Hey Tony. This video is incredible. Please would you explain how you use the tune-bot? Do you tune by ear to reach the pitch eg when you say D3 over C4 and then use the bot to match lug frequencies? I'm not sure how to use your settings with the device. Thank you so much
@@rickyeastwood7667 thank you! I definitely don’t use it the way most do. I use it more to check my work, rather than using it explicitly by the book. I tune by ear then record the settings. When I go to the next kit, I then tune to the previous kit and then double check my accuracy with the Tune Bot settings from the first kit. Does this make sense?
Amazing. It does. I got that impression from the way you listed the tune bot settings. I got one to better dial in my tuning but I have to say so far I've found it more of a confusion than an aid. Also, will there be a Part 2? I'm waiting for more wisdom before placing an SQ2 order here in the uk!
@@rickyeastwood7667 yeah, I think it works differently for some people. I just find that this works best for me. There will be a part 2, but unfortunately, it won’t be for a little while now.
You guys are just legends. Definitely seemed to me like the medium shells were the best balance of punch and body. The thin shells seemed a bit weak and unfocused, comparatively, and the heavy beech is just a cannon, but not super nuanced. It also seems that the bigger the drum and lower the fundamental, the more a thicker/heavier shell helps making the drum efficient and strong. My vote would be medium maple toms all around and medium or heavy beech bass drum! Ultimately they all sounded amazing, as they should, for that price! :)
I'm one of the people that asked for this a year or so ago and all I can say is THANK YOU! Absolutely perfect demo, super instructive. Really appreciate the effort that went into this, and looking forward to part two!
I try to avoid listening to top end drum kits to remain satisfied with my stage customs (which sound great), but the delicate nuances in the shells you can hear in for instance the SQ2 shows that you do get your moneys worth for paying top dollar.
You guys are the best channel for reviews I've seen!!!! It's a good thing I don't live in Portsmouth, because you'd never get rid of me. What a brilliant channel. Thank you for all that you do for the drum community here!!!!! 🙏❤😊💯
What I concluded was…my ears lack the discrimination to tell the woods apart, and the purchase I’m making isn’t ANY of these drums….. it’s a TuneBot! How close did you get the lug pitches ? 2 hz or less ? I’d love to hear the same drum played, as you tuned it, compared to matching batter and reso pitch exactly; how much does a Sonor’s sustain change, compared to Gretsch or Noble & Cooley ? You guys understood what some miss: that the TuneBot allows questions like this to be answered. Pretty cool. How about three identical kits, same tuning with the TuneBot, and vary the heads ? It’s the overhang, isn’t it ? Slightly smaller shells. That’s why my (incredibly inexpensive) RMV kit sounds so great !!!!
First, thanks so much DCP for the great effort it takes to compile an amazing video like this. Now, on to my two cents: the birch sounds so much better than the others. Perhaps it's because my first real kit was an all-birch Tama Superstar circa 1986 (I now play a Pearl Reference) but birch has such a wonderful full range quality with a cut I really like/need in toms. The other non-birch Sonor kits sound wonderful but muted like something is holding them back. The birch just sounds complete and slices without being abrasive. Wonderful video, as usual!
Medium maple, heavy beech and medium birch are my picks. Doesn’t matter if it’s Sonor you cannot go wrong. Worth every penny. I own a sonor vintage kit with 20” bass and 8 to 16 Tom’s Unbelievable! My next kit will be an sq2 medium maple Great work guys! People been talking about all this sonor comparisons forever and finally it’s nice to hear. I’m very impressed how close you nailed the matching tunings. Huge help. My question to you guys…. Did anyone feel a certain kit responded or felt better dynamically? Did any kit seem to have a wider dynamic range?
I've owned and played Sonor Phonics, Sonor Signature, Yamaha Recording Custom, Tama Artstar, DW Collectors and Pearl Reference drumkits. After 35 years, I've come full circle and I'm back to playing 2 sets of vintage 40 yr Sonor Signatures. IMHO, the 12ply beech shells have a tone and projection like no other. The band members love the sound, it's warm and has great stage presence and every sound engineer just smiles when mixing them. Thanks for the fantastic comparison test on all of these fantastic drums. They're all winners, but my favorite were the heavy beech for that focused, controlled tone.
So... are we just ignoring the phenomenal clip from Death's Human album when they're headphone intro played?! Excellent choice guys, mad respect for the decision to use that clip, way underrated album in the metal genre.
The video many of us have wanted for ages. Awesome work team. I suspect this will be beneficial to Sonor's kit sales worldwide for next decade - even if we can't get it from you because we live on the moon and it makes no sense, the video will still guide sales overseas. Bravo!
Sonor should really be doing this and putting the info on thier own website/socials. Their online presensce is severely lacking. Just somthing as once a week a post of what an endorser is playing would be interesting and keep the brand in peoples minds.
The heavy beech definitely has a lot more power. But those medium birch shells sound very aggressive. The birch floor toms were awesome. Very dark with some added bite. Medium birch & heavy beech! Would love to hear a heavy birch kit. For some reason the maple didn't stand out on overall tone or the 'lows' as much as I thought it would. And all the 10" toms didn't sing/resonate like I thought they would either. Sounded dull compared to the larger sizes. All the rest of the drums I thought harmonized very well together. Nice video. Thank you! I'm still a Pearl fanatic. Love my MMX.
The thin birch captured my ears and heart at the first hit!! Such beautiful tones!! I have a Yamaha BCA and I still love it but have always struggled with the bass drum. But the Sonor didn't have any weaknesses!! Great demo!!!
