Hi guys,
First post here. Just a brief history... I have about twenty years experience in drumming and recording engineering but haven't played in over ten years. Just started getting back into it and am having a blast! I did a total 180 about ten years ago and went back to school to get a "life" (whatever that is), but am happy to do this as a hobby now (I hate that word though because it's never really a hobby for me, per se). Some old musician friends from yesteryear are already hitting me up to do jam sessions. Looks like I have a lot of practicing to do!
Anyways, I'm posting here because I took a chance on this Beech Infinite set sight-unseen and have had it for a couple of weeks. This is my first Sonor kit and am totally happy with my decision to get it. I've always lusted for a Sonor kit but never purchased until now. I've only owned three kits (including this one) but have played/recorded many in the studio. My last kit was a Yamaha Recording Custom 7-piece set, and it sounded a lot different than these. The Yamaha had birch shells, and of course the sound difference was due to a lot of other variables.
The main difference in sound is that the Sonors have a bigger, boomier, more "colorful" sound. By colorful, I mean covering a wider range of frequencies and not being quite as focused. However, the toms, for example, still have a relatively defined pitch and have that Sonor
sound. By Sonor sound, I mean being similar to some of those 80's Journey records; I can hear some of that going on that I don't hear in other drums. Someone in another thread mentioned that Beech has a dry sound to it. I don't think I agree with that; I guess it depends on your definition of "dry". I would call the Yamahas much more dry than these Sonors. By the way, I've actually played that Steve Smith sunburst kit he used during that era; it was on display at Creative Drum Shop in Scottsdale, Az right around 1984. Those had that sound I'm speaking of as well.
I still will need to spend quite a long time learning the best type of tuning for these drums, but that's a given for me for any set. Being that the toms are shallower than my other kits, along with possibly shell design/construction, they do seem to favor a different technique than what I'm used to. As others have mentioned, I was skeptical about the kick drum depth, being that it is 20" deep. However, after the first few hits I am a believer. It's not "sluggish," "thin," "shallow," etc. It responds very nicely and sounds like a cannon at the same time, if you like that sort of thing. It does seem to sustain more than most other kicks I've played, but I don't find that a hinderance at all because it still has tons of punch at the same time.
The snare has a sound to it I'm not used to, even though it is full-bodied sound and has a nice crack to it, with good sensitivity/response. I've never played in my current room and I'm noticing it's extremely bright, so that's going to play a large part in the snare's sound. The last snare I owned was a custom Noble & Cooley and that sounded completely different. I still really need to experiment more with this snare, but I believe it's going to be versitile depending on heads, possibly different rims, and wires.
Some other facts I learned about this set:
The shells are made from German Beech wood, but it's not the exact same Beech used in their other kits, including the SQ2 series. It's most likely the same species/wood, but it's sourced from a different place, although still grown in Germany. This makes these shells more unique.
I haven't played the Ascent series, but the Beech wood used for the shells are not grown in Germany, so in my mind it's a completely different wood. If you compare pics around the Internet of the inner shells and bearing edges, you'll see the wood looks completely different. The grain and color varies a lot more on the Ascent series. This probably has more to do with the grade of wood used, however. The uniformity of the shells on the Infinite kit are much more even. Of course, the shells on the Ascent are thicker as well. All of these attributes are going to produce a different sounding kit. This sound may actually suit you better.
As for the Infinite kit, I appreciate the attention to detail put into it. From the bearing edges to the finish, everything is flawless. IMO the hardware is not over-engineered. I believe there's a good balance of flexibility, sturdiness, asthetics, and ingenuity in the design.
