. Sonor actually had a patent on it but these edges were on all drums from 92' up until , I think.. SQ2 where they abandoned it but they claimed it made a more solid shell compared to the straight seams. You can see these edges in the old factory videos from the 90's. I saw ONE Designer kick that the lacquer had been stripped and this seam was right there. I have not spotted it anywhere else so not sure on how to do that but you can clearly see them utilizing this on those 90's Designer vid which I put below.

PATENT : https://patents.google.com/patent/US5330848?oq=5330848

Vid should start at correct time but if it doesn't it is at time mark 8:10.

The other thing they abandoned was Sonor used to get their regular plywood in a segmented form so there were actually vertical seams throughout each ply. They had it on the nicer veneer but it was ALSO on the regular base wood. If you have older Sonor drums you can see the seams but you have to look very carefully on the very light wood. This guy below STAINED his kick drum interiors on his HiLite so you can see them perfectly on the soft maple Sonor used for this series. The last photo is a floor which was NOT stained and you can see how difficult it is to make out there. Again.. this is not special veneer but the regular base wood they were using.. I spotted these on my Force 3000, Designer and Force Maple. The last photo is NOT stained to more difficult to spot.

https://www.rochesterdrumtrade.com/shop ... e-drum-kit

[tcbetka]

20 years ago, I would have said "the price." However having owned two Craviotto kits since then, I would have to say that Sonor is great value for the money...

[Jack]

I think its the shell measurements. The floating heads have a feel and I think that's what gives very true timpanic like sound.

[James Fullier III]

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Premier has even a little MORE undersized than Sonor and those don't sound exactly like Sonor so there is obviously a little more going on.