Chef i agree with you about beech. This is it! Wonderful tone, punch and sustain. Killing sound!!! Thin beech toms, medium floor and heavy bass drum for me. Set, 10"×7",12×8",13"×9", 15"×11", floor 18"×14" and bass 24"×15".
Outstanding work as always. You're light years ahead of the rest of the world for showcasing gear, and that's never more apparent than when you go into as much detail as in comparisons of this type. On the subject of the differences between different woods and different shell thicknesses, I would absolutely to see a comprehensive comparison between Pearl's Reference and Reference Pure Series, which differ in shell thickness, hoops, and lugs but which both use different combinations of maple, birch, and mahogany depending on the size and type of the drum (along with different bearing edges and shell thicknesses), and something more "conventional from Pearl, e.g. the Masters Maple Complete series, which uses 100% maple shells. The concept of using different shell compositions by drum size and type in a single series is a very interesting one, and in this era at least, Pearl pioneered it with the Reference and Reference Pure series.
i prefered all the thin shell kits, but thin birch is my favorite. it was nice of you of having a couple songs with sean reinert on the drums. cynic focus and death human are landmark metal albums.
After decades playing Tama starclassic maple drums I've switched to Sonor SQ2 thin beech and while both sound great in their own main characteristics, the Sonor kit is a different animal for me, especially when it comes to mixing. With music, kits sound different and sit on the mix differently as well. I'm still getting a hang on mixing the thin beech SQ2 correctly, in context with music. Floor toms are thunderous, smaller toms (8") are a bit more of a challenge. But the quality of the Sonor sound, at least for me, is what I call more 'sophisticated' and complex. Excellent video!
Meium maple and heavy beech are those I liked the most. Also, Sabian proto aresimply stunning. Excellent tunings as usual. Fantastic job once again guys
Heavy Beech for me, always has been. I remember Steve Smith’s Horst Link Signature kit, I believe that was heavy beech and to this day it’s my favourite drum sound. I’d have a 24, or even a 26 bass with a 8, 10, 12, 14 & 16
I’m enormously satisfied with my new SQ2 kit. Heavy beech on higher Tom’s and 20” bass. Medium beech on floors. Vintage 18” aux bass that sounds particularly good and bop-y. Shane and co have been very helpful. You can’t go wrong with these folks.
I too love the heavy beech. Hopefully purchasing by the end of the year. Question for you guys - what type of music are you typically playing? Just curious as I believe this dictates the species of shells people gravitate towards. Thank you in advance for your response
Choosy drummers choose Gretsch. However, having just said that, if money were no object, the SQ2 in medium maple thickness is one awesome sounding drum(s). The tonality is amazing. Gavin Harrison has the best drum tone of anyone, and while it has a lot to do with how he tunes them, it also has a lot to do with his SQ2 kit. Thanks for all the hard work guys. The best drum channel by far !
Thought that Thin Birch was incredible..... also about their shell manufacture process..... Sonor is the only company that does not use internal pressure in the mold.
Thank you 👍🏻 very much Shane and DCP Crew! Sonor’s exorbitantly priced SQ2 drum kits deserve quality comparison videos like this. For me it’s (Heavy Birch 🌳) with a 26” bass drum, and a Artist Series Bronze Snare Drum 🥁 with Black Chrome 🖤 Hardware but in 6.5” depth!
Medium beech baby woooooooooooweeeeeeeewow. At first I thought damn the thin birch high then low then the maple high and low hmmmm which is better to my ears ??????? Then that beech kit those toms all of them the entire kit was just $$$$$ sounding
Thanks for all the efforts. Watching this was a very good learning experience. It seems though that the differences you can create with head choice and tuning (let alone the room and EQing) far outweigh the nuances of the different woods. Shell thickness also creates more difference than wood choice imho. And once you put other instruments in the room it is another thing altogether. This is why I love drums: They are a pretty complex instrument, and there's so many little things you can change and tweak and tinker with... it just never stops to fascinate me, even after 30-some years of playing. Thanks again for ALL your great videos! One remark: I especially enjoy your comparisons with the Bop kits and the respective players that also play with a lighter and more melodic approach.
I thought the birch had the roundest note.But overall I liked any of the thickest shells,They had note,Tone volume,And presence that made a great impression under the mics.
I can't wait for part 2. I'm curious to hear heavy maple and heavy birch kits. I've been buying drums from Shane since his pre - DCP days , as well as afterwards with his DCP staff . I have Sonor SQ 2 heavy birch and heavy beech drums that I've bought from Shane and his staff throughout the years. Well done!
I'm really liking the heavy beech. Wow. So much punch. Not too much resonance but still very musical. Thank you guys for doing this video. Sooooooo much work, we know. And we really appreciate it! You guys are the best.
SONOR Prolite, SQ1, SQ2 and the Vintage Series are qualitywise the best Drumsets you can buy on the market today. Manufacturing is just perfect. I’ve owned them all: DW Collectors Maple, Yamaha Recording Custom vintage and new, Tama Starclassic Maple, Ludwig Classic Maple, Ludwig Vintage Sets, etc., etc., (all good sets, but none of them comes close) I‘m very proud of my SQ2 Medium/Heavy Beech Set, I like it a lot. Live it sounds just killer. The typical SONOR sound stands for itself. No matter what wood type or sizes you‘ll choose. Thanks for this great video, Shane & team. Cheers
I do not now ,especially after listening to this , I mean this as both truthful and fun , and if u have a hard for u to say, me its even more confusing , guess I would have to listen a number of times thank u though ,I did seem to like the higher tuning more consistently, but I have a ways to go to figure out the rest!
