Sonor Force 3003 (Fusion) Kits ?

[CLWarunki]

For the price, these kits seem amazing! I mean, I play DW and Gretsch, so I could really don't need another kit - but they caught my eye...

Maple/Basswood (or Mahogany?) shells and they also have fusion sized with a 17x20" bass drum. I heard the new ones will have all maple shells. Sparkle laquers on the drums are very impressive too, as well as their mount systems.

Anyone have any firsthand experience with these kits or Sonor in general?

[royerin]

I recently became endorsed by Sonor - I got an "Educator's Endorsement", thanks to the owners of the shop where I teach, Drums2Go - but I haven't got a new kit yet. I didn't get a full endorsement so I have to buy the kit, which means I have to sell one first. I have two 2003 kits in my teaching room at the shop and I think they sound great. Solid hardware too, and nice finishes. The Force series is made in China but by German workers with German equipment, so you save money because of the cheap warehouse rent basically.

A little about the new series...

The 2003 and 3003 are now the 2005 and 3005, and are 100% birch and maple respectively. There are two new finishes available (on top of the existing ones) in the 2005, and three new finishes in the 3005, plus some new sizes. The 2005 finishes are satin stains and the 3005's are laquers.

There is more info and pictures on the <font color="blue">Sonor site</font> - go to Force from the pull-down, then Force News 2005.

Hope this helps.

[img]biggrin.gif[/img]

[chris perra]

i've got a 3003 kit, it smokes......

the shells for sonars 3003 and down were made by mapex and they are great. s class and up they make them in germany.mine were 6 ply maple,3 ply basswood. they sound amazing.

their only flaw is in the suspension system for the toms. i moded them a bit and now they completely kill.


chris perra

[CLWarunki]

Hey Chris [img]smile.gif[/img]

What's wrong with the tom mounts? I recently got an 8" 3003 tom (now I need the rest of the kit, lol) and I really dug their mount system. What did you do to modify them?

[chris perra]

they may have changed the design by now. i got mine last summer.

the isolation system i recieved was mounted by 2 lugs from the rim which is normal but the 3rd mount was drilled through the shell, and mounted by a steel cylinder threaded from both sides.

i found the tone killer when holding the drum but lost considerable tone when mounting it. after talking to a couple of sonar users. one had a delight, and one had an s class.

i felt a bit better that the s class had the same system. but, the delights shell mount was different.

it wasn't drilled through and mounted from both sides. it was just a rubber nobby that rested on the shell.

i also noticed from pamphlets and pictures that the s class, and the delight had rubber gaskets between the bass drum and rack tom mount. and the designer had gaskets on the floor tom.

so i bought some rubber weatherstripping for a garage door, and unscrewed the shell tom mount from the shell, stuck some rubber on the inside of the cylider so it touched the shell. and also tucked some rubber under the 2 lug mounts for better isolation.

pulled off the tom leg mounts and stuck some rubber in there. and put a rubber gasket in between my bass drum and rack tom mount as well as the bass drum legs.for 12 bucks and a bit of work i have the same iso system as a drum kit that costs thousands more.


chris perra

[CLWarunki]

Very clever... I'll have to check the mount on my 3003 tom when i am back in Vancouver... and if I get the rest of the kit, you'll have to teach me that $12 trick!

[Henry II]

Originally posted by CLWarunki:
For the price, these kits seem amazing! I mean, I play DW and Gretsch, so I could really don't need another kit - but they caught my eye...

Maple/Basswood (or Mahogany?) shells and they also have fusion sized with a 17x20" bass drum. I heard the new ones will have all maple shells. Sparkle laquers on the drums are very impressive too, as well as their mount systems.

Anyone have any firsthand experience with these kits or Sonor in general?

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">To me, the "new" Force series are great entry level kits, but they're not really Sonor's IMHO. They're Mapex drums. Designers and Delites are real Sonors. Kinda like the way Renown Maples aren't really Gretsch's either.

[CLWarunki]

[quote]Originally posted by Henry II:

Kinda like the way Renown Maples aren't really Gretsch's either.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">You mean that only vintage gretsch drums are "really gretsch"? I thought renown were top of the line, no?

[chris perra]

the 3003's are pretty smokin, i'd put them up against any "pro" level kit any day.

even with the design flaw in the tom mounts.

they are mapex shells, but mapex stuf is really good as well.

the thing i really liked that came with the 3003's are lug locking lug casings that once they are tuned they don't go out very much. you don't see that on many entry level kits.i like to tune my kick low and it really helps. the kicks are stellar.

i have a freind with an s class kit and mine is exactly the same except for having 3 plys of bass wood, and being thousands cheaper.

in this day and age of mass manufacturing, and the state of drum companies trying to reinvent the wheel i find that there are very few differences between a "pro drumkit and a high end entry level except for finishes, where they are made and how much they cost.

they all use the same designs, it's just that some use more bass wood or mahogany. if you get the right hardware package with it they are fine.

chris perra