My drumset was "born" in 94/95: when Sonor Sonic Plus came in Italy, it was mine right away, I think I bought one of the first ones to be imported.
This set traveled Europe, suffered a semi-deadly accident where it was also one of the reasons for salvation and suffered, like every true rock battery deserves, years of dusty and dirty wet cellars, unstable stages and hundreds of disassembly in addition to drummers more or less respectful of the instruments of others (principal ... not respectful, as usual).
Now my the guitarist owns a recording studiowhere we reharsal, so I use it less frequently, only for some gigs where I have to carry the drumset; the "full" drumset with all toms,stands and rack doesn't go onstage from 2 years at least: it's period for "minimal" set and carrying it all requires more than one car or a van if you have other tools.
Well, this summer I lent it for a festival: one of the main bands (impaled nazarene) had asked for a kit with rack and double bass and the organization had a problemi with the shop that had to provide the backline. It was sad that to see it "complete" on a stage, I had to make it play to others.
I realized that even if I always treated it as best as I could it was extremely dirty, but really so. Rims, rack tubes, mechanics were really opaque, some tightening spring loosened. So when I got it back I decided to take me two days and do some work: dismantled it piece by piece first, I removed all the sticker from rack and repainted all the rack blocks that was not black anymore..except from dirt : D
Replaced all rusty or lost washers , degreased and thoroughly cleaned plastic parts.
Then it was the most delicate job time: disassembling the entire battery, including the blocks. I do not tell you how much dust I have found in the rims or under the blocks: x
For cleaning: water and vinegar, nothing more. The semi-imperceptible battery's finish has kept fine, it was a charm to see it come back to shine. What is most surprising to me was metal and generally the mechanics: after over twenty years of hard word and humidity, the screws, the tie rods and the circles are still PRISTINE. The yellow shadows that you see in this photo is not rusty shades ... but the reflection of the drums: o
in 99 I changed a hoop (remember the incident I was talking to before) with one of the competitors: the conservation confronted with the rest of the sonor hoops is really speechless. Really surprised.
Was a long work...but worth it! Some scratches on bass srums, but now is pretty new.
Now I'm waiting for new teflon/plastic washers as the original ones, some new heads -only on the shell I effectively use- the time to reassemble everithing...waiting for next time in future to mount all on stage
This set traveled Europe, suffered a semi-deadly accident where it was also one of the reasons for salvation and suffered, like every true rock battery deserves, years of dusty and dirty wet cellars, unstable stages and hundreds of disassembly in addition to drummers more or less respectful of the instruments of others (principal ... not respectful, as usual).
Now my the guitarist owns a recording studiowhere we reharsal, so I use it less frequently, only for some gigs where I have to carry the drumset; the "full" drumset with all toms,stands and rack doesn't go onstage from 2 years at least: it's period for "minimal" set and carrying it all requires more than one car or a van if you have other tools.
Well, this summer I lent it for a festival: one of the main bands (impaled nazarene) had asked for a kit with rack and double bass and the organization had a problemi with the shop that had to provide the backline. It was sad that to see it "complete" on a stage, I had to make it play to others.
I realized that even if I always treated it as best as I could it was extremely dirty, but really so. Rims, rack tubes, mechanics were really opaque, some tightening spring loosened. So when I got it back I decided to take me two days and do some work: dismantled it piece by piece first, I removed all the sticker from rack and repainted all the rack blocks that was not black anymore..except from dirt : D
Replaced all rusty or lost washers , degreased and thoroughly cleaned plastic parts.
Then it was the most delicate job time: disassembling the entire battery, including the blocks. I do not tell you how much dust I have found in the rims or under the blocks: x
For cleaning: water and vinegar, nothing more. The semi-imperceptible battery's finish has kept fine, it was a charm to see it come back to shine. What is most surprising to me was metal and generally the mechanics: after over twenty years of hard word and humidity, the screws, the tie rods and the circles are still PRISTINE. The yellow shadows that you see in this photo is not rusty shades ... but the reflection of the drums: o
in 99 I changed a hoop (remember the incident I was talking to before) with one of the competitors: the conservation confronted with the rest of the sonor hoops is really speechless. Really surprised.
Was a long work...but worth it! Some scratches on bass srums, but now is pretty new.
Now I'm waiting for new teflon/plastic washers as the original ones, some new heads -only on the shell I effectively use- the time to reassemble everithing...waiting for next time in future to mount all on stage