What to do with Sonor 3003s: Messin with setups

Pavlos

Senior Member
OK. Time to post some pics of my lowly Sonor Force 3003s. I’ve been messing with setups lately. What’s the saying? Good artists borrow, great artists steal.
The first is kind of a Bruford ripoff with the hi hat in the center. The second is Gavin Harrison inspired, with 3 rack toms in a row. And the last one is what I take gigging. The good old 4 piece. Mostly because the less stuff I have to lug the easier it is to carry and quicker to setup. Yes, I’m lazy! I will say also though that the smaller kit does seem to inspire me to try different things creatively. I'm really liking it.

Drums:
Sonor Force 3003 in Black Sparkle
Toms
7”x8”
9”x10”
10”x12”
12”x14”
16”x16” (not pictured)

Bass Drum
17.5” x 22”

Snare Drums
Artist Series 5”x13”
Force 3003 5.5”x14” (not pictured)

Cymbals:
Paiste
Signature 13” Heavy Hi Hats
2002 10” Rock Splash
2002 16” Medium Crash
2002 18” Full Crash
2002 14” Thin China
2002 18” Thin China
2002 22” Ride
 

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oops, forgot the 4 piece.

4 Pce 01 DW.JPG

4 Pce 02 DW.JPG

4 Pce 03 DW.JPG

And as always, buy used if you can. I'm glad I did. Probably got more drums than I can use that way. When I first got back into playing about 3 years ago I almost spent $1000 at a GC on a 5 piece PDP set. Instead I found a 4 piece 3003 fusion shell pack with stands on ebay for $400, liked them and added more when they became available on ebay. In the end I probably spent between $1200-$1400 on just the drums but got 2 bass drums and Toms ranging from 8"10"12'14" and 16" out of it and the ability to have a set where my band practices and much more at home so no lugging drums for practice.
 
damn i love sonors. that snare is a beauty. another thing also, seems to be more and more giant step usuers popping up every day. how do you find it? alot of people dont go near it due to the price.

Thanks guys. I like the Giant Step but I don't think it's the best pedal out there. And GS pedals are way overpriced. Lately I've been a bit frustrated with it and am shopping for either an Axis or Trick. At the time I bought it I found it comparable with the DW5000 I had been borrowing from a friend. Reliability and convenience is great though. It's really easy to switch between my 2 bass drums (one at home and the other at my bands practice) due to the docking station. This also makes for fast setup at gigs too. I've been stomping this thing for about 3 years now and not one issue. (where's the wood to knock on?)
 
where did you get the idea to put the high hat in the middle? that is the most interesting thing i have ever seen... What are the Advantages/Disadvantages to doing that?
 
Great lookin' drums, Pavlos! I like the Bruford-esque thing - I thought about doing the exact same thing w/ remote hats. I'd love the freedom to try more Carter Beauford-like hi-hat patterns w/o trying it open-handed.

How do you like the remote hats? Natural feeling or no?

I'd do the same thing but put my 14" floor tom on the left...so it goes 14", 8", 10", 12", 16" - from left to right.
 
hey i dig those setups, the sparkle looks incredible. youve got some knockout drums.

BTW: what kind of sticks are those with the bumps.
 
Very, very nice kit. Love the finish. (I have a black sparkle kit as well.) I dig those cymbals too. I like the crash mounted on the kick in the last setup. It's all good...except for that snare. Yeesh, that thing's ugly. I assume it sounds good though.

You are right that used is the way to go. I bought my kit used and saved a bundle of money.

where did you get the idea to put the high hat in the middle? that is the most interesting thing i have ever seen... What are the Advantages/Disadvantages to doing that?
He got the idea from Bill Bruford. There are a few others on this forum that have setups like that. There is a thread on this kind of setup here.
 
Thanks again for the compliments guys. Missed the extra comments on this thread recently.

where did you get the idea to put the high hat in the middle? that is the most interesting thing i have ever seen... What are the Advantages/Disadvantages to doing that?

Like Boomstick mentioned I totally ripped off Bruford for this idea. Not sure if anyone did it before him, but that's that first time I ever saw it. For me it make some things I do more difficult, but also made other new things pop up. Just makes you think a bit differently. I also tried it because I was having arm cramps hitting the hi hat off to my left by crossing my right arm over like most drummers do. Since then though, I worked more on my technique and have alleviated those problems simply by improving that technique and my grip and most of the time still play a traditional setup.

How do you like the remote hats? Natural feeling or no?

I'd do the same thing but put my 14" floor tom on the left...so it goes 14", 8", 10", 12", 16" - from left to right.

I notice a bit of lag in the feel of the remote hats. They're DW 9000 and maybe I just don't know how to adjust them properly. I don't think it's that bad, but a friend of mine who also plays tried them and absolutely hated them saying they were too slow.

And the floor tom on the left is fun too. I think I tried that at one time or another, probably when I first read about Neil doing it. I'm such a thief!

BTW: what kind of sticks are those with the bumps.

Those are Trueline powergrip sticks which I totally love. They helped with the arm cramps that I mentioned earlier too and keep the sticks from slipping forward which I experienced alot of with my left hand. Sadly, due to our crappy economy, the company seems to have financial difficulties and has stopped producing sticks. Not sure if Trueline is completely out of business or not, but it's hard for a small company like them with a niche product like that to survive. Looks like the company is for sale according to the website. Billy Ward who is on this forum is an endorser.


It's all good...except for that snare. Yeesh, that thing's ugly. I assume it sounds good though.

Oh yeah, that is one ugly dog! And yeah it sounds good. Didn't Gavin Harrison have a Sonor kit completely done in that same finish? At least mine is hiding behind all the black sparkle.
 
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