Help deciding Which Sonor

Maple

Member
Hi. I'm about to pick up a Sonor kit. Can't decide which one. I appreciate your comments.

1- Select Force Stage 3 (10,12,14,16 Toms .... 5.5 Snare ... 17.5 X 22 Bass)
Brand new Natural Color. Price includes a 400 Series Hardware pack. $899

2- Force 3007 same size shells. Brand New , NO hardware pack $699
Smooth Brown Burst color


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I vote for option one.

They are most likely, the same exact shells.

I like the new lugs of the Select Force. It looks nicer than the clunky Safari, Bop style lugs of the 3007.

The Force 400 hardware is fine. the hihat is nice, but I'm unfamiliar with the bass drum pedal.

I favor bright sparkly drum finishes, like a bass boat, but between the two finishes, I would go for the natural wood.
On stage it will pick up colored lights better and if you ever got a gouge, you would be able to correct it better.

And I think the natural finish would look much better with a Fiberskyn on the front.

There's my vote.
 
I think what you need to ask yourself is do I want 200.00 worth of hardware knowing that a good pedal can cost that by itself. I don't know how long it would be before you start shopping for better hardware..Just an opinion, but I would buy the second kit and buy my hardware a piece at a time. I'm looking at the pedal in front of the Natural kit and it appears to be a single chain drive model and I don't know if I trust that.
 
Either way its a good kit. Could come down to a color choice.

both are 4 ply Canada maple + 3 ply China maple

the 3007 was made from 2007 to 2010, the Select Force is from 2011 to current.

the 400 series hardware is not bad. $200 for it is a good price if it is the HS475 (HH, BD pedal, 2 booms and snare stand)

I know you can easily get added pieces from Dales (extra toms. BD, etc) for the 3007 at a good price. not sure if the same holds true for the Select Force.
 
The Force 3005 (same shells as 3007) was my main kit for years. Never had any problems, and it sounded great.

No personal experience with the Select Force, but I'm guessing it's also more or less the same kit (assuming it's got maple shells).
 
The Select Force would be roughly the same kit as the Force 3007's (maple), with Essential Force = 2007's (birch) and Smart Force = 1007's (poplar). The lugs were redesigned from the previous generation (x007's) and look a bit Delite-like, but are curved instead of straight.

A hardware pack would be at least $200 - $250, and the 400 series hardware is excellent, from the pedals to the hihat stand to the cymbal boom stands. If you need the hardware, you'll be plenty satisfied with the 400 series equipment.
 
Thanks everyone, I wound up getting the Natural kit with Series 400 hardware pack. Honestly the lowest price I saw on the 400 kit was about $400.

I'm sure Ill be happy . I'm not in a band or anything at this point, so I'm guessing the 400 series will be just fine for anything I do at this point. Next stop is cymbal shopping :p

Joe
 
You'll be happy with both your kit and that hardware. The 400 series is very solid and very adjustable for its price-point. I really liked how adjustable the pedals were, and 2 boom stands is better than the usual 1 straight/1 boom that you get with competing brands' hardware packs.
 
Thanks everyone, I wound up getting the Natural kit with Series 400 hardware pack. Honestly the lowest price I saw on the 400 kit was about $400.

I'm sure Ill be happy . I'm not in a band or anything at this point, so I'm guessing the 400 series will be just fine for anything I do at this point. Next stop is cymbal shopping :p

Joe

The 400 series is very nice, actually. I still use the 400 series hihat stand that came with my Force 3005, whereas my top-of-the-line Pearl hihat stand stands neglected in a corner.
 
I am going to pick up a used pair of hihats. I'm looking for something relatively bright and as inexpensive as possible. I do not want beginner cymbals. My budget is $150 MAX. I basically play all styles of rock, except Metal. I do love Gavin Harrison style and sound also. I know he plays K's though and they are out of my budget.

Not sure if I should go 13" or 14" either.

This is what Ive looked into so far
1- Sabian AA regular hats
2- Sabian AA Rock hats (they seem a little darker than the regulars from what I can tell on Youtube)
3- Zildjian A. Custom Hi Hats 13"

Any advice is appreciated.
Thank You
Joe



Suggestions
 
If you're looking for something bright, crisp & cutting, you might also add Zildjian 14" Quick Beats to your search.
 
Still waiting for my Quick Beats to be delivered.

Did a quick setup after tuning. Have to say I'm not liking the stock heads (Remo UT) all that much, especially the bass batter (no damping). I've done some research and it seems that the Evans EMAD is a good choice for batter. Not sure if I should go with coated or clear. Thoughts ?

The toms tuned up "ok". I'll have some tweaking to do. I have not had a chance to tune the snare. I am looking forward to when this thing is "ready" to go.

One other problem is the bass pedal (series 400). I've loosened that spring as much as I can and the pedal just is still very stiff and hard to press (forget doing slide technique). Edit: I just realized that the pedal has spring tension and drum key-operated beater angle/stroke adjustment.

In the background is my Roland eKit triggering Addictive drums 2
 

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Did a quick setup after tuning. Have to say I'm not liking the stock heads (Remo UT) all that much, especially the bass batter (no damping). I've done some research and it seems that the Evans EMAD is a good choice for batter. Not sure if I should go with coated or clear. Thoughts ?
Before buying my Force 3005's years ago, I remember reading an in-depth review of the kit and the only real weak point was the bass head. That review suggested replacing the stock head before you even try out the kit. I use both the Evans EQ3 and currently using an Attack 1-Ply No Overtone batter head with my Force 3005, those are excellent choices.

The toms tuned up "ok". I'll have some tweaking to do. I have not had a chance to tune the snare. I am looking forward to when this thing is "ready" to go.
I got my Force 3005 toms to sound pretty darn good with the stock heads and maybe a bit of Moongel on the 14" one, but Clear or Coated Ambassadors would be better than the stock heads...unless you're looking to kill the tone, then go with heavier heads maybe. I like open, resonant toms.

Good luck tuning up the kit!
 
Still waiting for my Quick Beats to be delivered.

Did a quick setup after tuning. Have to say I'm not liking the stock heads (Remo UT) all that much, especially the bass batter (no damping). I've done some research and it seems that the Evans EMAD is a good choice for batter. Not sure if I should go with coated or clear. Thoughts?
How about an update, now that you should have the kit dialed in more to your tastes? How did you like the Quick Beats? And what did you decide to go with for the heads?
 
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