On drums...

Do you think/know/believe that todays Sonor SQ2 prices are in line/same scale as the Signature/Designer prices were in the whole scheme of things.

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Cliff

River City Trio

What if we did all have the same opinions?

I can't. I pulled a fast one on the drum shop I bought them from. Asked the owner what ten minutes of his time was worth, we settled on five hundred dollars, and I bought the 14,15,16,18, 22, 14x8 (bubinga), 14x6 (ferrous), 4 sig snare stands, sig pedal and hihat, for his cost+5.

What is the seminal thought in this question, Kel?

I ran some comparisons when I was buying the Classix. It seemed to me at the time that SQ were not nearly as expensive relatively, but then the MSRP was perhaps built on a different structure. What you need to know is the wholesale price, not MSRP - or even the actual purchase price, subject to a good deal of negotiation as it is.

Of one thing I am very sure: SQ is no Signature to manufacture. Monetary unit cost may be similar, but materials, wages and craftsmanship are on a lower scale. Designers are the last of the German extreme, and even they (no inner veneers, for instance), were a step back from the Signature effort.

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Gregory

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Cliff

River City Trio

What if we did all have the same opinions?

The incredible shrinking candy bar with managed-expectation packaging.

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Gregory

Because even when I factor in my age, where I am in life as far as interest/focus and whatever else. ALL Sonor prices seem (to me) to be absolutely ludicrous.
Is this just where I am in life? I see a price even on the so called mid level kits and think "WHO THE HELL WOULD PAY THAT?"
Is it all drum manufactures?

I also have to back up Kelly on price, these are rich mans game, especially for a gigging kit that will inevitably take some hits and spend the night in some unsavory places. I think maybe we all just remember when drums were cheaper and we can't adapt to the new economic climate. I saw a 60's supra for 500 at the store today and laughed. Those were consistently $50 when I was growing up, and I still have one. Great snare, is it worth $500? Probably to someone who has to have one. You could probably get a cheap Pearl sensitone to sound pretty close though.

Signatures were outrageously expensive in their day. Not the sort of thing a working guy who played drums could buy, without some kind of assistance, unless he lived at his parents house and ate their food.

A working guy with a family wouldn't have considered them, and most wouldn't have considered even Phonics, which were considerably more expensive than the alternatives. I bought Phonics but I only bought four pieces, the max I could afford in '84; I had no family, a reasonable income, and $250 per month rent.

Multiply that rent by four, multiply food costs by about a gazzillion, fuel by about three, health insurance by ... well, don't even begin multiplying that. And you begin to see why the dollar doesn't go as far, and why by contrast, Signatures were very expensive drums. In my memory, a grand would have bought almost any good kit, while $3500 to $4000 was needed to pick up a fat set of Signatures. I seem to remember spending about $1500 (suggested retail about two grand) for a four piece Phonics plus in '84.

Sorry, I'm tired. Hope the syntax makes sense.

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Gregory