Amazing content, like always. This one in particular really showcased the nuances between these kits. Great drumming all around as well. Way to really showcase just the drums. Too many "drum showcases" simply showcase the drummers skill level on the kit, and you rarely get a chance to hear what the drums sound like. Great job, guys! I have to say... I have become quite the lover of birch shells. They have a certain balanced musicality that's just magical. You can really hear the tympanic quality with Sonor's construction method.
Big ups on throwing that little Hella clip in there! This is an incredible video. Appreciate it, y'all! Heavy beech all the way for me. I mean, maybe I'd go medium or thin on the floor toms like Danny boy, but really, I'd just be stoked to have a Sonor SQ2 Heavy Beech!
Great job guys! These are some of the best drum sounds I've ever heard! I have a Gretsch Catalina maple so I gravitated towards the thin maple shells, but I just loved the punchy attack of the heavy beech shells as well! Great sounding drums! The German word "sonor" means "full and clear of tone", and they certainly do their name justice :)
There is no shortage of nice drums these days but quality and production of the recoding, the room sound, and the phenomenal tuning skills are stunning. The most famous drum recordings of all time usually don’t sound this good to me. I’m very grateful for all the time and effort you put into these videos. Not just anyone can get results like this.
Absolutely superb production! I particularly liked the time stamps at the bottom that allowed me to jump back and forth between shells. Playing was awesome and really highlighted all of the drums! Sabian prototypes sounded great as well!
I went with Thin Beech for my rack toms, medium beech for my floors and heavy beech for my 20" kick. Honestly you could pick and choose any of these combinations and have a wonderful kit no matter what you go with. Great vid!
So well done! Thank you for the the incredible work that went into making this video. The head to head portion blew me away how consistent the tuning was from drum to drum. You guys have now set the bar extremely high for what a comparison video is to be. My gut says this will become the de-facto SQ2 shopping guide! Mondo props!
Oh gosh, you constantly raise the bar in terms of video quality, yet still being the humble and funny guys you‘ve always been. Thanks ever so much for all the love and work you put into your content and give it for free. All kits sound absolutely brilliantly. The heavy beech in lower tunings are probably best for big stadium rock, the medium birch shells might work best in studio recordings. Personally never been the biggest fan of maple though. That open timpani sound is so unique to Sonor - independently from the shell material. Thanks again!
I like both variations on maple best - if I had to pick one it'd probably be the medium maple because of the floor toms, but I'd be just as happy with the light maple kit.
Regarding Sonor’s exorbitantly priced 💸 SQ2 drum kits you would expect 🤔 Sonor would have execute quality audio 🎧 marketing by now. FYI: In 2022 Sonor should be filming comparisons very similar regarding their specific wood types: Beach 🏝, Birch 🌳, and Maple 🍁 and shell thicknesses.
Thank you DCP! I’ve been waiting so long for this and killer job as usual! Man the Heavy Beech and thin Birch just reached out and touched me! Also the Birch and Beech bass drums were just beautiful. I have to say, I knew Beech would be great all of them for that matter they are SQ2, but the Birch really surprised in this, got me thinking now!
Wow - they really are amazing drums. I still have the drum set I bought when I was young. If I never decide to upgrade, I would look at these for sure. Incredible!
This is endgame level perfection! So many of these came out sounding really similar to my ears, which I was surprised by. Or certainly most of the differences would get lost straight away in a mix. It would be fascinating to do a similar test with all of the tom heads in Evans' lineup for instance. I think you'd get more variety out of the heads than you ever will with the wood type or thickness, but that's just a hunch. If true it would be very empowering. Certainly a cheaper way to change the tone! Thanks for what must have been an unreal effort. Look forward to part 2!
Thank you. The was a hell of an effort! I didn’t realize until just recently after having a conversation on the Sonor group on FB about wood selection that this matters probably the least of all factors. The videos kind of prove that out. They all sounded amazing and yet subtle differences. I’m a life long maple player but bought an SQ1 2 years ago and have been blown away by the sound of scooped mids. I thought that was the best overall sound and I’m partial to the lower tuning.
Now I understand why Pearl uses different woods in the various sizes - toms, floor, and kick - in their Reference series. Some wood types worked better in certain sizes and thicknesses than others. Secondly, I feel the snare stole the show. It's fantastic sound overshadowed the rest of the kit. Even though it was mixed perfectly, I would have lowered the mix volume of the snare (and cymbals) to accentuate the sound of the kit. Thirdly, having different drummers playing different patterns from kit to kit and tuning to tuning made it hard to really tell the difference. I believe that each drummer hits the drums with different velocity, thus changing the sound produced. That could even happen with the same drummer moving from one kit to another and tuning to tuning. However, that could be less noticeable that different drummers. All that being said, those were some great sounding drums (and cymbals) and some pretty outstanding playing. The head-to-head section of the video is the most telling of the sound difference...if any. As always, excellent video. Take care, gents.
Owner of the heavy beech, heavy birch, and medium beech.. Love them all. The birch was killer live, and still waiting to get the heavy beech on stage.. But, the heavy beech sounds almost perfectly balanced around the kit. Perfect sustain, not too much, plays strong. Can not go wrong with any of these! Great job guys-
They all sounded amazing, but the thin birch in all the tuning ranges sounded the best to me. Maybe I'm a little prejudice because I owned two Sonor Phonic kits in the early '80's and while I loved the sound and quality, I always found that when I played them on gigs, I had to beat the crap out of them to get the sound out (I wasn't miked back then). They were not responsive enough for me. When I switched to Yamaha Recording Custom drums (thin birch shells) they were a joy to play on gigs because they were more responsive, and I felt, easier to play. The thin shell for me made the difference. I never played a Sonor Kit with thin shells. If they had offered them back then, I probably would never have stopped using Sonor. I am very curious to hear the vintage shells in the next video. I have a Rogers set from 1970 with support rings and I find them to be very responsive as well. I believe Rogers use to also make their shells slightly undersized. Why do I think after the next video I am going to want a Sonor kit again? My wife is not going to let me watch these videos anymore.
