To me one of the coolest sounding drums is the Sonor Phonic. I hate the damn tom mounts though--terrible.
I've only seen one Phonic kit for sale with RIMS mounts and no mounts drilled. However, I came across a set of special order Phonic concert toms with Tama mounts (two small holes). The 10 and 12 are both 8 inches deep, which is rare and again special order. So, I had this dream of making my kick-ass Phonic set by doweling up holes, cutting out small plugs from Phonic donor drums, and plugging all mounting holes. My set:
10x8, 12x8, 14x10, 14x14, 16x16, 20x17, 24x14, 13x7 snare, 12x6 snare, 10x6 snare
The plan is to finish them in a high gloss outer (maybe Impala lacquer, or Cream) and finish them in a semi-gloss inner veneer, such as rosewood or bubinga. This way any holes or imperfections are nullified. The main drums I need to plug are the 14x14 and 14x10 (standard cut outs for a rack tom mount), and the 20x17 (tom mount cut out in center--hopefully it will be stable over time). The inner veneer should be an adventure, but nothing too crazy, just time and patience...and some money. With these drums as they sit I'm already in $1300, though I have to sell off many parts. That will probably net out to more like $1100. When all done, I think I'll be in for a bit north of $2000, which leaves one wondering if a new Ascent kit wouldn't be a better deal.
Here's an example of doing this on a 14x14 Sig hanging tom I converted into a snare. The plug sits on a snare bed btw:
Any opinions on a paint/veneer scheme?
