On drums...

Always assumed it was a typo on DeJohnette's web page, but here he is quoted, saying his Hilites are birch. I'm not assuming he knows. If he's like me, information that went in

http://web.musicaficionado.com/main.htm ... dejohnette

Quote:
You've played Sonor drums for more than 30 years. Your sets include Sonor Delite, Designer and Hi Lite series. Which kit are we hearing on the new ECM trio album?
[Ed: DeJohnette uses 8 x 8, 10 x 8, 12 x 8, and 13 x 10 rack toms. 14 x 14 and 16 x 16 floor toms. 20" or 18" bass drum. Sonor Hi Lite 5 x 8 snare drum for a warmer sound; Maple Designer 5 x 8 snare drum for a crispier sound.]


The Hi Lite is my recording set. I've done a lot of records on that set in New York at Avatar studios. Those are the drums I use in live performances and recordings. They're a special set because they were made especially for me, and they're black and copper finish, which they don't make anymore. They're birch shells which give a really warm projection. Special sets with birch shells, and the bass drum has internal mufflers so you don't have to put anything on the heads to change the overtones. They're unique, they have a beautiful sound, along with my Aquarian Drumheads. Those add to the richness of the sound of the drums. Those Sonor drums have been on a lot of records. Michael Brecker's Pilgrimage, Don't Try This At Home, a lot of dates.

Connie Kay had a special Sonor set made for him. I asked if they would make a set. For a couple years they made the black and copper sets.

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Gregory

Scratching my head.
I would think he doesn't really know. I'm amazed at how many owners really don't know what they are playing. Especially if it has been 30 years since he got them.
If he is right, which is possible, because of course Sonor would have catered, Lites were in production when Hilites were if he really wanted birch.
And his description "really warm projection" sounds more like a Maple description.

I know how people get stuck on a certain series, nothing wrong with that I suppose. But Hilites were thee fastest series
I ever turned around. I had no interest in them. They had absolutely zero personality.
They were nice to look at. One of those kits that you just want to make work they look so nice and promising.

I bet Sonor is thrilled he's still using them

Not if they were hoping he would enthuse over the Skewtoos.

I am still struggling with the use of the word "crispier" to mean one sound that is crisper than another. Straight from the school of writing defined by Strunk & White as the Pompous Style, or else that of an 8 year-old over his breakfast cereal.

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Gregory

Cannabis can affect your vocabulary! Krispier Kreme!!

- D.

...and alliteration can affect judgment.

When considered objectively, can crisp cream really be appealing?

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Cliff

River City Trio

What if we did all have the same opinions?

The Hilite prototype were made in both birch and maple.
The maple went into production - the birch ended up as a custom set for JD.

My Hilite set was maple and birch - the 10",12", 16" toms were maple, and the 22" bass drum and 14" tom were birch.
A thinner, more yellow shell, that resonated differently.

I did a side-by-side comparison of 2 Hilite bass drums - mine delivered a much fuller tone...
As far as the 14" tom, you could clearly hear the difference when you hit 10-12-14 sequentially.
That's why I bought a 16" ft, and put the 14" on a rim cradle and put it on the my left side.

All in all - I too were doubtful, but I received info from SONOR that they were indeed testing birch and maple in 1988 - 1989 was a first year Hilite.
My bass drum had 812 stamped on it - Dec. 1988

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Goki - short from Goran

Let the good drums roll!!!

Very interesting.

Still baffles me. They were making Sonorlites at the time. Don't know why they would have tried to compete with their own line.

HiLites were Sonor's first shot at the industry standard - which is weird because they did not use the standard. Rather than North American maple that is somewhat harder than beech, Sonor used a Euro maple - probably Sycamore - that is about ⅔ the hardness.

A second issue: RIMS had come into vogue at that time, and you couldn't put rims on the old box lugs. The new lug design reflects the demand, but Sonor did not move to their own isolation system for another 3 or 4 years.

It seems likely the choice to go with maple reflected not wanting to compete with the Lites, It also seems likely that the new lug was a stopgap - it looked like every other tube lug in the business - until Sonor could complete the full redesign that showed up in Designers.

Isolating all the hardware, designing an alternative to RIMs, and attending to aesthetic concerns took several years to iron out. Soft maple, unsurprisingly, didn't make the cut.

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Gregory