I used to have a Phonic Plus kit back then (10",12", 14", 16",22" and 14x8") and I kinda agree with you about the sensitivity, until I put Rims mounts on the toms. Then they started to sing... the Link era resonance killing mounts were too much for the drums I guess
@@seppoinnanen5577 I agree the tom mount back then was really overkill. It took a big chunk of shell away and put in this large metal piece for the tom arm to slide into. But I experienced the same problem with the floor tom with response.
@@dancalabrese3523 Ok... maybe they were just designed to sound that way. The bearing edges were tympany type and very sharp. So, the sound was sharp and came mostly from the drum head. Fortunately, modern Sonors are very different from those days. That being said, I still own the Sonorlites 😄
@@dancalabrese3523 Sonor did offer the thin birch in the early 80's.. starting around 82' which was the Sonor Lite.. I had 3 Recording Customs and I also had these Sonor Lites.. No comparison IMO. The Lites were like Recordings on steroids IMO. And I love Yamaha btw.
@@memopadilla5931 Yes I was very aware of the Sonor Lites when they came out. I seem to remember later than 1982 (maybe 84?) but I am not certain. When they were introduced, I already had my Yamaha kit. But at the time I would have purchased the Yamaha's over Sonor for several reasons: Their mounting hardware was far superior, (especially their rack tom mount over Sonor's) their finishes were far superior and Sonor was offering very limited choices in finish and sizes while Yamaha had a lot more to offer. At that point in time Yamaha was much more "user friendly" to me. I never played Sonor Lites from those years so I can't comment on how they sounded versus the Yamaha Recording Custom. I do know that when we get into who is better it is very subjective, there is no absolute. My bandmates at the time were in love with the sound of the Yamahas much more so than the two Sonor kits I had. At the time I made the right choice for me. But I do love Sonor drums and would consider a kit today. I feel their drums are better than when I was playing them.
My god. Fantastic work. Just when you think their videos couldn't get any better, they somehow raise the bar again. I'd be more than happy with any of those kits. BUT ALSO THAT SNARE. WOW. Shame it costs more than my entire classic maple kit haha.
The amount of work put into this project is why I believe DCP is without comparison. Thank you to all at DCP….amazing work !
Thanks Jim 😉
Hey Tony. This video is incredible. Please would you explain how you use the tune-bot? Do you tune by ear to reach the pitch eg when you say D3 over C4 and then use the bot to match lug frequencies? I'm not sure how to use your settings with the device. Thank you so much
@@rickyeastwood7667 thank you! I definitely don’t use it the way most do. I use it more to check my work, rather than using it explicitly by the book. I tune by ear then record the settings. When I go to the next kit, I then tune to the previous kit and then double check my accuracy with the Tune Bot settings from the first kit. Does this make sense?
Amazing. It does. I got that impression from the way you listed the tune bot settings. I got one to better dial in my tuning but I have to say so far I've found it more of a confusion than an aid.
Also, will there be a Part 2? I'm waiting for more wisdom before placing an SQ2 order here in the uk!
@@rickyeastwood7667 yeah, I think it works differently for some people. I just find that this works best for me. There will be a part 2, but unfortunately, it won’t be for a little while now.
Jeez alot of people coming in with Thin Birch for the win .. my favorite as well
You guys are just legends. Definitely seemed to me like the medium shells were the best balance of punch and body. The thin shells seemed a bit weak and unfocused, comparatively, and the heavy beech is just a cannon, but not super nuanced. It also seems that the bigger the drum and lower the fundamental, the more a thicker/heavier shell helps making the drum efficient and strong. My vote would be medium maple toms all around and medium or heavy beech bass drum! Ultimately they all sounded amazing, as they should, for that price! :)
Samesies
Heavy beech shocked me, especially as a thin shell lover. Great video, thank you for the hard work and effort.
Good drums are good drums. Played many Sq2’s and all were incredible in their own way
I'm one of the people that asked for this a year or so ago and all I can say is THANK YOU! Absolutely perfect demo, super instructive. Really appreciate the effort that went into this, and looking forward to part two!
I try to avoid listening to top end drum kits to remain satisfied with my stage customs (which sound great), but the delicate nuances in the shells you can hear in for instance the SQ2 shows that you do get your moneys worth for paying top dollar.
You guys are the best channel for reviews I've seen!!!! It's a good thing I don't live in Portsmouth, because you'd never get rid of me. What a brilliant channel. Thank you for all that you do for the drum community here!!!!! 🙏❤😊💯
I know, off-topic, but that ride is ridiculously awesome.
Sooooo is the point of this video that it does not matter what kind of SQ2 kit you get you can’t go wrong ha haaaaaaa I mean come on 🔥🥁
What I concluded was…my ears lack the discrimination to tell the woods apart, and the purchase I’m making isn’t ANY of these drums….. it’s a TuneBot!
How close did you get the lug pitches ? 2 hz or less ?
I’d love to hear the same drum played, as you tuned it, compared to matching batter and reso pitch exactly; how much does a Sonor’s sustain change, compared to Gretsch or Noble & Cooley ?
You guys understood what some miss: that the TuneBot allows questions like this to be answered. Pretty cool.
How about three identical kits, same tuning with the TuneBot, and vary the heads ?
It’s the overhang, isn’t it ? Slightly smaller shells. That’s why my (incredibly inexpensive) RMV kit sounds so great !!!!
All of them sound amazing.
