Sonor Vs. My Kit

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Living Dead Drummer

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I love Sonor drums, and I have been lusting after them for years. I found a kit in a store that is real close to the kit I currently own from Peace.
I would love to get a set of Sonors, but I don't want to step down in quality. So my question is what line of Sonor is the same as my Peace kit?

The kit in the store is a Force 3007 and mine is a Peace Paragon Series
Both are 9ply Maple, Peace is North American Maple, but I don't know about Sonor.
The Sonor's are made in China and Peace is in Taiwan.
Other than that, they are real close.

So would I be taking a step down from the Paragon's with the Force 3007?
 
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I love Sonor drums, and I have been lusting after them for years. I found a kit in a store that is real close to the kit I currently own from Peace.
I would love to get a set of Sonors, but I don't want to step down in quality. So my question is what line of Sonor is the same as my Peace kit?

The kit in the store is a Force 3007 and mine is a Peace Paragon Series
Both are 9ply Maple, Peace is North American Maple, but I don't know about Sonor.
The Sonor's are made in China and Peace is in Taiwan.
Other than that, they are real close.

So would I be taking a step down from the Paragon's with the Force 3007?

Sonor 3007 series is North American maple. They are great drums. I cannot comment on Peace. But Sonor has been making drums longer than Gretsch and they care about the Asian kits. I can attest to the high quality.

Steamer may know about the Peace kit.
 
Don't know anything about Peace, but the Sonor's inner & outer plies are N. American maple w/Asian maple in the middle. They feature "tunesafe" on all the lugs, 2.3 mm hoops and a 10 lug bass...I believe that the snare is 10 lug as well. The 400 series hardware is rock-solid, and the pedal from that series is highly underrated. Overall, it's an amazing kit for the price, but especially so for the blow-out prices currently on eBay -- about $600 for a shell-pack and $800 w/hardware.
 
I think the Paragons and 3007 are probably on par. Even Taye StudioMaples are North American sugar maple, though they are considered "lower" quality than a Tama SC Maple or Yamaha Absolute Maple, which both use N.A. maple.

I think the quality issue takes on the locale argument once the playing field is leveled by the use of N.A. maple. Japanese-made (i.e., Tama, Yamaha, Canopus) or German-made (upper-level Sonors) North American maple kits have a higher reputation for quality than Taiwanese-made (Peace, Taye) or Chinese-made (Mapex) N.A. maple kits. Plenty will argue with this statement, and probably with good merit, but that's the standard take on the drumming street from most experienced dealers and reviewers that I've talked to or read over the past several years.

Personally, if I was going to invest in a Sonor, I would save up and get either the birch S-Classix or the Delites (N.A. maple). Better quality and German made, which is the true Sonor. The 3007 are outsourced and built in southeast Asia, as already noted here.
 
I think the Paragons and 3007 are probably on par. Even Taye StudioMaples are North American sugar maple, though they are considered "lower" quality than a Tama SC Maple or Yamaha Absolute Maple, which both use N.A. maple.

I think the quality issue takes on the locale argument once the playing field is leveled by the use of N.A. maple. Japanese-made (i.e., Tama, Yamaha, Canopus) or German-made (upper-level Sonors) North American maple kits have a higher reputation for quality than Taiwanese-made (Peace, Taye) or Chinese-made (Mapex) N.A. maple kits. Plenty will argue with this statement, and probably with good merit, but that's the standard take on the drumming street from most experienced dealers and reviewers that I've talked to or read over the past several years.

Personally, if I was going to invest in a Sonor, I would save up and get either the birch S-Classix or the Delites (N.A. maple). Better quality and German made, which is the true Sonor. The 3007 are outsourced and built in southeast Asia, as already noted here.

+1
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You would be making a lateral move. Save up for the high end or play what you've got.
 
