Sonor 3005 vs. Gretsch Catalina vs. PDP 805 vs. other?

DroDrum

Junior Member
Hey everyone,

First of all, i'd like to thank everyone on Drummerworld for providing tons of useful and interesting info for me. I've been browsing the forums pretty much daily for a couple months now, and have had a ton of questions answered, and have learned tons of new tips and techniques which have helped me in my everyday drumming endeavors. All of this without even creating a thread! Thanks.

Anyway, on to the topic of the post. I've been looking in to getting a new drumset for awhile now, and was looking for some advice in doing so. First off, a little background:

I got my first drum set when I was 12. I took lessons for about a year, and due to I assume loss of interest (I can't remember the exact reason..) I quit. I resumed playing at 19 because one of my good friends had started writing songs and was really interested in starting a band, so I complied, figuring I could wipe the dust off my old drumset and try to remember some of the stuff I had learned 7 years prior. That drumset is a "Tama Swingstar" 5-piece, with a Paiste 301 Crash, some Sabian Crash (recently bought) and a Paiste 301 ride and hi-hats. The set sounds decent, but we are going to start doing gigs in the near future and I don't think it will be good enough for doing live shows with (also, the heads in both my rack toms have holes in them : /).

I'm 20 now, and its been about a year since I resumed my playing. Basically I'm looking for a kit in the 600-900 range or so, and I've been doing some research on here and some other sites. It seems like my best options would be the Sonor 3005, which is running for about $800 on ebay right now, the Gretsch Catalina 6-piece, which is running for 750$, and the PDP x7, which is running at 800$ as well. I think i'm going to keep my current cymbals so I think all I would need is the shell-pack.

While the number of drums on the x7 is very appealing, that many is not entirely necessary. Basically I want a solid sounding kit with a deep, booming kick and a snare with a really good pop, and some decent toms. The snare and bass drum are the most important for me, though. Also, if you could recommend some new heads or other accessories I need that would be great as well.

What do you guys think? Sorry this was so long-winded.. I probably could have asked the same question in 1/5th of the words haha.
 
One more thing to add.. Sorry..

My band basically just plays rock. Right now our cover songs are by RHCP, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Local H, Velvet Revolver, Weezer, and Stone Temple Pilots. Don't know if that helps at all.

Also, I should probably note that I am considering the PDP 805 as well.
 
Well, I can't comment on the Gretsch or PDP, but I will say I'm very happy with my Sonor Force 3005 kit (see some pics in my signature). Nice and punchy, and the snare is the best I've heard in a mid-range kit. Throw some coated 2-ply heads on there, and you get some really nice, classic rock sounds.

It's still definitely a mid-range kit, but out of the ones I've tested in this price range, it was the best for my tastes.
 
So a little update.

I decided I'm going to go with the Sonor Force 3005 (thanks for the feedback Naigewron). It's on Ebay for 800$ and it includes the sonor force hardware pack. Any last comments on why I shouldn't do this or any heads that I absolutely need to get?

Thanks
 
I've had a few different head combinations on it, and I personally find that coated 2-ply heads work very well on this kit. They really both warm and fatten up the sound compared to the clear heads.

Currently using:
Toms: Evans Coated G2 over Evans Clear G1
Snare: Remo Emperor-X Over Evans Hazy 300
Kick: Evans EMAD over Evans ported EQ3
 
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