In your own words, try to describe the Sonor phonic sound.

rungeflash said:
Well….I’m going to have to get resolution on the 16…but the kick n 12 are here. For a guy that went to high school in the 80s…the cool factor on these is undeniable. I would liken this to an 80s car guy getting his hands on a lambo countach….these are exotic all the way. As a drum guy, I can check phonics off the bucket list. They are stunning in person.

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When I first fell in love with Sonor that was the wrap I had to have. When Robbie Bachman was endorsing Sonor he was playing a kit with that wrap as well as Tommy Aldridge for awhile. Tommy Bolins brother who plays drums locally was given a set to use for awhile from Steve Smith which was that wrap. For me that particular finish (wrap) is thee magical wrap I always see myself playing. For as simple as it is its absolutely beautiful. What an incredible sight. I'm in lust all over again.
 
Artstar said:
@rungeflash
.
Talk about "Presence" . .. Dumdum Sonor should have left well enough alone ..... They would probably be even more popular today with that hardware (except adding a modern suspension) and all the SQ2 shell options and finishes. .. Imagine that
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Probably so. It was a super cool formula, ahead of its time and now unlikely to be repeated for a myriad of reasons….those trees being gone forever not being the least
 
I like Sonor's sound just fine, but I just can't get past the aesthetic. I'm ready for the barrage of rotten tomatoes, but I find them some of the ugliest drums ever made.

Luckily, there's a prince for every princess. (Or some such saying, lol.) At least I'm not out there driving up the price for you guys! 😁
 
Stroman said:
I like Sonor's sound just fine, but I just can't get past the aesthetic. I'm ready for the barrage of rotten tomatoes, but I find them some of the ugliest drums ever made.

Luckily, there's a prince for every princess. (Or some such saying, lol.) At least I'm not out there driving up the price for you guys! 😁
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That’s no problem, Stroman. I’m not here to change anyone’s mind, you have to be true to you
 
Stroman said:
I like Sonor's sound just fine, but I just can't get past the aesthetic. I'm ready for the barrage of rotten tomatoes, but I find them some of the ugliest drums ever made.

Luckily, there's a prince for every princess. (Or some such saying, lol.) At least I'm not out there driving up the price for you guys! 😁
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Bo!..you still have those over ripe tomaters in yer teeruck?..i need'm fer sumthin..all you boys in the vicinity take cover..seems we got us a Sonor anti-aesthetic dweller among us so seemsta me I'm gonna see ifn I can change his mind a wee bit..ever body geeit down cause here goes 🍅 🍅 🍅🍅. Take that! ya Sonor aesthetic hatin varment!. 😃.
 
Artstar said:
@rungeflash
.
Talk about "Presence" . .. Dumdum Sonor should of left well enough alone ..... They would probably be even more popular today with that hardware (except adding a modern suspension) and all the SQ2 shell options and finishes. .. Imagine that
Click to expand...
I agree. Maybe it's not fair to say, but to me, the Phonics seem inescapably to be Sonor’s reference point, both before and after their creation.

With the Phonics, I believe Sonor had finally perfected all the elements they had long been building toward.

Then after the Phonics, even as everything came exotic and luxury laden, even then, the Phonics seem often to be the frame of reference for the company's rightful reputation, the aspiration toward which the company continues paying reflected tribute.
 
Damn….I just pulled the reso head n hoop completely off, ala concert tom style….silver dot on top….whoa, this floor makes a rumble now! Here come the cops! 😂
 
Back in the old days, my girlfriend had a Phonic set. Mahogany with snare included. 13.14.16.24.
I had a set of Lites, 10,12,13,14,16,22 with the snare. I still have that set of Lites.

We had a lot of jam sessions with those drums. We would often switch out our bass drums.

The Phonics sounded very pure and warm at medium or low tunings, but at the higher, almost bop tunings, they would start to choke.
Lites wouldn't choke at the really high tunings but had a lot more overtones.

Both sets had tension rod buzz if tuned low you would need to turn to get rid of the buzz.
I don't think I've heard a better bass drum than the 24 Phonic.
I didn't care for the beech Phonic snare. It didn't have character.
The metal Phonic bass drum hoop had stuff inside that rattled.
Lites are the loudest, most explosive set I've ever heard. They were my daily driver for over 30 years.

If I could find a nice clean set of Phonics it would be nice nostalgia.
 
WallyY said:
Back in the old days, my girlfriend had a Phonic set. Mahogany with snare included. 13.14.16.24.
I had a set of Lites, 10,12,13,14,16,22 with the snare. I still have that set of Lites.

We had a lot of jam sessions with those drums. We would often switch out our bass drums.

The Phonics sounded very pure and warm at medium or low tunings, but at the higher, almost bop tunings, they would start to choke.
Lites wouldn't choke at the really high tunings but had a lot more overtones.

Both sets had tension rod buzz if tuned low you would need to turn to get rid of the buzz.
I don't think I've heard a better bass drum than the 24 Phonic.
I didn't care for the beech Phonic snare. It didn't have character.
The metal Phonic bass drum hoop had stuff inside that rattled.
Lites are the loudest, most explosive set I've ever heard. They were my daily driver for over 30 years.

If I could find a nice clean set of Phonics it would be nice nostalgia.
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Loved reading your reply....very interesting.
 
WallyY said:
Back in the old days, my girlfriend had a Phonic set. Mahogany with snare included. 13.14.16.24.
I had a set of Lites, 10,12,13,14,16,22 with the snare. I still have that set of Lites.

We had a lot of jam sessions with those drums. We would often switch out our bass drums.

The Phonics sounded very pure and warm at medium or low tunings, but at the higher, almost bop tunings, they would start to choke.
Lites wouldn't choke at the really high tunings but had a lot more overtones.

Both sets had tension rod buzz if tuned low you would need to turn to get rid of the buzz.
I don't think I've heard a better bass drum than the 24 Phonic.
I didn't care for the beech Phonic snare. It didn't have character.
The metal Phonic bass drum hoop had stuff inside that rattled.
Lites are the loudest, most explosive set I've ever heard. They were my daily driver for over 30 years.

If I could find a nice clean set of Phonics it would be nice nostalgia.
Click to expand...

The foam in the lugs deteriorates over time resulting in the spring rattling. Easy fix

 
That's good advice. All of the old lugs have sticky gooey old foam.
I found my lugs were rattling in multiple locations.
The red circle was where it was mostly coming from.
The red rectangle would rattle if the lug was pressed out of its seating caused by wear.
The square nutcert wears into the lug. If pressing on the tension rod during tuning, The nutcert may come out of its wear groove and will rattle until snapped back. Not all lugs have this type of wear.
Link to video short showing the lug wear.
 

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I’m definitely keeping that rattle fix in mind….but so far, I have none. The hardware is in stellar shape. And some how, some way, I have the 16 floor singing now, even with the reso. I took the reso hoop, and I figured I have 8 positions to try it out and see if it seals up….and about the 3rd position, it has worked. Sounds amazing, I am thrilled with these phonics.
 
I’m not sure what year this is….but this sure looks like Phil Rudd behind a silver badge phonic kit…I guess oak veneer. Damn, I never realized he used phonics at any point…thought it was always some maple kit. That’s wild lol
 

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