Sonor Drum Kits
Professional Drum Kits
Sonor Drum Kits: The Complete Range
Sonor was founded in 1875 and has built drums in Germany ever since, which makes it the oldest drum company still making instruments anywhere. The range is unusual in that the families barely overlap: an SQ2 and a Vintage Series are different kinds of thing rather than two rungs of a ladder. Pick the family first.
Two different things both called Vintage
The Sonor Vintage Series is a new kit built to look like a 1960s one. Vintage Sonor means an actual old one. Easy to land on the wrong page.
The four current families
How to choose between them
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Sharp edge or round edge? SQ2 and Momentum use the 45 degree edge: focused, articulate, plenty of sustain. The Vintage Series uses a rounded edge: warmer, darker, shorter. Opposites, and most people know which they want within four hits.
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Then the wood, which is not a price decision. Sonor call beech full and warm, maple mellow and balanced, and Scandinavian birch aggressive with real projection. Acrylic is its own thing. They cost broadly the same.
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Shell thickness, if you are specifying an SQ2. Thinner shells speak more easily at low volume. Heavier shells take more hitting. The hardest thing to judge from a photograph, and the best reason to come in.
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In stock, or built for you? Only the SQ2 asks this. We usually have finished SQ2s on the floor, new and used, that you can take away today. A configuration of your own takes longer, so ask us which route suits your timing.
Which Sonors are made in Germany
Sonor state it outright for the SQ2, hand made in Germany, and for Momentum, serially produced and made in Germany. Every vintage Sonor is German built too, since the company made drums nowhere else until the late 1990s.
For the Vintage Series and the 150th Anniversary kits, Sonor publish the materials but not an assembly country, so we do not claim one for them. If that matters to you, ask and we will put the question to Sonor.
Sonor drum kit FAQs
Can I buy an SQ2 without waiting for a build?
Two ways. We usually have finished SQ2s in the showroom, new and used, so the quickest route is to come and see what is on the floor. To specify your own, you build it on Sonor's configurator, which gives you a UPID code for your exact spec; bring that to us and we place the order. Sonor do not publish a lead time, so ask us for the current estimate.
Is the Vintage Series an actual reissue?
No. It revives the look and feel of Sonor's 1950s and 60s teardrop drums rather than copying any one model. The lug shape is authentic, but it has a modern TuneSafe system inside and the shell is current German beech.
What happened to the SQ1 and the ProLite?
Both were discontinued in 2025. Momentum has taken over the middle of the range and borrows from each: the tom mount came off the ProLite, the floor tom legs off the SQ1. Finding either now means buying used, so tell us if you want one.
Why are the 150th Anniversary kits so expensive?
Sonor built 75 of each for the whole world, and only 25 of those are the Heritage version at the original drum depths. Each carries a numbered badge and a certificate. The specification is costly too: real bubinga and 24 carat gold on the Signature, Finnish birch and ruthenium on the SONORLITE.
Come And Hear Them
Set up and ready to play in Fareham
Sonor rewards a visit more than most, because the differences are structural rather than cosmetic and none of them read off a screen. Our 5,000 square foot showroom has them up and ready, and if you are thinking about an SQ2 we will go through the configurator with you before anything is ordered. No appointment needed.
Call Us On 01329 834012 Email The Team
Want the long version first? Read our Sonor drum kit buyer's guide.
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Compare against Professional Drum Kits, Yamaha or Tama, see Sonor snare drums, or everything Sonor on our brand page.
