DRUMANDSTAGE FORUM

For those that don't know, Pearl has drum offerings called Music City Customs. I sold some while at DCP and they are a quasi-custom/quick ship type of thing. I think there is about a 2 week lead time. They are assembled in Nashville. I am unclear on whether any cutting/routing or finish work is done stateside, or whether they arrive ready to assemble.

Let's just take the Momentum series, for example: if Sonor were shipping RTA (ready to assemble) German shells, and JMT was shipping all the component parts directly to the USA for assembly here, would it, or how bad would it turn off potential buyers?

Just think of all the nesting that could be done. You could get tons of gear packed very tightly coming from Germany. QC would have to really be on their game, but that isn't a hard thing to take care of.

The younger generation of drummers very likely would not mind or maybe even wouldn't care, for the most part. It would be us old timers clinging on to that last shred of "they've always done it this way" that is the scourge of a process trying to stay viable.

I thought it was worth tossing out there just to generate some potentially heated debate. Opinions are welcome, and requested.

No--I think this would be a great idea. If the drums are only assembled in America, I can't see what difference it would make to anyone. The important stuff that's being done in non-America locations, is STILL being doing in non-America locations. A monkey could assemble a set of drums for gosh sakes. It's dead simple.

I think the only people who would think that's a good idea are in America

I obviously don't know what % of Sonor's sales go where, but I'd guess mainland Europe is the biggest, with that Asian belt of Japan, Taiwan, Korea, China etc being second, then likely US and Canada and then the rest of us... I get that mainland Europe kinda already has this because their proximity to Germany is close enough, but when the nearest Asia gets to extra support is a few specials for the big music shops, what makes you think America's special enough over everyone else?

Wonder if this would help with tariffs. I also wonder if this would save on shipping by container ship. Personally, I’d prefer the drums to be assembled at the factory in Germany.

I'm not sure why you'd think they couldn't be assembled in the USA just as well as in Germany... You send me the parts and I'll assemble them in my shop--and you wouldn't know the difference. I'm not actually making anything mind you, I'm just assembling them. It ain't rocket science here folks: It's a circular piece of plywood with some hardware on it. I have a torque wrench for the lug screws. I've assembled dozens (if not 100+) drums over the years. It's a very simple process. You can't tell me that the Sonor US warehouse couldn't have some people assembling those drums. A monkey could do it, assuming it's well-trained.

In terms of it saving on tariffs...I doubt it. You'd have tariffs on the German shells, and then of course tariffs on the hardware coming from wherever that's made. So why the tariffs on the German stuff might be less, the other tariffs might be higher--and this might result in a higher tariff, overall.

Think of how easy this would make it to get more shells though: One box for a complete kit. And since they (apparently, if it's made elsewhere) already pay freight to get the hardware shipped to the factory, odds are that the freight to America would be a wash. So the overall shipping rates would go down, IMHO. And this wouldn't have to be unique to the US--any country with a "distribution warehouse" could do the same. Heck, Dave could even manage the NZ warehouse!

tcbetka wrote: Fri Oct 24, 2025 9:29 am

I'm not sure why you'd think they couldn't be assembled in the USA just as well as in Germany... You send me the parts and I'll assemble them in my shop--and you wouldn't know the difference. I'm not actually making anything mind you, I'm just assembing them. It ain't rocket science here folks: It's a circular piece of plywood with some hardware on it. I have a torque wrench for the lug screws. I've assembled dozens (if not 100+) drums over the years. It's a very simple process. You can't tell me that the Sonor US warehouse couldn't have some people assembling those drums. A monkey could do it, assuming it's well-trained.

In terms of it saving on tariffs...I doubt it. You'd have tariffs on the German shells, and then of course tariffs on the hardware coming from wherever that's made. So why the tariffs on the German stuff might be less, the other tariffs might be higher--and this might result in a higher tariff, overall.

