On drums...

Lets get some thoughts out.
If you don't have hands on experience that is fine, your thoughts and opinions are still welcomed.
Because you might own one or the other, try not to be biased. Real issues, pros and cons.

Don't have SQ, but the Classix will do as a lieutenant:

Shells: as far as I know, similar quality.

Lugs: a plus to SQ for the internal lug locks. Beyond that, lugs are more or less the same. Designer locks are more certainly replaceable.

Rods: Love the fine threads of SQ, hate the small diameters. Square heads- up your bum.

Spurs, Tom legs, Tom holders: a total bust for SQ. You might like the SQ look better, but the functionality and engineering is New World Homogeneity.

Hoops: No idea

Desire for ownership: Depends on your framework, I imagine. If you buy Sonor because you were attracted to Link era values, Designers are the last stop. For me, no interest in SQ.

Sound: Since the sonic design philosophy is more or less identical, take your pick.

Custom Build: up your bum.

Builder's intention: Make of that what you will. You can tell, from looking at the end product, where enthusiasm for excellence ends.

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Gregory

I definitely prefer the look of the Designers to any of the kits I've owned, past or present, Link or otherwise. I'm not blown away by the look of the Qs mounting system, by any means. In fact, its taken me years to get over my distinct aversion to them. I will definitely miss the floor tom bracket from the Designers. But I've got two Designer floors so its not like there is an absence there.
I've never bought a set of drums in my life where I was attracted to "values." Do I appreciate the care, the attention to detail, and the sheer ingenuity of the older Sonor sets? I'd have to say absolutely. I loved the Link era kits I've owned and the Designers too. When I compare an 8" Designer to an 8" Classix, do I notice a difference? Visually, yes. But, I'm buying a drum set not a couch. How it looks is fine. But to me, the most important thing is how the drums sound when I play them. Can I really, honestly tell the difference when I hit them with a stick?(other than the obvious birch vs. maple sound) Um, no.
And the argument against "custom design"?
If I'm dropping the kind of money Sonor(or any company these days) wants for a top of the line drum set, you can bet I'm going to be very picky about available options. The Sigs were great and the Designers were amazing. But what if you wanted beech-shelled drums with no holes in the shell and hardware that wasn't shell intrusive? If you wanted beech and the "Designer vibe", you were S.O.L. until 2003(at least "on the menu").
Don't get me wrong, I miss seamless Ferro hoops as much as the next guy. But I also don't need hardware that weighs as much as I do. My Gibraltar rack and boom arms work just fine.
As a collector, the Qs probably aren't as appealing. I won't, for a second, argue that they are. But from the standpoint of being able to get whatever shell type you might want, in various depths and diameters..[which, again, for the kind of money they want, they'd do well to provide]..
They fit the bill nicely. Unless you want 12mm beech shells or 9.5mm true maple "heavy" shells.. then you're still S.O.L.
But, like Gregory said, its all about your desire for ownership.
To each his own

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Ron- A.K.A "The Frenetic Rah Rah Guy"

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Cliff

River City Trio

What if we did all have the same opinions?

Well said, sir! Sometimes, I think I should just funnel my thoughts to you so that you may, in turn, phrase them much more eloquently and succinctly.



I must be in the minority, because for some stoopid reason, I love the look of the external tunesafes. They suck when I'm changing heads, though!




I've been trying to talk myself out of an acrylic snare. So far, I've succeeded...barely. But that could just be my inveterate curiosity.



See, there's the difficulty for me, personally. I have enough maple for my tastes. What I don't have [and part of the sound I'm hearing in my wee little nugget] is beech.So we're at opposite ends of that particular spectrum.



Me too. Its taken me four years not to want to vomit every time I look at them. Okay maybe that's a bit hyperbolic, but still. I hated the Q mounts. Hated them.



. I just pictured the floor tom leg brackets, read Cliff's comment and almost fell out of my chair I was laughing so hard.

I've gone round and round on this for what seems like for-ev-er. But, since I'm fortunate enough to own my dream Designer kit, and I want beech,
Unless Sonor comes out with a "production" beech kit which is a) Not bloody likely and b) a scary thought considering how iffy I am on the overall look and feel of the Classix... it looks like I'm "stuck" with the skewtoos...
Unless I want a set of used Yamaha Beech Customs.[ I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit].

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Ron- A.K.A "The Frenetic Rah Rah Guy"

I have gone round and round as well. I really like the sound of the designers, but man are they heavy for a gig kit. The sq2's are awesome, I don't mind the hardware at all, not as cool as the designer but still nice.
My classix were awesome drums, lightweight and punchy, perfect gig kit, except the kicks are so long they don't fit on small stages. I would buy them again.

I have no money right now so I am rocking the little designer kit. It rocks. Someday maybe I will find a 14" tom for it. Until then it still rocks. And it's paid for.

Just an update, my little Designer kit had its first gig with me this weekend. Mic'ed the kick and it sounded huge, I couldn't believe it. Toms big and full, zero complaints for the 18, 10, 13 combo.
The high gloss finish has a benefit to repelling spilled beer as well. I was unpacking the this morning and smelled the stale stank, then looked at the kit and saw the arc of beer spray that could only have come from the top of the bass amp(we were packed in really tight). Wiped right off, try that with your matte finish drums!
Not like we should be throwing beer at designers, but I thought it was worth a mention.

Fantastic, Tim!

I read your previous with a bit of question. Designers are heavy?

I guess that depends on what you've been lifting. Yeah, my Classix make the Designers seem heavy, but after twenty years of lugging Signatures around, Designers, while not light weight, surely don't fit the heavy category.

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Gregory

Designers are excellent drums.

The SQ2 is a logical step for the SONOR company on todays market, about providing a PRO set that is light, great looking, and "up-to-date"...

Up-to-date for me means:
1) Less production costs
2) Modern "light" look
3) Almost every color and size one can think of...


If I were a PRO-PRO drummer, I'd have an SQ2 - no doubt about that... But, when I play for and from the heart, the logical choice is to get something that won't be designed in all that complexity and inventive spirit ever again - a DESIGNER...

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Goki - short from Goran

Let the good drums roll!!!

Sigs definitely set the bar for weight. I never owned them but moved a few and still remember.
I guess my last direct comparison was classix vs designer, and my designer kick weighed much more than my 22 classix.