First, thanks so much DCP for the great effort it takes to compile an amazing video like this. Now, on to my two cents: the birch sounds so much better than the others. Perhaps it's because my first real kit was an all-birch Tama Superstar circa 1986 (I now play a Pearl Reference) but birch has such a wonderful full range quality with a cut I really like/need in toms. The other non-birch Sonor kits sound wonderful but muted like something is holding them back. The birch just sounds complete and slices without being abrasive. Wonderful video, as usual!
Medium maple, heavy beech and medium birch are my picks.
Doesn’t matter if it’s Sonor you cannot go wrong. Worth every penny.
I own a sonor vintage kit with 20” bass and 8 to 16 Tom’s
Unbelievable!
My next kit will be an sq2 medium maple
Great work guys!
People been talking about all this sonor comparisons forever and finally it’s nice to hear.
I’m very impressed how close you nailed the matching tunings. Huge help.
My question to you guys….
Did anyone feel a certain kit responded or felt better dynamically?
Did any kit seem to have a wider dynamic range?
I've owned and played Sonor Phonics, Sonor Signature, Yamaha Recording Custom, Tama Artstar, DW Collectors and Pearl Reference drumkits. After 35 years, I've come full circle and I'm back to playing 2 sets of vintage 40 yr Sonor Signatures. IMHO, the 12ply beech shells have a tone and projection like no other. The band members love the sound, it's warm and has great stage presence and every sound engineer just smiles when mixing them. Thanks for the fantastic comparison test on all of these fantastic drums. They're all winners, but my favorite were the heavy beech for that focused, controlled tone.
So... are we just ignoring the phenomenal clip from Death's Human album when they're headphone intro played?! Excellent choice guys, mad respect for the decision to use that clip, way underrated album in the metal genre.
You have excellent taste, Alan.
Hahaha came here for this. Never thought I'd hear that on this channel.
Hella is in there too apparently.
The video many of us have wanted for ages. Awesome work team. I suspect this will be beneficial to Sonor's kit sales worldwide for next decade - even if we can't get it from you because we live on the moon and it makes no sense, the video will still guide sales overseas. Bravo!
Sonor should really be doing this and putting the info on thier own website/socials. Their online presensce is severely lacking. Just somthing as once a week a post of what an endorser is playing would be interesting and keep the brand in peoples minds.
The heavy beech definitely has a lot more power. But those medium birch shells sound very aggressive. The birch floor toms were awesome. Very dark with some added bite. Medium birch & heavy beech! Would love to hear a heavy birch kit. For some reason the maple didn't stand out on overall tone or the 'lows' as much as I thought it would. And all the 10" toms didn't sing/resonate like I thought they would either. Sounded dull compared to the larger sizes. All the rest of the drums I thought harmonized very well together. Nice video. Thank you!
I'm still a Pearl fanatic. Love my MMX.
power and aggressive arnt musical terms, why do we keep using terms that mean nothing,
Unbelievable work. Priceless. That's what is really needed in this business of music gear ...
The thin birch captured my ears and heart at the first hit!! Such beautiful tones!! I have a Yamaha BCA and I still love it but have always struggled with the bass drum. But the Sonor didn't have any weaknesses!! Great demo!!!
My BCA has one of the punchiest and fattest thumps ever. Amazing drums, and the best kit I’ve ever owned
Chef i agree with you about beech. This is it! Wonderful tone, punch and sustain. Killing sound!!! Thin beech toms, medium floor and heavy bass drum for me. Set, 10"×7",12×8",13"×9", 15"×11", floor 18"×14" and bass 24"×15".
I want to see a video about that 16kg beast of a snare in the background ... the HLD590 14x8 ;-)
Outstanding work as always. You're light years ahead of the rest of the world for showcasing gear, and that's never more apparent than when you go into as much detail as in comparisons of this type.
On the subject of the differences between different woods and different shell thicknesses, I would absolutely to see a comprehensive comparison between Pearl's Reference and Reference Pure Series, which differ in shell thickness, hoops, and lugs but which both use different combinations of maple, birch, and mahogany depending on the size and type of the drum (along with different bearing edges and shell thicknesses), and something more "conventional from Pearl, e.g. the Masters Maple Complete series, which uses 100% maple shells.
The concept of using different shell compositions by drum size and type in a single series is a very interesting one, and in this era at least, Pearl pioneered it with the Reference and Reference Pure series.
i prefered all the thin shell kits, but thin birch is my favorite. it was nice of you of having a couple songs with sean reinert on the drums. cynic focus and death human are landmark metal albums.
Nobody does birch like Sonor.
Wow! That Heavy Beech is a beautiful tone. And I’m a Tama Guy. Great Video Gentleman, very well done.
Vote heavy beech with a thumbs up.
love the set sounds great well tuned ....love Sonor had one 5 piece next one I would love a 7 piece
Amazing. Shot out to whoever chose the Cynic and Death bits. RIP Sean Reinert!
👍
I bought the medium birch SQ2 from the vid. They should be delivered sometime today. I'm beyond excited!
Thanks to James Fulmer and DCP!
How do you like or love them?
I had a kidney transplant at the end of April, so I haven't been playing much, but I'm sure I'll get going again.
James is awesome guy! He helped me with my drum needs back in Sam Ash, San Antonio.
@@cannonball21 I grabbed the SQ2 and a Noble & Cooley solid ply snare from him. Good guy. No complaints.
After decades playing Tama starclassic maple drums I've switched to Sonor SQ2 thin beech and while both sound great in their own main characteristics, the Sonor kit is a different animal for me, especially when it comes to mixing. With music, kits sound different and sit on the mix differently as well. I'm still getting a hang on mixing the thin beech SQ2 correctly, in context with music. Floor toms are thunderous, smaller toms (8") are a bit more of a challenge. But the quality of the Sonor sound, at least for me, is what I call more 'sophisticated' and complex. Excellent video!
