SONOR Designer Floor Tom Failure

T

The Prof

Member
I’m hoping some knowledgeable SONOR fans are out there somewhere to help me out. I recently got a used Designer from Guitar Center, which initially was missing parts which have now been found (yay!). I have one remaining issue - the floor tom does not stand up!

There is apparently an issue with the design of the leg clamps whereby over time the knurled part of the leg wears down a plastic part in the clamp, leading the clamp to no longer hold the leg. Seems like a very poor design from a company who pride themselves on quality workmanship.

Anyway, I was wondering if: a) anyone has any experience with this and knows a fix: b) anyone knows of any replacement floor tom leg clamps that will fit the existing holes: c) any other suggestions (I’m considering the Worldmax suspension system as it doesn’t require drilling.

Thanks!
 
You might want to look at some of the more modern floor tom leg mounts made by Sonor as spacings are probably the same, probably being the key word, you might want to double check.
 
INDe has brackets with variable spacing, BR2 is 1-2" and the BR2XL is 2-3.2".

Also, there still are some Gauger Dynamounts in stock.

The Worldmax would be a cheaper option for a basket, but in my experience, they can sometimes 'bind' because of sizing mismatch (between basket and drum).

Edit: and you may be able to find brackets with comparable spacing at DrumFactoryDirect
 
TheDrummerFromAmsterdam said:
I never heard of this,
Click to expand...
Sonor failing Left and Right!

kidding..

Sonor Designer rubber deterioration .

Have you guys had much issue with the various gaskets on the Designer series degrading over the years? Looks like the rubber on my snare lugs are going to be giving up the ghosts sooner than later. Just wondering how pervasive this might be and where one can easily get replacement material...
www.drumforum.org www.drumforum.org

Sonor SQ2 mounting system issue

The sq2 kit I got had a stripped plastic piece that’s on the tom mounting system. It controls a knob that supposedly controls how much it resonates. (If you believe that I have some magic beans to sell ya). Anyhow I ordered a new one (they don’t just sell the plastic piece, it’s with the knob...
www.drumforum.org www.drumforum.org
 
jda said:
Sonor failing Left and Right!

kidding..

Sonor Designer rubber deterioration .

Have you guys had much issue with the various gaskets on the Designer series degrading over the years? Looks like the rubber on my snare lugs are going to be giving up the ghosts sooner than later. Just wondering how pervasive this might be and where one can easily get replacement material...
www.drumforum.org www.drumforum.org

Sonor SQ2 mounting system issue

The sq2 kit I got had a stripped plastic piece that’s on the tom mounting system. It controls a knob that supposedly controls how much it resonates. (If you believe that I have some magic beans to sell ya). Anyhow I ordered a new one (they don’t just sell the plastic piece, it’s with the knob...
www.drumforum.org www.drumforum.org
Click to expand...

When it comes to the Designer series, these types of failures are unfortunately well documented. The company completely changed its manufacturing philosophy when it left the Link family. It became more modern, but at the expense of reliability imho.

The Designer replaced the Signature series as Sonors premier offering. You won’t find these issues with Sigs. Not much plastic and rubber bits in those.

The Designer is a fantastic sounding kit that just requires more maintenance with time. Worth replacing all the worn out bits
 
Thanks all for the feedback and suggestions! I don’t think a current SONOR floor tom leg clamp will fit, it seems they went from a 4 screw design on the Designers to a 3 screw. The drums are great so I’m not too bummed, I think I’ll follow Ron’s suggestion and look at at a gauger suspension system, since stdrums doesn’t have the necessary replacement part. That said, if anyone else knows a fix for the existing clamps then please let me know!
 
jda said:
Sonor failing Left and Right!

kidding..

Sonor Designer rubber deterioration .

Have you guys had much issue with the various gaskets on the Designer series degrading over the years? Looks like the rubber on my snare lugs are going to be giving up the ghosts sooner than later. Just wondering how pervasive this might be and where one can easily get replacement material...
www.drumforum.org www.drumforum.org

Sonor SQ2 mounting system issue

The sq2 kit I got had a stripped plastic piece that’s on the tom mounting system. It controls a knob that supposedly controls how much it resonates. (If you believe that I have some magic beans to sell ya). Anyhow I ordered a new one (they don’t just sell the plastic piece, it’s with the knob...
www.drumforum.org www.drumforum.org
Click to expand...
I know of the rubber. That is indeed a common (and not really strange) thing that can happen.


But I never heard of that plastic part.

Oh well learn something everyday 👌🏾
 
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TheDrummerFromAmsterdam said:
I know of the rubber. That is indeed a common (and not really strange) thing that can happen.


But I never heard of that plastic part.

Oh well learn something everyday 👌🏾
Click to expand...
Just to be clear, that is what I read causes the issue on another forum. It may not be true, but either way the floor tom clamp failing seems to be a common issue.
 
Couldn't you just add a memory lock to the floor tom leg(s)? That should be enough to support the floor tom even if the clamp doesn't hold.
 
The Prof said:
I’m hoping some knowledgeable SONOR fans are out there somewhere to help me out. I recently got a used Designer from Guitar Center, which initially was missing parts which have now been found (yay!). I have one remaining issue - the floor tom does not stand up!

There is apparently an issue with the design of the leg clamps whereby over time the knurled part of the leg wears down a plastic part in the clamp, leading the clamp to no longer hold the leg. Seems like a very poor design from a company who pride themselves on quality workmanship.

Anyway, I was wondering if: a) anyone has any experience with this and knows a fix: b) anyone knows of any replacement floor tom leg clamps that will fit the existing holes: c) any other suggestions (I’m considering the Worldmax suspension system as it doesn’t require drilling.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
There was a fix floating around the internet some years ago. I saved the pictures but the text is gone. Someone found that a piece of a rubber doorstop would do the trick.
Ignore the red square in this pic, just to show the parts:

morwh9xzj2fj2zc59ygk.png
Here are the saved pics:
Designer FT bracket rubber 02.jpg
Designer FT bracket rubber 01.jpg
Designer FT bracket rubber 03.jpg
Designer FT bracket rubber 05.jpg
Designer FT bracket rubber 04.jpg
 
spelman said:
There was a fix floating around the internet some years ago. I saved the pictures but the text is gone. Someone found that a piece of a rubber doorstop would do the trick.
Ignore the red square in this pic, just to show the parts:

View attachment 132144
Here are the saved pics:
View attachment 132145
View attachment 132146
View attachment 132147
View attachment 132149
View attachment 132150
Click to expand...
Oh awesome, thanks! This doesn’t look too hard to do, just have to find the right doorstop
 
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