Vintage Sonor Bop Kit

[ethanos]

I changed a few things on my kit, so I figured I would take some photos for all your viewing pleasure. First off, I ditched my heavy duty double brace hardware for some single brace yamaha stands which look and work great in my opinion. As well, I mounted the small tom with a RIMS mount/yamaha mounting hardware and clamped that to my cymbal stand, as opposed to having it in a snare stand (noticeable improvement in terms of resonance). I took off the bass drum mount that was no longer in use and its as though the bass drum is now vented! (sounds great: more responsive when played at a lower volume and less harsh overtones). Last but not least, I got a proper drum rug. Overall, I'm really enjoying the fact that mostly everything is mounted onto two cymbal stands. Soon, the Yamaha steel snare will be replaced by a vintage 2-ply maple free-floating Kent snare I snagged on ebay (I included a picture) and when it arrives I'll try and upload some sound clips of my kit. Please enjoy the photos!

[Garvin]

That is a gorgeous kit...

[stasz]

Wow, great stuff. The drums just look plain classy, and that Kent snare is gonna be sweeeet. How thin is the shell, have you checked?

[Deathmetalconga]

Very nice, classy set, like the kind you'd see playing at a formal dinner on a cruise ship. Yet you have the modern touches and hardware upgrades. Please post specs.

I would suggest rotating the bass drum 180 degrees, so the vent hole is pointing downward, just for aesthetic reasons. I don't know if you have very small spurs or a little bass drum cradle. If you have no spur holes it would be an easy thing to do.

[jazzgregg]

Nice. They had one like this in Soul Drums, is it the same one?

G

[drumr0]

Another great kit!! I like the "Sonor" logo on the bass resonant. Very classy!! Very nice drums!!

[dom]

WOW some sonor drums I actually like. Those are great! I love the kent snare, they are my favorite company of the past...(I have no Idea why)

if you are interested in vintage stuff check out www.vintageghost.com there is some great stuff over there

[ethanos]

Thanks to all for the positive feedback, always appreciated!

youenjoy00myself, the shell of the Kent drum is 2 plies of maple, so pretty thin. I speculate: thin maple shell + no lugs drilled into the shell = awesome tone.

deathmetalconga, I actually have thought about doing just that, but the two seams on the wrap meet on the underside of the drum, which would not exactly be an improvement in the aesthetic department. Nonetheless, thanks for the tip.

jazzgreg, right on man, this is that very same kit, in fact I've never seen another tear-drop lug sonor in these sizes. I've been going there for about 5 years now (I currently take lessons with Rich Greenspoon)

Keep the feeback coming this way!

Here are the specs for the kit (as per deathmetalconga's request):

Sonor 6 ply beech shells (circa ~1967):
- 12x8 small tom
- 14x14 floor tom
- 18x16 bass drum

- Yamaha Steel snare drum: 14x6

Yamaha single brace cymbal stands
DW 9000 hi hat pedal
Yamaha single chain bass drum pedal
Yamaha tom mount

A Zildjian Cymbals (eventually will be replaced with proper jazz rides):
- 20" medium thin crash (as main ride)
- 18" medium crash (as left side ride)
- 14" new beat hats

[stasz]

Thanks to all for the positive feedback, always appreciated!

youenjoy00myself, the shell of the Kent drum is 2 plies of maple, so pretty thin. I speculate: thin maple shell + no lugs drilled into the shell = awesome tone.

deathmetalconga, I actually have thought about doing just that, but the two seams on the wrap meet on the underside of the drum, which would not exactly be an improvement in the aesthetic department. Nonetheless, thanks for the tip.

jazzgreg, right on man, this is that very same kit, in fact I've never seen another tear-drop lug sonor in these sizes. I've been going there for about 5 years now (I currently take lessons with Rich Greenspoon)

Keep the feeback coming this way!

Here are the specs for the kit (as per deathmetalconga's request):

Sonor 6 ply beech shells (circa ~1967):
- 12x8 small tom
- 14x14 floor tom
- 18x16 bass drum

- Yamaha Steel snare drum: 14x6

Yamaha single brace cymbal stands
DW 9000 hi hat pedal
Yamaha single chain bass drum pedal
Yamaha tom mount

A Zildjian Cymbals (eventually will be replaced with proper jazz rides):
- 20" medium thin crash (as main ride)
- 18" medium crash (as left side ride)
- 14" new beat hats

Ah I can hear that snare now... a real sweet-sounding vintage "wap" sound to it, I imagine.

Interesting idea using the crashes as rides, I guess some of the highly revered old K rides are as thin as some modern day crashes so it's not a crazy idea. I would like to see the setup with some jazz cymbals, though. It'll round everything out nicely.

[Drummer Karl]

As I said, simply outstanding kit you`ve got there!!!
Btw, is the bass drum sound difference really noticeable? I always wondered whether that makes the difference.
And are you gonna "close" that hole?

Looks really nice now, too. =)

Can you maybe give us a little tom/bass demo clip...I`m really curious how it sounds since I havn`t heard the toms and the bass so much till now.

Have fun playing this beauty!

Karl

[jazzgregg]

jazzgreg, right on man, this is that very same kit, in fact I've never seen another tear-drop lug sonor in these sizes. I've been going there for about 5 years now (I currently take lessons with Rich Greenspoon)


Yeah, I don't really care much about gear, but even I noticed those! Very nice man, good deal too, if I recall. I live down the street from there, actually.

G