Got my new Sonor SQ1's today....Meh..

I never told you how you should operate, nor told you how you should be morally obligated to anyone or anything. I think you are misunderstanding my side of the debate. I'm trying to pose a different approach to the matter where time and wisdom can bring a more established overall experience to the forum vs giving people knee jerk reactions. Any drum review you read online tries to give people a full story/experience of having the drum/kit in their possession. They tell the good, the bad, initial impressions, long term feelings/thoughts, etc. They don't try to hide anything or put restrictions on what they tell their readers. They try to give people the whole picture so their audience can make the best informed decision.

What message were you trying to give the forum in your initial post:
I'm a bit disappointed in the quality. The bearing edges feel somewhat unfinished, like someone forgot the final sanding. Compared to the edges on my DW performance kit and especially my INDe, kit they feel pretty rough. Additionally, most of the 20 bass drum lug screws were quite tight screwing in. I found a number of them that had a noticeable bend in them making them bind inside the lug. Disappointing for a company with such a good reputation.
All that said, the kit sounds very good....but still.......

Having owned DW, Gretsch, Ludwig, INDe and now Sonor, my opinion is that INDe is the best deal out there.

To me it sounds like you are disappointed in your new kit. That the company let you down despite it's good reputation and in the end people should buy an INDe kit instead. Is that what you wanted people to know?

I believe a post like is not beneficial to the forum as it doesn't bring the full story to us. Like Darth mentioned long ago, you can take the time to come here to complain about the kit, but cant take the time to pick up the phone and ask Sonor to fix the issues? C'mon.

And I thought the idea of a forum like this is to share experiences and give opinions as you have them.
I didn’t know that I was supposed to wait a certain amount of time before I could post my impression about a product. Now I know, If I order a snare from Gretsch and it arrives broken in half, I’ll be sure to keep that a secret until I hear from the manufacturer.
I also didn’t know that my opinions carry so much weight. I hope Sonor survives this.
Be aware that I recently bought a Yamaha EAD10. Maybe in 6 months I can post my opinion about that too.
 
I bought an SQ1 kit earlier this year, 22/12/16 with 10 and 14 tom add-ons as well as the snare. The bearing edges all seemed great to me, but I did experience some of the bass drum lugs being very tight and difficult to turn. A minor disappointment with an otherwise very nice set of drums.

I also bought a Benny Greb snare at around the same time and one of the snare wires was loose. I called my dealer and they sent me a replacement, but not until after I sent them photos to show them that it was a defect and not just me setting up the drum incorrectly.

So my opinion after buying 2 Sonor kits and the BG snare is that Sonor drums are fantastic, but they are not the best at preventing defects from going out the door. As long as they correct issues without much fuss, I'm relatively OK with that for off-the-shelf drums like the SQ1 and the Vintage Series drums that I own. If I paid big bucks for a custom SQ2 kit, waited 6 months, and then found a defect, I would be less accepting of the situation.

By the way, I'm glad you posted about this. I want to hear when people run into quality problems. You paid your money and you don't owe Sonor anything before sharing your experience. If you decide to let them correct it or not is a completely different issue, the fact is you purchased a relatively pricey drum set from a manufacturer that markets itself as a leader in quality, and you had problems with it. That's not acceptable, and I don't get why anyone has a problem with you discussing it.
 
I bought an SQ1 kit earlier this year, 22/12/16 with 10 and 14 tom add-ons as well as the snare. The bearing edges all seemed great to me, but I did experience some of the bass drum lugs being very tight and difficult to turn. A minor disappointment with an otherwise very nice set of drums.

I also bought a Benny Greb snare at around the same time and one of the snare wires was loose. I called my dealer and they sent me a replacement, but not until after I sent them photos to show them that it was a defect and not just me setting up the drum incorrectly.

So my opinion after buying 2 Sonor kits and the BG snare is that Sonor drums are fantastic, but they are not the best at preventing defects from going out the door. As long as they correct issues without much fuss, I'm relatively OK with that for off-the-shelf drums like the SQ1 and the Vintage Series drums that I own. If I paid big bucks for a custom SQ2 kit, waited 6 months, and then found a defect, I would be less accepting of the situation.

By the way, I'm glad you posted about this. I want to hear when people run into quality problems. You paid your money and you don't owe Sonor anything before sharing your experience. If you decide to let them correct it or not is a completely different issue, the fact is you purchased a relatively pricey drum set from a manufacturer that markets itself as a leader in quality, and you had problems with it. That's not acceptable, and I don't get why anyone has a problem with you discussing it.
When's the interval?
I'm enjoying this immensely but need to nip out for some snacks. :p
 
Thanks... I found this interesting, but all I could think was, "Man, they're really standing close to each other." ?




Made in Germany I suspect a quality control issue too.
 
Just to update this thread. Sonor took 2 months to send me the replacement bass drum tension rods. But they sent the wrong size. So,I told them to forget it, and ordered some rods from Portsmouth.
Having said that: The drums really sound great, I love them. Maybe leaving some rods out of the kick drum is the way to go.
 
Just to update this thread. Sonor took 2 months to send me the replacement bass drum tension rods. But they sent the wrong size.
I waited six months for a replacement hex-rod high hat clutch. That was c.2005. I thought there supply chain had improved by now.
 
