Sonor quality control problems!

jaysticks

Member
Anyone else had quality control issues with Sonor recently?I bought a prolite six months ago that wasn't up to scratch (badly chromed lugs, metal wasn't great quality, wood filler in bass drum shell etc).
A friend recently purchased a Benny Greb signature snare and has just discovered the shell is warped!Two separate cases of poor quality control, is so called German engineering not as prestigious as it was once considered, discuss!
 
You're describing problems that are typical to most larger drum companies. It happens to smaller ones too, but the variation between good & bad is usually greater from company to company.

Through our finishing shop recently, I've seen two examples of shocking quality/workmanship in top of the range lines from a major manufacturer (not Sonor). The quality was so bad, that someone couldn't fail to notice the mistakes/poor materials, yet the product still went out of the door.

Sending out a ply shell that's warped is actually fairly difficult to achieve. The production process for ply shells is so simple, they're normally pretty much bombproof. A solid shell form, I could understand more, but of course, it still shouldn't pass inspection.

As for filler in the bass drum, someone within Sonor has taken the decision that that's acceptable. I understand how things get missed in a volume production environment sometimes, but deliberate decisions allowing sub standard work to go out without customer consultation, is another matter. It take big balls & a real desire not to compromise to scrap potentially expensive shells. Commercial pressures are often high, & a call has to be made in one direction or another. Ultimately, it's how the company responds to faults in workmanship/poor quality materials that really matters. Screwups can happen to anyone, & sometimes external factors degrade a product outside of the manufacturers control, no matter how good their intensions are.

In the industry in General, I'm not aware of any poor quality trend that applies to Sonor more than any other company. I am seeing increasing numbers of examples of poor work from another manufacturer though, & that's very disappointing. I guess companies have cycles & maybe the odd poor quality employee. It happens :(
 
Just to offset this a little bit, purely for statistics - so that's 2 cases of quality control issues. And how many happy Sonor users are there? Ok, admittedly, I know of a few more cases on this forum where there were issues with Sonor stuff. But as Andy said - most important of all will be the way the Sonor staff will handle all this.

I for myself have gradually let go of the attitude that the gear I use would have to be 100%, and we're talking cosmetics here (except for the warped shell). Gradually this attitude has also spread across my guitars. Maybe that's because I've started participating in bands and once I did, I learned that there will be some wear on whatever is getting used and that this has not the slightest effect on the sonic output. But I digress.
 
I had a bit of filler in my Ascent 16" tom, other than that I have had spectacular success with all my Sonor purchases including a 7-pc Q2 set, multiple snares (Greb/Harrison 135/Protean) and my 7-pc Ascent kit. I chalk up the filler as a necessary evil due to the nature of wood grain.

F
 
Anyone else had quality control issues with Sonor recently?I bought a prolite six months ago that wasn't up to scratch (badly chromed lugs, metal wasn't great quality, wood filler in bass drum shell etc).
A friend recently purchased a Benny Greb signature snare and has just discovered the shell is warped!Two separate cases of poor quality control, is so called German engineering not as prestigious as it was once considered, discuss!

Generally Sonor have a good track record. I'd venture to say their record is amongst the best in mass-produced drums. It's disappointing that it has happened to you and to your friend. I would still buy Sonor based on the small number of issues I've heard about (compared to, say Ludwig or DDrum) but of course it's never good to hear that QC has failed. Especially from a company with such a good reputation.

As long as Sonor stand behind their product and do what they should, then hopefully the issues can be resolved quickly.
 
Anyone else had quality control issues with Sonor recently?I bought a prolite six months ago that wasn't up to scratch (badly chromed lugs, metal wasn't great quality, wood filler in bass drum shell etc).
A friend recently purchased a Benny Greb signature snare and has just discovered the shell is warped!Two separate cases of poor quality control, is so called German engineering not as prestigious as it was once considered, discuss!

It's not German engineering, it's German execution!
 
You're describing problems that are typical to most larger drum companies. It happens to smaller ones too, but the variation between good & bad is usually greater from company to company.

Through our finishing shop recently, I've seen two examples of shocking quality/workmanship in top of the range lines from a major manufacturer (not Sonor). The quality was so bad, that someone couldn't fail to notice the mistakes/poor materials, yet the product still went out of the door.

Sending out a ply shell that's warped is actually fairly difficult to achieve. The production process for ply shells is so simple, they're normally pretty much bombproof. A solid shell form, I could understand more, but of course, it still shouldn't pass inspection.

As for filler in the bass drum, someone within Sonor has taken the decision that that's acceptable. I understand how things get missed in a volume production environment sometimes, but deliberate decisions allowing sub standard work to go out without customer consultation, is another matter. It take big balls & a real desire not to compromise to scrap potentially expensive shells. Commercial pressures are often high, & a call has to be made in one direction or another. Ultimately, it's how the company responds to faults in workmanship/poor quality materials that really matters. Screwups can happen to anyone, & sometimes external factors degrade a product outside of the manufacturers control, no matter how good their intensions are.

In the industry in General, I'm not aware of any poor quality trend that applies to Sonor more than any other company. I am seeing increasing numbers of examples of poor work from another manufacturer though, & that's very disappointing. I guess companies have cycles & maybe the odd poor quality employee. It happens :(

Isn't filler pretty typical for the finishing process to get the paint as smooth as possible? It is in automotive finishing at least
 
Isn't filler pretty typical for the finishing process to get the paint as smooth as possible? It is in automotive finishing at least

filler is typically used on the bearing edges where there are gaps in the ply, which is how you notice it.

F
 
my (German made) ProLites are literally perfect, including the snare.

The Chinese made Players kit, not so much. On the Chinese stuff, no issues on the chrome or metal, but the wraps are cut short (width wise), the eyelets don't go all the way through the wood (very strange), and the wraps were actually not pressed on the shells at the joint. The only quality issue, as the Bass Drum hoops are metal and hollow, and one had something inside of it. Sam Ash is replacing the hoop though.

Of course one is $4500 US and the other is $450US so..... ;-)
 
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