Sonor Select Force Jungle vs. PDP Concept Maple experience

kwa

Member
Sitting in front of me, right now, I have a PDP Concept maple (20, 12, 14 and 14 snare) and a Sonor Select Force Jungle (16, 10, 14 and paired with my 13" Pearl piccolo snare).

I picked up the Sonor on a great deal new ($498) after the PDP ($570, discount due to shipping damage to bass hoop). I was having some issues with the PDP (there is a thread about tuning with it) and it just got worse. Below are some observations between the two kits: hardware, tuning, build quality, sound, etc. based upon my experience with these two kits.

PDP CONCEPT MAPLE
- the Chinese maple shells do sound great at low to mid tuning. Booming, warm, rich and if that's the sound you want, great! I like it, but also use a higher tuning a lot of it just choked at higher tunings with a variety of head combos.
- holds tuning? Not well. Not head dependent either. The tension rods loosen so much I had one spinning around on each tom and two on the snare. This was constant and it wasn't because of "barely there" tension, it was up a ways to mid-tone tuning.
- the tom mount takes a ton of wrenching to hold it in place without drooping. The ball even sort of stripped. A replacement tom arm that I mounted to a cymbal stand is much better and works well.
- the lugs and tension rods look nice. However, they felt very gritty / not smooth. I thought about greasing them slightly and then thought better as they already worked loose easily and didn't want to make it worse. See comment about holding tuning above.
- finish: deep walnut glossy, very nice, uniform, a bit dark, but very nice nonetheless.
-Overall Value: For the price, if it held tuning well, it would be a good deal. Just not for me. They are going on Craig's List...someone will love them.

SONOR SELECT FORCE JUNGLE
- the Canadian maple shells sound fantastically warm, slightly more so than the PDP's. I've found, with both stock heads and Evans EC2/EC, that they have a wide tuning rage, growly low to pinging jazz high and still ring out. Nice. I haven't put my G2's on yet that I typically tune high and open with, but the EC2's are great!
- holds tuning? Yes. It may or may not be the Sonor tune-safe lugs, but you can feel the "grip" in the lugs on the rods when tuning. Nice.
- hardware: Tom mount is smooth, smooth, smooth and holds with just moderate tension. Rock solid and steady. The tension rods are smooth to thread and all other hardware feels a notch or two higher than the PDP.
- Finish: natural maple, beautifully finished. Not as glossy as the PDP but looks stunning.
- Overall value: for the price of $498, this is an insane kit. It plays and feels like a $1000 kit IMO. I used to play a Yamaha Recording Custom (25+ years) and this is darn close is every respect so far. I'm shocked.

Maybe I got a PDP lemon and it was a one-off as they are generally thought of as solid kits. However, for me, the Sonor just kicks some serious a**. I'm thrilled and can see keeping this one for a very long time and adding another Sonor down the road so it's not lonely.
 
Glad to hear you're liking it. Can I take credit for the purchase? haha

I found much the same with mine. The soundguy Wed night hated the kick. I solved the issue with a 4!! inch port, a Weckl muffle and a clear PS3 batter.

Saturday night (third gig with it that week) and the kick was sensational. It was an absolutely terrible warehouse room, all steel and glass, but the kit was great. The toms are ridiculously easy to tune and stay in tune. They sound one size bigger than they are. The little Martini snare just delivered right out of the box. I didn't even touch it.

As an entry-level series, these kits are batting way beyond their average. I will be finding plenty more upcoming gigs to use these on. So much fun to play. It was a great buy for sure, but a better value than the dollars spent would have one believe.
 
I'd recommend greasing the PDP lugs. It may actually help things stay put. The grease helps prevent vibrations from causing the rods to back out.
 
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I'd recommend greasing the PDP lugs. It may actually help things stay put. The grease helps prevent vibrations from causing the rods to back out.
Ok, I tried it on the snare, worst offender. It somewhat smoothed out the grittiness but they loosen up even faster when playing now. Hmmm.
 
Any updates?

Mine is taking a break this week. I'm very happy with the kick now and that Martini snare is a real honey. I'm thinking about getting 3 straight single braced stands for this kit as my DW9000's are far too bulky to be using with this kit. If I can find a deal on a hardware pack, I may "complete" this kit with dedicated hardware. Then I can keep it set up and have my Keystone bagged and ready to roll every weekend. It's a huge expense but it's a massive luxury to have two complete kits (minus cymbals) at your disposal.
 
The Sonor Martini snare? The one that comes with the little 14" kick kit? Or the 12x5" steel snare?

I love this little Select Force Jungle kit! The PDP's are officially up for sale (they were intended to be my "small" kit). I'm just amazed at the sound from this little thing. Throw some EC2/EC reso on and tune it low and it sounds like a bigger kit. Toss on the G2's on the batters and tune it higher and now it's a totally new kit. The range is impressive for a sub-$1000 kit IMO...let alone for the bargain we picked it up for at $498. That's almost insane.

The fit and finish is still impressing me, as is the hardware on the shell pack. Additionally, that "free (Sonor) snare stand" is actually really a nice little stand for the price. it sure beats most other lower end stands and has me wanting to try more Sonor hardware.

I do need to find a new snare to go with the kit, I want wood (Maple preferably) as all of my snares for the past 30+ years have been one sort of metal or another. The snare I currently use with it is a 13" Pearl piccolo. I'd like something in a 13" x 5.75-7" range. I do prefer 13's for some reason, always have. I've looked at (online) the Sonor black mamba, select maple, etc. as well as in store the Orange County 13" Ash and some Pork Pie's. No one around the Denver area seems to have any Sonor snares in stock to listen to other than a few with the Martini & Safari kits. I also looked at a Ludwig Supralite 13".

Anyone have some ideas on a nice snare? As much as I'm loving Sonor so far (been a Yamaha RC guy since about 1990 and before that Ludwig), I'd like to try some more Sonor. This Jungle kit may just make me an addict :)

I've recorded some tracks at home and am very pleased. Still working on the bass sound a bit and experimenting. I like that its very punchy. I think I'll be ordering the newly released Evans EMAD in 16" as I've been using those with a lot of success on larger kicks.
 
Hey KWA not sure what your budget is but I have a 5x14 delite snare that I could give you a nice deal on. I've been a big fan of SONOR for awhile now and own a Safari kit myself. Love that little kit.
 
Hey KWA not sure what your budget is but I have a 5x14 delite snare that I could give you a nice deal on. I've been a big fan of SONOR for awhile now and own a Safari kit myself. Love that little kit.

Thanks for the offer, but I really want 13" snares. I have enough 14"'s :)
 
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