I feel bad that Fess the OP is not happy with the kit he received . What people tend to do when someone makes a post like Fess’ is to generalize and stereotype all of that particular model kit as bad . This should not be the case , there is not a drum company out there that doesn’t get the occasional lemon get out . It happens folks , it has happened for as long as people have been making drums . I know of three people personally that own SQ1 kits and they are thrilled with them and report they are absolutely flawless . This is not to denigrate or question Fess . I like Sonor and in fact I own a Sonor Vintage kit but that doesn’t mean I think all their drums are flawless or perfect .Sonor has a well deserved reputation for quality and consistency . Look at Ludwig during the sixties - some of the most revered and best sellling kits of all time but so many lemons got out the door it has become almost a running joke . The Companies that keep these lemons to a minimum and then correct any issues expediently are the ones we need to support with our purchasing dollars .
 
I'm a bit disappointed in the quality. The bearing edges feel somewhat unfinished, like someone forgot the final sanding. Compared to the edges on my DW performance kit and especially my INDe, kit they feel pretty rough. Additionally, most of the 20 bass drum lug screws were quite tight screwing in. I found a number of them that had a noticeable bend in them making them bind inside the lug. Disappointing for a company with such a good reputation.
All that said, the kit sounds very good....but still.......

Having owned DW, Gretsch, Ludwig, INDe and now Sonor, my opinion is that INDe is the best deal out there.
I just sent back a new phonic reissue snare because of the bearing edges uneven. $1200 snare don’t think so. Just got another replacement today and will check this one.. bet on it. Hopefully just a QA person forgot the check. But once the person cuts the bearing edges, goes on the table to check..so not sure how this happened.
 
This is silly.

This is a forum for discussion - why on earth wouldn't he mention his problems with his brand new kit.

This isn't Fess's problem with his manufacturing and letting a less than great kit through production and QC - it's Sonor's.

I would be really curious to see what they say if you mention it to them - I'd be willing to bet they want do some kind of exchange.

You should contact them - I bet they hop on it.
I forwarded my pics of the phonic reissue snare with bearing edges issue to Sonor. Their response was they are only human and things slip through the cracks
 
I’m just wondering if other manufacturers have same issues. And if we as drummers just think because we spent big $$$ on a kit or snare we assume that it’s perfect. The imperfections may exist not knowing until an issue crops up. By then it’s to late and warranty is up. I will continue to NOT assume ??
 
I’m just wondering if other manufacturers have same issues. And if we as drummers just think because we spent big $$$ on a kit or snare we assume that it’s perfect. The imperfections may exist not knowing until an issue crops up. By then it’s to late and warranty is up. I will continue to NOT assume ??
You just got unlucky. Someone at Sonor ate the last schnitzel in the breakroom and Hans had to finish the snares on an empty stomach. It happens.
 
I’m just wondering if other manufacturers have same issues. And if we as drummers just think because we spent big $$$ on a kit or snare we assume that it’s perfect. The imperfections may exist not knowing until an issue crops up. By then it’s to late and warranty is up. I will continue to NOT assume ??

All drum companies have issues occasionally. The Pearl forum used to have some very long tales of woe from Masterworks customers who'd received stuff that wasn't up to snuff, alongside the people who were very happy with their kits. Gretsch also have some 'interesting' QC problems occasionally. Its more interesting to look at those few companies that seem to do it much more rarely.
 
You have to weigh up the pros and cons for exchanging it?.....As with basses if the darn thing comes with a scratch or two but plays great, weighs good, sounds great, and just feels beautiful I'd keep it. An instruments soul isn't in its cosmetic finish its way deeper... if you really think it sounds great after a few gigs you'll forget all about it.
The replacement kit with its smooth edges and straight hardware may simply not sound as good.
 
This is the strangest thread. The ole adage-Damn if you do, Damn if you don't comes to mind. Sometimes I think when you are so excited about something and you get it and find some minor "flaw" we often go into angst mode. Crap they still look good and sound great but that dang screw is loose. This reminds me when I get angst about something and come in telling my wife about it -she starts on me taking the opposition. Damn baby I was just ranting a bit-I wasn't really asking you for your opinion or what I should do. I think when you get excited about something like a new expensive kit then you find some flaw-the angst meter goes off. Rather than let that crap drive me crazy I'll often off-load it by bitching to someone else-it just makes me feel better. It isn't an assassination of what it is giving me the angst, or even addressing the issue, just a little thing like that can drive you crazy because you start weighing-damn is it worth my effort to address it. Which obviously it isn't worth it because that's why I'm bitching. It's all so circular-I empathize with the angst and after waiting some period for you prize you find a boo boo on the prize-like getting an award with your name is misspelled. I still won the beautiful award but LetArippa isn't my name. LOL The Devil really is in the details.
 
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Diminishing returns over the 1.5k price segment is highly relevant.

High end kits are still limited to certain tolerance ranges shared on kits 1/3rd the price... which can be unfortunate if looking for perfection. Not saying thats what's happened here, but I certainly understand the disappointment.
 
I can't believe I missed all this

It's not anyone's responsibility to protect a company that they're not happy with.

It's the company's responsibility to protect their own name. I feel a customer has the right to share the experience with others

Fess was relaying facts. If facts are a problem, we're in trouble
 
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