I would think the move is more lateral than anything. If you'd rather have Sonor from a brand-preference standpoint, then try to work out a trade for the Sonors or just buy them and sell your Peace kit. Given that the characteristics you mentioned were so similar between these two kits, I wouldn't have both cuz it seems like 2 of essentially the same thing. If you're gonna get a 2nd kit, then I'd say get something fairly different that what you've already got.

If I were you, I'd put the money towards a used pro kit. Depending of the cost and how you intend to use them, you can then choose to keep your Peace kit or sell it to supplement the cost.

Just my $0.02 anyway...
 
I appriciate the advice and imput from everyone. Thanks so much!
Part of the issue for me right now is this. My current kit has a 26" kick, and for some of the gigs I have I need a smaller one. Something to get a tighter sound on some studio sessions, as well as for smaller live stages.
Peace can make me a 22" that will match my kit, but it's a little expensive, even with my endorsement.
I recently found a special addition Sonor kit in a drum shop with a finish that is almost the same as my kit. It's a 6pc 3007 kit and I can get the whole thing for $200 more than if Peace just made me a kick.

So I am thinking, spend the extra $200 and get a whole 6pc kit, or save the $200 and just get a kick from Peace.

The other issue is that it's going to take 5 months for Peace to get me the drum, and I can walk into the drum shop tomorrow and get the Sonors....
 
I appriciate the advice and imput from everyone. Thanks so much!
Part of the issue for me right now is this. My current kit has a 26" kick, and for some of the gigs I have I need a smaller one. Something to get a tighter sound on some studio sessions, as well as for smaller live stages.
Peace can make me a 22" that will match my kit, but it's a little expensive, even with my endorsement.
I recently found a special addition Sonor kit in a drum shop with a finish that is almost the same as my kit. It's a 6pc 3007 kit and I can get the whole thing for $200 more than if Peace just made me a kick.

So I am thinking, spend the extra $200 and get a whole 6pc kit, or save the $200 and just get a kick from Peace.

The other issue is that it's going to take 5 months for Peace to get me the drum, and I can walk into the drum shop tomorrow and get the Sonors....

Sonor makes awesome drums and the brand is a lot more popular than Peace so it's more easy to have what you want... You have an exemple right now with the kick... You should go with the Sonor.
 
I does make sence to go with Sonor, but I am endorsing Peace.
If I buy any kit but a Peace one, I would tape over the badges and replace the front head. So selling my Peace kit is not something I want to do. I honestly really love my drums, even if I didn't endorse Peace, I would hang onto that kit, and just remove the badges.
 
I does make sence to go with Sonor, but I am endorsing Peace.
If I buy any kit but a Peace one, I would tape over the badges and replace the front head. So selling my Peace kit is not something I want to do. I honestly really love my drums, even if I didn't endorse Peace, I would hang onto that kit, and just remove the badges.
Did you really mean to say that on a public forum? You have an endorsement deal that means you pay retail for your drums? Sounds like a very weird deal to me.

Anyhow, if you endorse Peace, stick with them or throw the endorsement & go with something else. Swapping the Peace for the eastern made Sonor isn't going to do much for you except get the size of kick you want. If you really like Sonor, get the German made stuff then you'll appreciate the difference in shell quality. Whatever you do, using one brand but pretending it's another is a very very bad idea.
 
Seems odd that you have an endorsement, and you're talking about a different brand kit on a forum to me as well.
I understand about the bass drum situation, a 26 isn't going to work for everything (yep, I said it! haha!).

If you're thinking all different sizes, I'd get what you need, and keep the brand on the down low.
Use the Peace kit for appearances, and record with which ever individual drum is going to work in the studio. You're a pro, you know a million drummers do it everyday. You use what's going to get the job done.

As for touring, has the 26" kick become "your sound?", or part of the "band sound"?.
If so, it's up to the FOH guy to make it work.
I've played big and small places with my 20x26 and it's never been a "problem"--as in, no band member, or sound person has EVER said anything negative whatsoever about the bass drum. Quite the opposite actually.

