Physic lessons say us that thin subject apriori have higher acoustic parameters.

6 ply. The 3 plys are indeed too thin and the shell distorts just from the torque of bolting the lugs tightly to the shell. 6 ply is ideal IMO.

I have a ca 1958 teardrop kit, i.e. a 3-ply. The shells are indeed very thin. The tom holder flexes with the weight of the tom, for instance. But I haven't had any problems with that. The kit is 57 years old and holds up. It is obviously fragile, as far as drums go, but beyond that, I'd say it is fine.

The 3-ply teardrop kits have quite a warm, bassy sound. The bass drum is very deep sounding. Due to the thin shells, these drums don't tune extremely high in my experience. Also, for the same reason, extremely thin heads, like Diplomats, don't sound good on them. I prefer Ambassadors.

AFAIK, 3-ply teardrops are more sought after than 6-ply teardrops, according to general Sonor wisdom. I've never had, or played, a 6-ply kit, so I don't know anything about them. But my 3-ply kit doesn't sound quite like anything else I have heard, particularly not the bass drum.

Most likely, Sonor switched from 3 to 6 plies for the same reasons as Gretsch: new and better plywood techniques (or whatever the correct word is, lamination?) enabled a better, more durable shell with improved projection.

I wouldn't use my 3-ply teardrop kit for anything other than acoustic jazz.

Here is an old pic of it.

[IMG]http://web.comhem.se/inventions/downloads/Kit_front_above.jpg[/IMG]

/Magnus

@Mangnus,love that badge ,beautiful kit.Bring on the piano and upright bass! Or the Hammond B-3 and start the grind!

Only have experience with the 6 ply's,good friend of mine had a kit,payed them with coated pins on batter then clear ambs on batters,great sounding kit,with the one ply batters sounded very "Gretchy" IMO.

Got it. I had a thread here about 60s Premiers awhile back. Not the mahogany shells, the earlier ones from the mid-late 60s. How do those compare with a set of 6 ply Sonor teardrops? I've seen 6 ply teardrops described as "Gretschy" elsewhere, but I have a Premier and a teardrop as options to choose from. I know Premier introduces an issue of metric heads, but I know nothing about their hardware reliability and sound in comparison

I have tapped around on a few 60's era premiere's the only Prem I have real exp with was a pre into Olympic,same shells,triple flange instead of die cast less lugs.The chrome was great and the hardware was light but sturdy and functional,and edges were as good or better as any drums I have seen from that era,incl my 66 Rogers.Tuning range was quite good on the Prem.The two kits were different but both very good sounding.

Sorry I missed this thread for so long. I have both and a lot of kits over the years in each.

The 6 ply are generally 1965 into the early 70s before the switched to 9 ply. 6 ply are a round bearing edge where the 9 ply was their first 45 degree edge. Eamesuser is right to say, "Gretschy"... And generally a much lower price ($1,000 and under for 20,13,16 kits). They record fabulously!

The 3 ply is a different monster indeed. Low fundamental and dark. Super-thin shell with a fat reinforcement ring and I find its common to see shells with flat spots... The rings are in round and a head fits well and sings, but the thin plies have flat spots. Damnedest thing! It's common to find kits from 1965 that mix plies (say the toms are 3 ply and the kick 6 ply). 3 ply kits record well too, but I agree that I don't crank mine up high... they do choke up high.

I love Sonor drums from the 60s. And my rosewood 6 plies from 1972 are my dream drums. I think there are great deals to be had from this era.

Further to the above, here is a recent recording (the mix is a little unbalanced, and the sax sound is too nasal) of the kit: http://web.comhem.se/inventions/music/Desert%20Places.wav

And here is a picture of it from the recording date.

[img]http://web.comhem.se/inventions/downloads/Compressed/Kit_TD.jpg[/img]

Best,

Magnus

Great thread. I have a 'Made in West Germany' Teardrop kit. The toms are 3-ply, the bass drum is 6-ply. The kit is probably later early 60's because of the 6-ply bass drum, i.e. transition era. I think the same analogy might hold true for the lovers of 3-ply Gretsch over 6-ply Gretsch, at least in my case. Greater resonance in the 3-ply, narrower tuning range but incredible mojo. I'd use them for quieter jazz or soul or r&b and they are a great choice for recording that kind of music. Very Gretschy and 'vintagey'. The prices are finally coming up for these drums but I think they are still the best value out there. I would like to get a fully 6-ply kit if the stars ever align but this kit balances out the three kits I have nicely and occupies a special place in the universe.