storsav wrote:
I have a set of Phonics that I love and record very well. I'm keeping those. The Sigs never really did it for me, although I've owned a few sets. Kelly and I seem to like some of the same gear, so I'm hoping these Signias do the job for a while.
The shell make up sounds awesome--5mm maple, beech reinforcement hoops, black lacquer (I prefer lacquers to wood usually), a suspension system that seems to be about the best of any manufacturer.
My gripe with Sonor is that the distribution is terrible, the prices high, the options limited...shit why do I play them? When they kit the sweet spot though they really do.
I recorded my bands latest recording on a set of Yamaha Beech Customs and those sounded great. So much for mojo. Drums only sound as good as the drummer, no?
Recording drums is a function of many things, a few of which involve the drum. It is ambient sound I care about now, as I become increasingly interested in the acoustic qualities of other instruments, and less interested in their electrified counterparts.
I know Premier made great drums. I know Gretsch made great durms. I know Sonor made great drums. I'm even willing to concede that YamahaTamaPearlMapex make good drums, although I neither know nor care.
There's no sense trying to figure out what's better for someone else, but I know why I have the drums I have, and none of it has anything to do with the name. Hell, if you were to hold out a cup and everybody who knew the name Sonor put a dollar in it, you couldn't hope to pay for dinner at the end of the week.
Distribution is terrible, but fortunately the German stuff was built to last a while. Paying for the Signatures was expensive, waiting for them annoying, dealing with the screw-ups exasperating, but I practiced, rehearsed and gigged the Signature kit for twenty years and never had a hint of trouble – except when I decided that musically they couldn't do what I was doing. That's twenty years trade for a few months of discomfort.
The Designers won't be quite as trouble free, because the organic components degrade, but that's a function of design requirements, not a loosening of control. I've a full supply of rubber and plastic bits on hand against age related issues, but I have confidence that the main components will stay together well past my lifetime.
So when it comes down to choices, a) I am familiar with Sonor drums so it's easy to stay with them, b) I like the way my Designers sound, c) I like the functional and design characteristics of the hardware, d) when sound, aesthetics, durability, price, and pleasure of ownership are considered as a matrix, gimme Tears through Designers any day.
You're right, Hale: drums sound as good as the drummer, all other things being equal; but the drummer is by far the most important component.
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