Any experience with Sonor Essential Force

So Sonor is my favorite brand to use their own shells. I know they are great quality, i've heard good things about all of the more recent Force series, but i was wondering if anyone knows wether or not this may have been an instance where they dropped the ball. It's a birch setup that sounds great in low tunings (from the youtube videos i've seen) so i was wondering if anyone has had personal experience with them.
 
Sonor only makes the shells on their higher lines (SQ2, Delite, S Classix, and maybe the Ascents, I'm not sure about those...). I think the shells from the all the other lines are built and assembled in China.
 
I just unboxed my 2nd Sonor 2007 Force Blue Fade Made in China. The finish is perfect except for the bass drum hoops which have dark brown spots here and there? 4 out of the 5 drums sound awesome right out of the box with the stock Remo (China) heads. The snare drum was the weak sister. The cheap plastic throw is a break down waiting to happen and the drum rang like a bell. I replaced the head with a Remo Powerstroke and the flimsy snare wires with Tama Star Classic wires $34 later it sounds much better though it still rings ever so slightly (I wish I'd gone to a Genera Dry). The throw will be next as there is nothing wrong with the shell. If you get the hardware kit with their base kick pedal, well, their base model I played once at Sam Ash was a throw away. (I LOVE my Cobras) Other notables...the lugs are a pleasure to tune with. The bass drum spurs curve in to create a smaller footprint.

So, if you are looking for a great sound and have your own snare and kick pedal you can't beat this kit for the money. It does sound and look great! However, I 'm not sure I'd do it again given the first one's quality control problem and lack of timely on-it response by Sonor. Tama, Pearl and Yamaha might be worth a couple hundred dollars more. Nothings perfect, but I guess my first out of the box experience/hassle left me hanging so long and took enough joy out of this kit that I wish I'd done it another way. Hope that helps.
 
Back
Top