On drums...

This comparison is imperfect; what is needed is an extended session of head changing, comparing the two kits with the same heads. The choices of heads are dictated by my sonic tastes in time. It is quite possible, for instance, that after playing Designers that I might like the Classix in clear heads. Don’t know, but you see the difficulty of what I’m presenting you.

Caveats:
Designers are wearing old, single ply clear heads.
Classix are wearing fresher, single ply coated heads.

Okay, I set the Classix up where the Designers were. This is what I get:


Thing that hit me right off is how easy the Classix are to play. All dynamics are intuitive. Quiet playing is really quiet, and loud is really loud. You can't underplay or overplay.

I was most surprised at how quietly the Classix play; they can be made to whisper. I've never gotten Designers to do that; they are always full voiced. The dynamic variation in Designer sound is more one of amplitude than of color. The Classix have a very different voice depending how they're hit. The harder you hit, the wider the mouth seems to open, whereas with Designers, the tonal mouth is always wide, all the way from pianissimo to fortissimo.

As you might expect, the Designers require less physical effort. The most modest tap brings out the full frequency response of the drum. Hard playing is not rewarded by Designers, but there is no need to do so. So when I say Classix are easier to play, what I mean is that the response of the drum is directly hooked up to the way my mind works. Designers require extra mental effort – for me, at any rate.

All that said...

I quail at the though of making any recommendation. If the Designer sound is what you are aiming for, Classix will seem thin, at least when played without other instruments. If expressive character is preferred, Designers may seem a bit one sided. Think of sound as paint: Designers are a painting rendered in one color with many values; the similarity of tone makes the painting work. Classix have a wider palette; it is the contrast in color that makes that painting work.

If asked today to make a choice between the two kits, I’m not sure I could do it. This much I do know; either would be fantastic. Designers have more of that je-ne-sais-quois (well, actually I do; an admixture of status and beauty) that we buy Sonor for, and I am susceptible to that as anyone. Excellence is very appealing. Classix are humbler, like Phonics against the Signature line. The analogy is imperfect because the main difference between Phonics and Signature was aesthetic, not sonic (Phonics had the edge in the sonic race, Signature bass drums were quite disappointing by comparison).

I would have to live with both kits much longer, would have to play them both in many musical circumstances, to come to any conclusion about which I preferred. At this moment, I might choose the Classix if for no other reason than that they have real legged floor toms!

So take all of this with a grain of salt; know in your gut what you are looking for.

By the way, won’t the guys at the music store let you play the Classix before purchasing?

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Gregory

"By the way, won’t the guys at the music store let you play the Classix before purchasing?"



They aren't even set up in the store - they still sit in boxes... That is a HUGE PLUS IF I decide to buy them...
Plus, NO ONE lets You test drums here - You will damage the heads (talking about idiots)...
Plus, the store is all concrete - so the sound would be miserable...


I'll go with my rational deal Greg...
And that is - reach a price I won't regret paying and trying to get the best for my money (in both value and sound)...

Thanks to ALL of you guys for the enormous ammount of information regarding (what looks like) my life purchase of drums...
Seems funny how Delites never crossed my mind - I played them a couple of times, and nothing. No magic moment. I guess I don't like vintage maple shells...

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Goki - short from Goran

Let the good drums roll!!!

Oh well. Same planet, worlds apart.

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Gregory

This is exciting Goki.

And I for one would have done everything I could have to prevent it if Delites did cross your mind.
My second least favorite Sonor kit.

The "heavy hitters" seem to love Emps, but if a lively drum full of tonal variation is what you're after, single ply heads on top is the answer.

Classix toms arrive with single ply clear heads. If you want to warm them up and darken them ever so slightly, coated.

If the bass (as delivered) is too restrained, remove the PS3 reso and replace it with a single ply Amb weight, preferably a Fiberskyn if you can get it.


That's my recommendation for the music I've heard you playing and the kind of playing you espouse, Goki. I enjoyed Tim's assessment very much and agree with the parts I know about. It is a shame that drums are what they are... I mean, guitar players get to bring a battery of axes for different sounds to get through any given evening. We don't. Gotta pick something that is going to work best for the majority of situations.

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Gregory

Thanks for the info Greg...

Funny, I'm no heavy hitter - but I still love Coated Emperors on top...
Although, the last head combo on my Hilites was clear Emperors TOP and BOTTOM... And tha worked very nice, for funk and fusion...


Latest updates on the next kit purchase:
- Still waiting for a quote on the S Classix - I told them how much I can afford at the moment;

- Been offered 2 Designer kits:
http://link.marktplaats.nl/360091789
http://www.ebayanuncios.es/sonor-design ... es/1651290
I also told them how much I can afford (for the 20,10,12,14), and I'm waiting whether they'll decide to sell or not...


We'll see what happens as events unfold...

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Goki - short from Goran

Let the good drums roll!!!

Goki, if you come across a Designer kit with a double lug 8 x 8 you don't want I will buy it if you wanted to offset the cost.

But on top of what?

Good luck with unfolding events, Goki. The right thing will happen for you, if you are patient; it is when we become impatient that we trip ourselves up. So better than luck, I'll wish you patience!

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Gregory

On top of what... Yup...

That is VERY true - I like them on top of my Catalina bop set, because the sound with Ambs was lousy...
I remember a great saying about two ply heads:
They make a bad drum sound decent, BUT they also make a great drum sound decent...

My brother got me coated Emps and Ambs when he was in the US, so I guess I'll test them separately, to see/hear results... I planned to use them on the Hilites, but good thing I didn't put them on...

I don't know why, but I like that cut in sustain, and the warmth, that the Emperors provide...

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Goki - short from Goran

Let the good drums roll!!!

Back in the Eighties and early Nineties, I used Emperors primarily for their durability, but also because I found that a good live sound was easy to achieve, and they "broke in" quickly. I never liked the "boingy" quality that Ambassadors had on my Ludwigs, while the Emps would provide the low, thick "meaty" tone I liked back then without being too dead. But, I found that the apparent durability of the Emperors was decieving; the head's tone still dies, but the head itself doesn't show how tired it is until you take off the tension. I would keep them on the kit longer than I should have. I also experimented with Remo Fibreskyns and thought they sounded really good at the time. I only started using Ambassador batters again in 1995 when I discovered just how much better they sounded on my snare drums than the Emps or any Evans heads. Once I went to Ambassadors, I didn't care for anything else on my snare drums. While I'm currently using Evans EC2 batters, which are 2 ply as well (with clear Ambassador resonants) on my Lite toms, I'm seriously considering clear Ambassadors top and bottom again on my 8, 10, 12, 15FT 18FT 22BD(X2)kit, as durability is less important to me because I'm not playing as hard (or as often), and I'm not quite as poor as I once was. Ambassador Clears are what Sonor fitted on my drums from the factory, and I'd like to explore that sonic possibility now.
Brian

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Drums and No Money will get Me through Hard Times better than Money and No Drums!
-A Recovering Drum Addict