six month product update...Sonor - Champion series congas

[bongoron]

Hello everyone! About six months ago I bought three Sonor Champion series congas...a little under $450 for the set of three, including shipping off EBAY.

I'm pleased to say they are the same as day one, only ever so slightly warmer in tone. There is a noticeable reduction in overtones, particularly the ringing type. My home recordings bear this out. There are no playablilty issues at all, no mechanical problems from frequent tuning...not because they go out of tune (they don't), but because I tune for the set we play.

The end caps on the threaded end of the lugs do fall off if you slide the drum carelessly into the back seat of the car. I replaced them with heat shrink tubing...just a couple of them so far.

I bought these for the specific purpose of keeping my schallochs pristine. Those are in the practice studio, except for gigs if I want more than three drums. I decided to gig with the sonors, due to the tone and the extra room on the standard sized heads. They are also my church congas, so they do get moved around alot!

The stands are exactly as sturdy and solid as day one, and I rarely disassemble them anymore, just stack them in the back of a pickup or lay them in the car trunk and go. Being steel, they are quite heavy, but I don't mind.

No issues with the finish, and I've left them in the back seat of the car while we eat after church on 100 degree days...Cringe! I know, but I really wanted to do a fair, review of these for the folks who need a budget drum so they can play. They are taking a licking and keeping on ticking. I don't detune them either. Even in the abusive environment of the hot back seat, no damage, although I don't do this as a rule. Neither do I recommend it, but let's face it, things happen, and it's nice to know these can take a little abuse.

Because I have so little invested, I don't cringe when the inevitable bystander takes a whack as they walk by. I've even showed little kids a few strokes when they express their interest by doing just that while they walk by.

I know this price point isn't for eveyone, but these are my observations since April. Having two separate sets for the price of one fits my situation and reduces the overall amount of setup and teardown time for me. My schallochs stay nestled comfortably in the studio, and the sonors take the inevitable wear and tear.

I realize I could have bought one set of two, or possibly three "good congas" for what I spent, but that would have delayed my ability to play at all for quite some time, when one such drum could approch or exceed the cost of a set of these three. I chose this other route, and have grown into it in a different way than the one drum grow into more drums approach.
Now when our band has a practice, especially a short notice one, I just grab a headset mike and go over. If my work schedule permits, I can leave one or two of my drums at church after Sunday service for the Wednesday night service, and still play at home. At age 49, the reduced load is nice for me, since my job is pretty physical.

It's been nearly 3 years on the schallochs, and the report is the same...very pleased, and sounding better all the time (probably a practice issue more than a drum quality issue).

To be fair, I have to say it was probably more difficult tuning the schallochs for real conga tones as a beginner...also probably harder to play due to the reduce head sizes. I really enjoy the sonors for that reason. If you are easily discouraged, the smaller drums (any 10,11, 12 inch drums) may not be the best choice for learning to play, since the tonal variations seem more difficult to achieve...at least to me they did. Now I switch between the sets with no problems, but I honestly think the sonors would have been a better beginner drum for full range of sounds. They seem closer to the set of galaxies I had a chance to play than the schallochs do
(actually surprizingly close!).

Thanks for taking the time to read this...just wanted to share it. Maybe it will help someone like the information here at congaplace has helped me.

God bless!

-Ron