If you just want a smaller kick, I'd wait the 5 months if you dig the rest of your kit, and rent/borrow a smaller kick for sessions.

Another option is to buy a good used kit with the size kick you want, keep the kick and eBay the rest of it. Who cares what a drum looks like in the studio?

I'd have no clue as to how good or bad your endorsement deal is, but if a single bass drum is going to cost almost as much as a Sonor 3007 KIT, then Peace must make some REALLY fantastic drums to make that kind of cost difference.

Good luck with it, see you in the drum mag ads!
 
I does make sence to go with Sonor, but I am endorsing Peace.
If I buy any kit but a Peace one, I would tape over the badges and replace the front head. So selling my Peace kit is not something I want to do. I honestly really love my drums, even if I didn't endorse Peace, I would hang onto that kit, and just remove the badges.
Don't take this the wrong way, but why not shoot for a Vater Endorsement? Why would you take any old endorsement deal from another company when you just said you like Vater? One thing I really feel stongly about is loving and believing in what you play. I could never endorse a company justbecause they offered a deal. I have had offeres from more "well known" drum companis than Peace, but I told them all no because I believe in Peace Drums. It's the same thing with all my companies, the only way I would leave them is if something went wrong with my relationship with them.

This really makes no sense to me. Why endorse a Peace if you want to play Sonor? Especially since they are not giving you much of a discount or priority in ordering.
Also, it seems to me that you are a pro so why use beginner/intermediate drums. Current Sonor pro lines are S-classix, Delite, and SQ2. Older Pro lines also include Designers, Sigs, Phonics ect.

Also for Studio use why not pick up a good nonmatching bass drum on ebay?

Wayne
 
Your decision to post this on a popular forum is an interesting one.

To endorse a company means you believe in their product and service and use their products. For a company to endorse you they must publicly acknowledge you as an artist with whom they do business. There is no shame in endorsing/being endorsed and looking for new, different sounds not offered by your current company, but if that is all you seek, I agree you should just buy a kick unlike any that Peace make and use it. If you want to sell your Peace kit then your endorsement should leave with the kit.

I love Sonor too, but I'd never buy a Force series kit. I have nicer kits that sound better and while they are good kits, they are intermediate kits.

If you want a Force kit, weigh what your endorsement is worth to you. Do they provide you with support on the road? Will they send you a kit for use at a clinic/gig? Will they Fed-Ex you a lug if one breaks? Do you receive worth-while discounts? If the benefits of being a Peace endorser outweigh the benefits of being another dude who owns a Sonor Force kit, stay with Peace. If you want a maple Sonor bass drum, buy this: http://cgi.ebay.com/SONOR-FORCE-SSE...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item1e5a168f8e and put hoops, rods, and heads on it.

I like to joke that I endorse anything I play, but it doesn't endorse me. It's mostly true, though.
 
Did you really mean to say that on a public forum? You have an endorsement deal that means you pay retail for your drums? Sounds like a very weird deal to me.

No, I don't pay retail for my drums, but my price is close to what store price is on this set of Force drums is.

Let me clear a few things up.
I am really just looking for a solution to my Bass drum problem. Peace can get me what I need, but the lead time right now is too long. I know I am going to need a smaller kick much sooner. So I figured I could get the size kick I want in a matching finish sooner if I just got one in a store. I would have the buy a whole kit (the force kit) but I would leave everything but the kick at home for practice. I would still be touring and recording with only my peace drums (and the smaller sonor kick)

It is cheating a little, but I figured it was a quick solution to my problem.
I'm not the first guy to do this, I have seen a few other guys do it before. Im not saying its right, but it's a quick fix to a problem.


After looking at my options, I think I am going to wait the 5 months or just get a Peace kick in a color they have in stock. It wont match, but at least I am brand loyal.

Thanks for you help gang.
 
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