DRUMANDSTAGE FORUM

Anyone who knows much about Todd Sucherman's gear knows that even while playing other brands, Todd has used Sonor Signature and Phonic Hi Hat stands on tour. Apparently, the life expectancy of that era of Sonor HiHat enduring the rigors of the road seems to be about 40 years. That really says a lot about the engineering and manufacturing of the time. Even Phil Rudd was using his tried and true Signature HiHat(s) the last time he toured with AC/DC.

In a recent interview, Todd says that he still hasn't gotten used to the 600 Series hihat stand after so many decades with the older ones.

In a recent interview, Tal Bergman spoke candidly wishing Sonor still made a heavier hardware series. He was speaking of the series in general, not specifically the HiHat.

The last year that the Signature was in the catalog was 1994 with a retail price of $700. I can't find a 1995 price list, but from 1996-2002 the 5000 series (through 2 distinct phases) held steady at $425. Presumably, all production was still done in Germany on the 5000 series at that time, but I cannot attest to that. What changes were made to production and/or manufacturing to facilitate such a price reduction? I was a dealer while the first generation was in production. The HiHats weren't held in high regard among owners of the Signature/Phonic series.

In 2003, the 600 Series became the 'flagship' Sonor hardware. In addition to slightly scaling the bulk of the hardware down, the production and plating of the component parts was transitioned to JMT (a KHS owned manufacturing company) with assembly completed in Germany. This allowed Sonor to avoid escalating labor and environmental protection costs. The 600 Series hi hat hit the 2003 price list at a modest retail of $279.00.

Here is an exploded view of the Sonor Signature Hi Hat stand as well as inner workings of Phonic Hi Hat stands, which I am relatively confident were common to the Signature series as well. There were obviously lots of parts, and the assembly of these was likely very laborious, comparative to what you would expect with the 600 series.

(Photo credits: sonormuseum.de)

In closing; will Sonor realize the virtue of releasing n modern ho hat stand with the fluidity and endurance of the older models that are held in such high esteem? When it comes to Sonor; "They don't make 'em like they used to" is not a term I like having to agree with.

Here's my 2nd generation 5000 hi hat that has the same tubing diameter and clamping mechanism as the Signature (the 1st generation stands had quick release levers that didn't hold up well). It doesn't have the Sig. clutch (which Todd still uses), pedal board, or spring adjustment mechanism. My guess is that the spring mechanism feel is what Todd misses. The 600 is the same design as the 5000 with the rotating legs, folding footplate, and spring mechanism, but with smaller diameter tubing and a different shaped footboard. The 5000 spring mechanism is known for getting sticky. I remember mine started to stick soon after I got it used and got advice from the Sonormuseum board on the fix. The hole in a rubber/fiber bushing on the inside needed to be drilled out. It's been great ever since. I gigged with it for about 15 years with 600 snare and cymbal stands. I still gig with the 600 snare stand, but now use 3000 cymbal stands and hi hat. The 5000 hi hat stays home as the 3000 feels very similar and is a touch lighter.

I have a late 70's Z5456 single braced hi hat that I use for Jazz and smaller gigs with my Vintage Series kit. The spring isn't adjustable and the top tube has metal at the top that goes inside the bottom cymbal hole, not plastic. I really like the feel and sound. Sig, hi hats have the same thing, so that could be a contributing factor too.

Tommy Aldridge continued to use a Signature hi hat for a few years after he went to Yamaha.

SonorBart wrote: Wed Jul 09, 2025 10:08 am

Tommy Aldridge continued to use a Signature hi hat for a few years after he went to Yamaha.

Same with Eric Singer and his Pearl drums: