The most afrolicious kit.

[Afrolicious]

Well, yet another Sonor Force 2005.
http://static.flickr.com/47/135021594_85de69560e_b.jpg

Sizes:
8x8
10 x 09
12 x 10
14 x 12
22 x 17,5
14 x 5 1/2
9 ply Birch Shells
T.A.R. Tom Mounts
Blue Fade Finish

I couldn't manage to get a descent sound out of the snare without the help of my drum teacher so I used my 14 x 5 1/2 Dixon steel snare so far and you can probably see that I muffled the bassdrum a lot because it's a real beast and I can't play that loud in my own room.

The Cymbals:
13' Paiste Alpha Hats
15' Zildjan A-CustomCrash
18' Paiste Alpha China
and some old Pearl Ride

Last but not least my Yamaha Flying Dragons oh and I have these Sonor Mini Congas but I still don't really know how to incorporate them into my drumset. At the moment I use them outdoors or when jamming with friends.

[Mediocrefunkybeat]

Pretty damn nice there Afrolicious! Loving that finish and Sonor drums are really up there with me. Nice cymbal placement too. As for that snare, what kind of heads/tension are you using and have you tried some 42 Strand wires? I found that my Tamburo stock snare gave me much better sound with 42's. Great stuff mate.

[Stormrider]

Very nice kit! I like it a lot and Sonor seems such good quality!

I'm saving up big time to be able to buy a Sonor as well, perhaps the 2005 if I like the sound of birch better than maple...

So I kindly would like to ask you for some soundsamples!

[Afrolicious]

Thx, I have this kit since monday so I didn't adjust a lot yet (standard heads on all drums etc.). I can't say that much about the quality yet. The plastic throw off on the snare for example looks kinda cheap, but what counts is the sound and I really like it. Birch is a great wood but unfortunately the recordings I did so far don't come close to the real sound.

[Drummer Karl]

Love it. Great finish...a little bit to blue though.
Very very nice, you can be proud of it! mhhh, nice birch kit...^^
Didn`t you wanna buy this special wrapped Tama Superstar??

Karl

[Afrolicious]

Yeah I considered that, but the price difference of 300€ made my decision.

[figure_02]

Thats such a nice kit!
I thought about 2005 myself, cause I wanted to try out birch, but I ended up with a CX in maple. I dont really like blue drums that much, but the cherry fade is beautiful!

CAn u describe the sound for me? And yeah man, you should get some Evans G2 or something on those...

[< Taylor Made >]

wow looks really nice, lovely finish. I really like how the colour matches your carpet!

[cdawg_2010]

sweet finish!! id suggest movin the mini congos to the left of your high hat

[danielheier]

Nice kit man, the sonor family is growing!

[drumey]

how are the flying dragons? i am thinking about gettin a set ( i have accualy broken the bearings in my crappy mapex pedal, in 2 weeks form new.), or maybe just the single version.

[BrokenGlass]

I am diggin on sonor so hard lately. I work at the drum center of lexington here in ky and I put together a 3005 yesterday. Very well made, gorgous finish. Cool kit you have there as well. I dig that fade.

[Audun_D]

Hi there! Why haven't you replaced the stock heads? Anyway, it's a good looking kit. And upgrade ur cymbals. Then u got yourself a very good kit!

[drumz4eva]

forget the cymbals!!!

MAN U NEED A NEW SEAT

belive me it does effect your playing,....i used to have the crappy small seat, then finally i replaced it.....and i actually love to the feeling of sitting down and starting to play my drums.....

soooo much more confertbal...(i dont no how to spell )

[Afrolicious]

Thx, for the comments. I'll try to put the mini congas to the left of the hi-hat instead of the 2nd snare.
The flying dragons are really great. I played different pedals before buying them and the guy in the drum shop wanted to sell me a DW 5000 which was just a little cheaper. I decided to buy the Flying Dragons because tehy felt a bit faster and when I played a DW 5000 recently I felt like they're way harder to move. If you adjust the Yammies correctly (and you definetely have more than enough adjustment abilities) they can easily cope with the iron cobras and every other pedal in their price range, so yeah, I would suggest them to everyone.
I still have a lot of things on my list:
- new cymbals
- new throne
- cowbell / jam block
- new heads
- gigbags
The the simple answer to every "why don't you get a new ..." questions is, I just got this set a week ago, I need some time(/money) to get more stuff.

[Afrolicious]

I'm finally gonna get new stuff today. Any quick suggestions? I'll get as much as I can carry and list everything as soon as I'm back.

[Wegadrummer]

New throne.. you got too sit good..

[da cheese walks]

GOD I LOVE THE SONOR FORCE 2005s....

they are the most beautiful drums on this planet.....wooo!

[TitanSound]

Wow....amazinf finish on that kit. Your kit is delicious Mr Afrolicious :)

[Jay.B.]

Great kit dude, I'm starting to like blue kits, there's some classy blue finishes coming out just lately... and I've heard those kits, they sound great, but then it's hard to go wrong with a birch kit. Nice one

[Afrolicious]

I'm sorry, no new throne. The old one is more comfortable than it looks though.
I spent lots of money today but I got some great deals.
The first thing I was looking for were Hi-Hats. It turned out to be the hardest. I tried different pairs and combinations and in the end the best sets were Sabian EQ, Paiste Dimenson and a combination of a Natural and a Rough series UFIP. I was leaning towards the Paiste until I tried a set of 13' Paiste Alpha Medium Hats. Almost the same sound, half the price!
I almost couldn't believe that after more than an hour of testing Hi-Hats one of the cheapest turned out to be one of the best. I couldn't find any combination of Zildjans that sounded as good.
The second thing I was looking for was an A Custom Crash. Found some nice 16's, couldn't really decide between a regular and a projection crash, but since I saved a lot on the Hats I tried some Chinas and the combination of the 16' A Custom Projection Crash and yet another Pasite Alpha 18' China seemed the best to me.
Finally after 2 hours of testing, I had my new set of cymbals, I picked some rods, a cowbell and Rick Lathams Advanced Funk Studies on the way and now I have to check the stuff out.

[beatsMcGee]

cool kit, it seems that sonar are alot more popular that i had once though..

[Afrolicious]

Here are the new pics.
Oh and by the way. Sonor aren't even that popular. I would've chosen a Tama Superstar over a Sonor Force 2005 anytime, because Tama is far more popular, but then I tested both and the Sonor just gave the better bang for the buck.

[groovemaster_flex]

Awesome kit! I almost got a Sonor too, not sure the line, didn't get a gd look at it, but it sounded good! The Ludwig CS Custom Elite was cheaper by about 100$, sounded about the same, and i liked the better hardware so i got that instead (my first kit, still have it setup, but use a Taye GoKit more often...)

Ummm... where's the video???

[Afrolicious]

Sorry, uploading the video didn't work. Perhaps I'll try again tomorrow.
I'm sure the Ludwig CS Custom Elite are great as well. I didn't have a chance to test them unfortunately.

[d.c.drummer]

Looks goood from over here!

[Mediocrefunkybeat]

Those new cymbals look fantastic Afrolicious. The new Alpha line is much improved and judging the cost against the performance I think they offer a serious option for anybody considering an expansion in their setup. Congratulations.

[Wegadrummer]

Congrats with the new stuff..What do you think of the china?
I have the book you bought, great book..

[Afrolicious]

I have this specific china sound in my head and I never found a cymbal that realy comes close to it. Maybe because the sound I'm thinking of is too electronically enhanced if you know what I mean. This was just the one china that came the closest and since it wasn't expensive and I wanted a china I took it. I think it's really a matter of taste which kind of china you like, so I can't really tell you whether it's "good" or "bad".
I don't know about the china and the ride yet, but everytime I hit the hats I feel what a great deal I made. I really love em and I have to repeat myself. I'd chose them again and again over any Zildjan and almost any Sabian and most of the Ufip hats (my teacher plays 13' bionic hats, the best I EVER heard).

[Drummer Karl]

New cymbals must sound great! Great choice...and as I can see: Powerstroke 3 on the toms, right? What sound do you get from those?

Karl

[Afrolicious]

Well, to be honest it's just an old powerstroke 3 on the 10' tom that I got from a friend who bought new heads because new cymbals seemed way more important to me at the moment.
I like the sound of it, and I even got a good sound out of the 14' tom with the stock head, but it's tuned pretty high now so that I can't get a nice sound for my 12' tom between the other two. So what I'm planning to do is, getting new heads for the 12' and 14' toms. I was thinking about either Powerstroke 3 or Evans Genera 2 or do you have any other suggestions which heads would give me a nice sound for some Funk, Rock and a little harder stuff?

P.S.:Thanks for all the comments!

[Drummer Karl]

I was thinking about either Powerstroke 3 or Evans Genera 2 or do you have any other suggestions which heads would give me a nice sound for some Funk, Rock and a little harder stuff?

P.S.:Thanks for all the comments!

yes, would be a good choice but what`s about Remo Pinstripes?

Karl

[Afrolicious]

I thought about them, but I guess they're a bit tooo thuddy. I wouldn't like to be bound to that one specific sound. I might want to play some latin or even some jazz in the future and have the possibility of getting a less dead sound.

[Drummer Karl]

I thought about them, but I guess they're a bit tooo thuddy. I wouldn't like to be bound to that one specific sound. I might want to play some latin or even some jazz in the future and have the possibility of getting a less dead sound.

okay, so I think the perfect heads would be some Remo COATED emperor or Evans G2...lively, but also funky and rocky.

Karl

[Afrolicious]

Hey,
I already treated myself with some christmas presents. An 8' Tom and a whole new set of heads. Evans EC2 for the toms, Genera Dry for the Snare and EMAD for the bassdrum. I'm not so sure about the EC2s yet, but the Genera Dry makes the stock birch snare a lovely crack-monster and I looooove the deep sound of the 22' bassdrum with the big muffle ring of the EMAD. The sound is so much deeper than before, I'm still totally astonished how great that new dimension of bass is, it's better than I ever dreamed of.

[Afrolicious]

Hey there,
since there have been some upgrades and I finally have a cam, there are some new pics. Today I bought a new Cowbell-Holder because I use the old one for my 8' Tom and new snarewires (with 32 instead of 24 Strands). With the HDDry Head and those new wires the snare has a very nice crack. Only a few upgrades left (a new Ride, a China-Splash and a throne) and I have my dream-kit.
The other great thing I bought is my new Guitar. An ESP LTD M-50. Probably the cheapest Guitar they ever made, but still very nice. So I had my friend to come over and we jammed a bit. Unfortunately the small microphone in my laptop couldn't cope with our united energy. ;-) So I'll spare you of these horrible soundfiles.

[Mediocrefunkybeat]

Not bad, not bad.

Just an idea for you Afro, I played with a setup where I had one of my toms to the left of my hi hat. I like your setup, but I think it could be a beneficial idea to try that with one of your larger toms, say a 12". It'll help you bring the ride closer, which could help your playing. That said, if you find it comfortable as it is, and there's no reason why you shouldn't, then by all means keep your toms as they are!

[Quadruple Groove]

Ahh yes, are the Alpha hihats nice? I've had my eye on them for a while but probably can't afford them til I get back to work during summer.
I like the kit very much, 8, 10, 12 and 14 is my dream setup too, rightnow im 8" short. That and decent cymbals d:

[Quadruple Groove]

Ahh yes, are the Alpha hihats nice? I've had my eye on them for a while but probably can't afford them til I get back to work during summer.
I like the kit very much, 8, 10, 12 and 14 is my dream setup too, rightnow im 8" short. That and decent cymbals d:

[hauk]

i love that finish. oh, and how are you liking the EC2s, now that its been a little while? i got some to replace my stock heads a while ago and i love the sound they give me.. nice and deep and short. looks like a nice kit

[Afrolicious]

Thanks for the input.

Mediocrefunkybeat, I'll definetely try that. I was looking at those pics of your setup with one tom on the left just recently and I wanted to do something similar. Now that I have my second clamp I'm finally able to do this. I like the distance to my ride though. It's not as far away as it looks and if it were any closer it would probably be less comfortable to play.

Guadruple Groove, yes the new Alpha Hats are very nice and not expensive at all. At least if you compare them to mostly worse sounding A-Custom/AAX/insert expensive line here Hats which cost about twice the money. That's only my experience but I'd suggest you should definetely check them out. The only hats I found to be similar or better sounding when I tested about 20 pairs were some higher UFIP line, Sabian EQ (i especially liked the looks but the sound was nice too) and some Paiste Signature hats. All of those would've been more than 300€ and the alphas were abput 150€.

hauk, I like the EC2s, they're definetely good heads but they didn't astonish me as the EMAD did, so probably there are heads I'd like more, if I just had the chance to try them all.

[Afrolicious]

Little update, things are gonna change soon, I'm gonna move into my very own small residence (well, a students' living community to be honest) and probably won't be able to keep my drumset. Perhaps I'll lend it to a friend or something like that, it's pretty sad still.
Totally offtopic, but I'm gonna write my first "Abitur" (German school leaving examination) test tomorrow (maths) and I'm just a tiny bit excited....

[Drummer Karl]

Totally offtopic, but I'm gonna write my first "Abitur" (German school leaving examination) test tomorrow (maths) and I'm just a tiny bit excited....

Oh...I know, off-topic but good that you mention it! Hey, I wish you all the best, good luck my friend! Maths isn`t easy really...

PS: Oh god, if I imagine that I`ll do my A-levels as well, just in a few years. Man, I`m so excited!! :-[

Take care,

Karl

[da cheese walks]

Well, to be honest it's just an old powerstroke 3 on the 10' tom that I got from a friend who bought new heads because new cymbals seemed way more important to me at the moment.
I like the sound of it, and I even got a good sound out of the 14' tom with the stock head, but it's tuned pretty high now so that I can't get a nice sound for my 12' tom between the other two. So what I'm planning to do is, getting new heads for the 12' and 14' toms. I was thinking about either Powerstroke 3 or Evans Genera 2 or do you have any other suggestions which heads would give me a nice sound for some Funk, Rock and a little harder stuff?

P.S.:Thanks for all the comments!

Hey i know its pretty futile to comment since you now have your heads...but maybe for future reference....I have a Sonor force 2005...i love it...i also play Funk,jazz and some other crazy stuff...if your interested heres my ideal skins for them:

Snare: Aquarian coated with the powerdot(inside?)
Toms: Remo coated ambassadors on batter,pinstripes on reso..
bass: Remo powerstroke 3

if your changing again check out those configs....give the kit lovely depth and sound....especailly for the likes of funk and jazz....!

[Afrolicious]

Thanks to both of you, Karl, I can tell you it's all very relaxed right now, because they had to make the "Landesabitur" easy enough for all those mediocre schools and I'm on one of the better (and harder) schools. I wrote my English test today and it was easier than most of the regular tests I did on my school the last three years. They might make it harder the next years though, because everyone thinks it's pretty easy.

da cheese walks, thanks for your suggestions, I'm happy with my heads right now and I don't know if I'm going to be able to play much in the future so the next head change might take a while. Still, an insteresting combination, I have never heard of the resonant head being a more muffled head than the batter head.

[Afrolicious]

So after finishing my Abitur (graduation from school, like A-Levels) I got myself a pretty snare. In Germany Pork Pie is pretty unknown so I could get this from ebay for only 140€!
It's a 12x5 maple snare built in 2002. The heads it came with look like they're five years old as well, I'm sure the reso is because it's a stock pork pie and you don't get those heads 'round here. It sounds pretty nice already, but I hope I can tickle out some more life with new heads. Any suggestions?

[Mediocrefunkybeat]

Nice snare!

A 12x5 is going to be very high pitched, I'm thinking perhaps something like an Evans Genera Dry. I use a Remo Ambassador on my 13x6.5 Musashi, which is a lovely head and it brings out all the aspects of your playing. It depends if you want the head to be slightly dampened (a drum this size might have some 'ring') or would you rather there were some ring?

[Afrolicious]

Thx for your comment. Since my brich snare has a Evans HD Dry on it, I already have a focused, dry, slightly dampened sound in my repertoire, so with this high quality drum I'd really love to bring out as much of the character as possible. Yes it does have some nice ring to it and I love ring on a snare, so I'll probably try an ambassador or some other single ply head. The Evans EC1 Coated looks interesting as well and it would fit my EC2s on toms.

[GRUNTERSDAD]

Silly question...but do you fellows in Germany get the Sonor drums at a good price since they are made there??

[Afrolicious]

They're not much cheaper then anywhere else. Especially now that the exchange rate is about 1,35 $/€ the price in € for Sonor drums in Germany equals more $ than the price in the US. (I hope this makes sense)