Think of how easy this would make it to get more shells though: One box for a complete kit. And since they (apparently, if it's made elsewhere) already pay freight to get the hardware shipped to the factory, odds are that the freight to America would be a wash. So the overall shipping rates would go down, IMHO. And this wouldn't have to be unique to the US--any country with a "distribution warehouse" could do the same. Heck, Dave could even manage the NZ warehouse!

All these things work great as a theory until humans get involved. You might save $50 on shipping a set and then have to pay someone $50 to assemble it. (but would you also save $50 in the german factory on non assembly)

Any warranty issues, Sonor now say "which monkey built this one!"

Tariffs/import taxes can also be at different rates for fully made abroad items and parts that are to be "assembled in America" They are tax loopholes

I feel KHS the distributor would want to do what's best to make more sales and Sonor would want to do what's best to keep their quality reputation. The Head of KHS when doing video at the Namm show seemed like a John Good from temu! I dont think Sonor are in great distribution hands in the USA.

krusher74 wrote: Sun Oct 26, 2025 8:50 am

The Head of KHS when doing video at the Namm show seemed like a John Good from temu! I dont think Sonor are in great distribution hands in the USA.

Do you have a link to that? You have my curiosity piqued.

krusher74 wrote: Sun Oct 26, 2025 8:50 am

All these things work great as a theory until humans get involved. You might save $50 on shipping a set and then have to pay someone $50 to assemble it. (but would you also save $50 in the german factory on non assembly)

Any warranty issues, Sonor now say "which monkey built this one!"

Tariffs/import taxes can also be at different rates for fully made abroad items and parts that are to be "assembled in America" They are tax loopholes

I feel KHS the distributor would want to do what's best to make more sales and Sonor would want to do what's best to keep their quality reputation. The Head of KHS when doing video at the Namm show seemed like a John Good from temu! I dont think Sonor are in great distribution hands in the USA.

Shipping one box (of shells) vs 5-6 boxes of drums would seem to be a much greater savings than that, but I suppose you might be right. I guess it depends upon how they're shipped: If it's by the container, then you could get (potentially) a LOT more volume when you are only shipping a big box with nested shells, than 5-6 boxes with individual drums, (presumably) including the same large bass drum box. If you are paying by the pound, then you may well have a point--because you still need to pay for shipping the hardware. That said, you wouldn't be paying to ship it twice though--just one time from the plant to the US warehouse where it would be used in assembly. If it's all assembled in Germany, you need to 1) pay for it to be shipped to Germany, 2) assemble the drums and 3) pay to ship the hardware a second time...attached to the drum.

I can tell you that years ago I shipped a mahogany Craviotto kit in two boxes to a buyer in the Netherlands. We nested the 12, 14 & 16 shells (and their heads) in the box for the 16" floor tom, and the kick shell, hoops, heads and all the hardware in the second box. We didn't have a choice of course, as the buyer needed the hardware. I can't recall there being a snare included, so I think we only saved shipping on two boxes. But on a macroscopic scale, I can imagine that it would have been significantly more economical to ship a number of drums nested.

Finally, in terms of your point on any warranty-related issues: I guess it would depend upon what the problem was. If it was in the workmanship of the shell, that of course gets pinned on the manufacturer (ie; the factory). If it's on the hardware (ie; it's made wrong, plating is funky, etc), then that's on the hardware manufacturer. But if someone cross-threads a tension rod, or a lug mounting screw, then that's on the assembly plant (which of course are Sonor employees themselves). So as someone who has disassembled, modified, and reassembed more drums in ₄₅ years playing than I can remember, well I just don't see it as a significant problem.

krusher74 wrote: Sun Oct 26, 2025 8:50 am

The Head of KHS when doing video at the Namm show seemed like a John Good from temu!

As insults go, that's right up there!

I even said to a DW endorser friend of mine the other day JG is literally the only reason I will never touch their products. Snake oil salesman of the highest order. The best part was they agreed! Though they did also credit JG with knowing all his kits without prompting, like an encyclopedic mind for where all the nice kits have gone. I respect that.

I guess if you're going to drink the KoolAid...you might as well make it too.