Meium maple and heavy beech are those I liked the most. Also, Sabian proto aresimply stunning. Excellent tunings as usual. Fantastic job once again guys
MY FAVORITE IS THE BIRCH. HIGH TUNE WAS VERY MUSICALY FOR ME. I MYSELF HAS THE VINTAGE SQ2, SO I'LL LOOK NOW FOR THE PART 2
THE THIN VERSION.
Some of the best drums being made right now are Sonors. Currently rocking a birch kit. So good.
Some of the best drums being made have always been sonors, not just now. The SQ2 has basically been around since 1994 as the designer
Flattening of Emotions - Death
Sean Reinert R.I.P.
He was only 19 when he played drums for Death on the Human album 🤘
Heavy Beech for me, always has been. I remember Steve Smith’s Horst Link Signature kit, I believe that was heavy beech and to this day it’s my favourite drum sound. I’d have a 24, or even a 26 bass with a 8, 10, 12, 14 & 16
Yes but at that time "heavy beech" was 12mm thick, i these ones are 8, the difference is high, the sq2 is more resonant and round sound
That thin maple is gorgeous 😍
Massive work behind this video. Thank you.
Tuning and mic music is from HELLA - Biblical Violence
I’m enormously satisfied with my new SQ2 kit. Heavy beech on higher Tom’s and 20” bass. Medium beech on floors. Vintage 18” aux bass that sounds particularly good and bop-y. Shane and co have been very helpful. You can’t go wrong with these folks.
Went very similar to you except medium beech on toms/bass and thin on floors. Very happy with it.
I chose a similar setup, went with heavy beech high toms and medium kick / floors. Couldn’t be happier with it.
I too love the heavy beech. Hopefully purchasing by the end of the year. Question for you guys - what type of music are you typically playing? Just curious as I believe this dictates the species of shells people gravitate towards. Thank you in advance for your response
Choosy drummers choose Gretsch. However, having just said that, if money were no object, the SQ2 in medium maple thickness is one awesome sounding drum(s). The tonality is amazing. Gavin Harrison has the best drum tone of anyone, and while it has a lot to do with how he tunes them, it also has a lot to do with his SQ2 kit. Thanks for all the hard work guys. The best drum channel by far !
Can you elaborate on the Gretsch vs Sonor? I’m looking to buy either a USA Custom kit or an SQ2. Just like hearing people’s opinions on both.
@@CodyOsburn SQ2 all the way between those two, but if you're shelling out that kind of money, you might as well look at Craviotto.
Awesome Video 👍
For Me ….. #1 Thin Maple……#2 Medium Birch……#3 Heavy Beech
Great Job !
Glad you liked it and nice choices!
Thought that Thin Birch was incredible..... also about their shell manufacture process..... Sonor is the only company that does not use internal pressure in the mold.
the intro music is CYNIC - TEXTURES; Sean Reinert RIP!
You guys are the best. I have an SQ1 Birch. I love it but sometimes I want more from the 22x17 Bass drum. Especially after hearing the maple and beech
Does Sonor make a thin Beech? Would have loved to hear that too!!!! The punch of the heavy shells, wow!
Yes they make thin Beech
Yes, will be included in part 2
Thank you 👍🏻 very much Shane and DCP Crew! Sonor’s exorbitantly priced SQ2 drum kits deserve quality comparison videos like this. For me it’s (Heavy Birch 🌳) with a 26” bass drum, and a Artist Series Bronze Snare Drum 🥁 with Black Chrome 🖤 Hardware but in 6.5” depth!
where's part 2 guys?
Tony, did you do a tuning video yet? If not, PLEASE DO!!!!!!!!!!! You are by far the absolute BEST!!!!
Not yet… maybe soon… thank you!
@@tinterlande please Tony consider some Ebony Emperor suedes on the toms! Very neglected tom tom head.
These drums sound great any tuning.
Medium beech baby woooooooooooweeeeeeeewow. At first I thought damn the thin birch high then low then the maple high and low hmmmm which is better to my ears ??????? Then that beech kit those toms all of them the entire kit was just $$$$$ sounding
every drummer in the greater boston easyern new england area which I am one of is lucky to have this place.
Birch toms maple kick. Great job, you've really worked hard to get this one done and you did amazing!
Thanks for all the efforts. Watching this was a very good learning experience. It seems though that the differences you can create with head choice and tuning (let alone the room and EQing) far outweigh the nuances of the different woods. Shell thickness also creates more difference than wood choice imho. And once you put other instruments in the room it is another thing altogether. This is why I love drums: They are a pretty complex instrument, and there's so many little things you can change and tweak and tinker with... it just never stops to fascinate me, even after 30-some years of playing. Thanks again for ALL your great videos! One remark: I especially enjoy your comparisons with the Bop kits and the respective players that also play with a lighter and more melodic approach.
I thought the birch had the roundest note.But overall I liked any of the thickest shells,They had note,Tone volume,And presence that made a great impression under the mics.
by "roundest" do you mean most dominate fundamental with least harmonixs?
I can't wait for part 2. I'm curious to hear heavy maple and heavy birch kits. I've been buying drums from Shane since his pre - DCP days , as well as afterwards with his DCP staff . I have Sonor SQ 2 heavy birch and heavy beech drums that I've bought from Shane and his staff throughout the years. Well done!
heavy beech lower tuning. superb.
I'm really liking the heavy beech. Wow. So much punch. Not too much resonance but still very musical. Thank you guys for doing this video. Sooooooo much work, we know. And we really appreciate it! You guys are the best.
SONOR Prolite, SQ1, SQ2 and the Vintage Series are qualitywise the best Drumsets you can buy on the market today. Manufacturing is just perfect.
I’ve owned them all: DW Collectors Maple, Yamaha Recording Custom vintage and new, Tama Starclassic Maple, Ludwig Classic Maple, Ludwig Vintage Sets, etc., etc., (all good sets, but none of them comes close)
I‘m very proud of my SQ2 Medium/Heavy Beech Set, I like it a lot. Live it sounds just killer.
The typical SONOR sound stands for itself. No matter what wood type or sizes you‘ll choose.
Thanks for this great video, Shane & team. Cheers
No one makes product videos like DCoP. There's DCoP, and then there's everybody else. Incredible.
🤘🤘
I do not now ,especially after listening to this , I mean this as both truthful and fun , and if u have a hard for u to say, me its even more confusing , guess I would have to listen a number of times thank u though ,I did seem to like the higher tuning more consistently, but I have a ways to go to figure out the rest!
Amazing content, like always. This one in particular really showcased the nuances between these kits. Great drumming all around as well. Way to really showcase just the drums. Too many "drum showcases" simply showcase the drummers skill level on the kit, and you rarely get a chance to hear what the drums sound like. Great job, guys! I have to say... I have become quite the lover of birch shells. They have a certain balanced musicality that's just magical. You can really hear the tympanic quality with Sonor's construction method.
Thanks so much for the kind words!
Big ups on throwing that little Hella clip in there! This is an incredible video. Appreciate it, y'all! Heavy beech all the way for me. I mean, maybe I'd go medium or thin on the floor toms like Danny boy, but really, I'd just be stoked to have a Sonor SQ2 Heavy Beech!
Great job guys! These are some of the best drum sounds I've ever heard! I have a Gretsch Catalina maple so I gravitated towards the thin maple shells, but I just loved the punchy attack of the heavy beech shells as well! Great sounding drums! The German word "sonor" means "full and clear of tone", and they certainly do their name justice :)
There is no shortage of nice drums these days but quality and production of the recoding, the room sound, and the phenomenal tuning skills are stunning. The most famous drum recordings of all time usually don’t sound this good to me. I’m very grateful for all the time and effort you put into these videos. Not just anyone can get results like this.
Thanks so much, that’s a huge compliment!
@@tinterlande entirely deserved. Exemplary work Sir.
@@dave_sanderson far too kind, thank you!
" phenomenal tuning skills" is called a tunebot, for 100euro perfect tunning for the rest of your life.
Absolutely superb production! I particularly liked the time stamps at the bottom that allowed me to jump back and forth between shells. Playing was awesome and really highlighted all of the drums! Sabian prototypes sounded great as well!
Thin Birch 😍😀👍🤟Wow!!
0:29 - "Textures" by Cynic, best way to start this video.
WHOA! Love the cynic in the beginning! Everyone sleeps on that album!
You did it!! Thank you!
MEGA Sonor SQ2 Set 👍👍👍
I went with Thin Beech for my rack toms, medium beech for my floors and heavy beech for my 20" kick. Honestly you could pick and choose any of these combinations and have a wonderful kit no matter what you go with. Great vid!
So well done! Thank you for the the incredible work that went into making this video. The head to head portion blew me away how consistent the tuning was from drum to drum. You guys have now set the bar extremely high for what a comparison video is to be. My gut says this will become the de-facto SQ2 shopping guide! Mondo props!
Oh gosh, you constantly raise the bar in terms of video quality, yet still being the humble and funny guys you‘ve always been. Thanks ever so much for all the love and work you put into your content and give it for free. All kits sound absolutely brilliantly. The heavy beech in lower tunings are probably best for big stadium rock, the medium birch shells might work best in studio recordings. Personally never been the biggest fan of maple though. That open timpani sound is so unique to Sonor - independently from the shell material. Thanks again!
I like both variations on maple best - if I had to pick one it'd probably be the medium maple because of the floor toms, but I'd be just as happy with the light maple kit.
Please give us the second part with the vintage shells!!!! Would be really happy!!!!!!!!
Cynic; Death; Malevolent Creation!? Who's the old school death metal guy at the shop??
🙃
Did yall really just drop the intro to Malevolent Creation's "Coronation of our Domain" @4:07 in your video?
Hell yeah guys.
🤘
Regarding Sonor’s exorbitantly priced 💸 SQ2 drum kits you would expect 🤔 Sonor would have execute quality audio 🎧 marketing by now. FYI: In 2022 Sonor should be filming comparisons very similar regarding their specific wood types: Beach 🏝, Birch 🌳, and Maple 🍁 and shell thicknesses.
this is normal for Sonor.. backward azz organization over in Germany. ..... They got the product but not the right people in charge IMO.
I didn't wear headphones and it was really hard to hear a difference. Now to the headphones.
I just realized and found myself waiting for your video updates. What!?
Thank you DCP! I’ve been waiting so long for this and killer job as usual! Man the Heavy Beech and thin Birch just reached out and touched me! Also the Birch and Beech bass drums were just beautiful. I have to say, I knew Beech would be great all of them for that matter they are SQ2, but the Birch really surprised in this, got me thinking now!
I love the parchment looking bass drum skin
Wow - they really are amazing drums. I still have the drum set I bought when I was young. If I never decide to upgrade, I would look at these for sure. Incredible!
Sonor do the best sounding drums ; nothing can be as real as a sonor drum perfection
This is endgame level perfection! So many of these came out sounding really similar to my ears, which I was surprised by. Or certainly most of the differences would get lost straight away in a mix. It would be fascinating to do a similar test with all of the tom heads in Evans' lineup for instance. I think you'd get more variety out of the heads than you ever will with the wood type or thickness, but that's just a hunch. If true it would be very empowering. Certainly a cheaper way to change the tone! Thanks for what must have been an unreal effort. Look forward to part 2!
Thank you. The was a hell of an effort! I didn’t realize until just recently after having a conversation on the Sonor group on FB about wood selection that this matters probably the least of all factors. The videos kind of prove that out. They all sounded amazing and yet subtle differences. I’m a life long maple player but bought an SQ1 2 years ago and have been blown away by the sound of scooped mids. I thought that was the best overall sound and I’m partial to the lower tuning.
Hey there. I love this video and I still hope for part 2. When do you publish it?
We starting shooting part 2 in a week or two!!
Thank you very much for this awesome video!
Flattening of Emotions!!!
Now I understand why Pearl uses different woods in the various sizes - toms, floor, and kick - in their Reference series. Some wood types worked better in certain sizes and thicknesses than others. Secondly, I feel the snare stole the show. It's fantastic sound overshadowed the rest of the kit. Even though it was mixed perfectly, I would have lowered the mix volume of the snare (and cymbals) to accentuate the sound of the kit. Thirdly, having different drummers playing different patterns from kit to kit and tuning to tuning made it hard to really tell the difference. I believe that each drummer hits the drums with different velocity, thus changing the sound produced. That could even happen with the same drummer moving from one kit to another and tuning to tuning. However, that could be less noticeable that different drummers. All that being said, those were some great sounding drums (and cymbals) and some pretty outstanding playing. The head-to-head section of the video is the most telling of the sound difference...if any. As always, excellent video. Take care, gents.
Hands down THE MOST MUSICAL KIT I have ever heard....WOW, Just beautiful tones from the toms....!!!!!!!!!
Man… Sonor is perfection.
Owner of the heavy beech, heavy birch, and medium beech.. Love them all. The birch was killer live, and still waiting to get the heavy beech on stage.. But, the heavy beech sounds almost perfectly balanced around the kit. Perfect sustain, not too much, plays strong. Can not go wrong with any of these! Great job guys-
How do you like the medium beech?
@@larrytate1657 he hates it, lol
I don't care what the shell thickness or material is, if it's SQ2 it sounds amazing.
Edit: Birch though.
They all sounded amazing, but the thin birch in all the tuning ranges sounded the best to me. Maybe I'm a little prejudice because I owned two Sonor Phonic kits in the early '80's and while I loved the sound and quality, I always found that when I played them on gigs, I had to beat the crap out of them to get the sound out (I wasn't miked back then). They were not responsive enough for me. When I switched to Yamaha Recording Custom drums (thin birch shells) they were a joy to play on gigs because they were more responsive, and I felt, easier to play. The thin shell for me made the difference. I never played a Sonor Kit with thin shells. If they had offered them back then, I probably would never have stopped using Sonor. I am very curious to hear the vintage shells in the next video. I have a Rogers set from 1970 with support rings and I find them to be very responsive as well. I believe Rogers use to also make their shells slightly undersized. Why do I think after the next video I am going to want a Sonor kit again? My wife is not going to let me watch these videos anymore.
I used to have a Phonic Plus kit back then (10",12", 14", 16",22" and 14x8") and I kinda agree with you about the sensitivity, until I put Rims mounts on the toms. Then they started to sing... the Link era resonance killing mounts were too much for the drums I guess
@@seppoinnanen5577 I agree the tom mount back then was really overkill. It took a big chunk of shell away and put in this large metal piece for the tom arm to slide into. But I experienced the same problem with the floor tom with response.
@@dancalabrese3523 Ok... maybe they were just designed to sound that way. The bearing edges were tympany type and very sharp. So, the sound was sharp and came mostly from the drum head.
Fortunately, modern Sonors are very different from those days. That being said, I still own the Sonorlites 😄
@@dancalabrese3523 Sonor did offer the thin birch in the early 80's.. starting around 82' which was the Sonor Lite.. I had 3 Recording Customs and I also had these Sonor Lites.. No comparison IMO. The Lites were like Recordings on steroids IMO. And I love Yamaha btw.
@@memopadilla5931 Yes I was very aware of the Sonor Lites when they came out. I seem to remember later than 1982 (maybe 84?) but I am not certain. When they were introduced, I already had my Yamaha kit. But at the time I would have purchased the Yamaha's over Sonor for several reasons: Their mounting hardware was far superior, (especially their rack tom mount over Sonor's) their finishes were far superior and Sonor was offering very limited choices in finish and sizes while Yamaha had a lot more to offer. At that point in time Yamaha was much more "user friendly" to me. I never played Sonor Lites from those years so I can't comment on how they sounded versus the Yamaha Recording Custom. I do know that when we get into who is better it is very subjective, there is no absolute. My bandmates at the time were in love with the sound of the Yamahas much more so than the two Sonor kits I had. At the time I made the right choice for me. But I do love Sonor drums and would consider a kit today. I feel their drums are better than when I was playing them.
thank you! this was incredibly helpful.
My god. Fantastic work. Just when you think their videos couldn't get any better, they somehow raise the bar again. I'd be more than happy with any of those kits. BUT ALSO THAT SNARE. WOW. Shame it costs more than my entire classic maple kit haha.
Wow, thank you!
Dig the Cynic in the intro!
I love the medium birch shells in the lower tuning, especially!! They sound phenomenal!
The heavy beech and the medium maple with high tuning were my personal favorites.
great job guys love the thin birch shells. thanks for the videos. hopefully will make a visit to your store soon. keep up the good work!
I love 💕😘🥳🤩🎉🎂🥰 Sonor Sq2 maple drums