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Sonor teardrop in red sparkle - help needed

Posts: 1040 Threads: 106

Hey guys!

I recently acquired this really nice little snare and I'd appreciate little help with it.

It's an 8 lugs 14x4" (probably) 6ply Sonor snare in RADIANT red sparkle. The hoops seem to be die-cast. Original reso head and strainer, modern "Weatherking Vintage A" batter. I think it's from late 60s or early 70s.

It's in great shape, just few scuffs on the chrome, but otherwise really nice.

One thing bugs me though:

I can slide each end of strainer mechanism up and down manually, but turning the lever doesn't do anything. It's obviously missing some pieces, and I think I know which ones, thanks to this brilliant thread, which actually got me into vintage drums few years back

http://www.vintagedrumforum.com/showthread.php?t=5751&page=2 .

I guess I'll have to seek help from my father in manufacturing the missing pieces, unless of course somebody here has them and is willing to sell them for a reasonable price.

It sounds pretty nice as it is, though - I'm just not very comfortable with the idea of a strainer that slowly slides down as I hit the drum (and I just want the thing to work is it was intended).

So - can anyone tell me how old exactly it could be? Does anybody have the parts I need?

Thanks and rock on!

BTW, I got the snare in this lot:

http://vintagedrumforum.com/showthread.php?t=39322

Sysl krysu nenahradi!

-196?-72 6ply White Oyster Amati
-1960s 3ply Red Sparkle Amati
- Zildjian, Paiste, Zyn, Istanbul

http://bandzone.cz/blueswan
Posted on 11 years ago
#1
Posts: 6524 Threads: 37

I asked someone who knows everything about that drum, when he gets back to me I`ll let you know. I can help date it if it has a date code inside, does it ?

It`s a drum,.....Hit It !!

.....76/#XK9207 Phonic Sound Machine D454/D-505 snares !i
Posted on 11 years ago
#2
Posts: 6524 Threads: 37

It`s possible he has the original Sonor parts too !i

It`s a drum,.....Hit It !!

.....76/#XK9207 Phonic Sound Machine D454/D-505 snares !i
Posted on 11 years ago
#3
Posts: 1432 Threads: 110

I'm not an expert for Sonor drums, but that spring in your 3rd pic looks like brandnew to me, and it looks like being a 'fake' of a spring, too (maybe bended out of a paper-clip?).

Perhaps this one is the key. If you replace that with a real spring, the mechanism may work well again.

Ralf

Vintage STAR (= Pre-Tama) website: www.star-drums.de
Posted on 11 years ago
#4
Posts: 1040 Threads: 106

You might be right, Ralf, I've noticed it too - but it's a photo of a muffler I uploaded just for completion. It works just fine, although it's missing one piece of felt. The strainer is on the last pic.

OddBall, there is no date stamp anywhere - or it's really well hidden.

Thank you for your effort in finding the parts! If the person doesn't have them, I think it will be fairly easy to manufacture them.

Sysl krysu nenahradi!

-196?-72 6ply White Oyster Amati
-1960s 3ply Red Sparkle Amati
- Zildjian, Paiste, Zyn, Istanbul

http://bandzone.cz/blueswan
Posted on 11 years ago
#5
Posts: 23 Threads: 2

Oddball asked me to shime in here.

Your snare is a D421 14" x 5" first shown up in the '64/'65 catalog, last in the '69 catalog.

What i can see from that strainer pic. is that your missing 2 springs. Without these it won't work.

Spring has a diameter of 6mm. Lenght is 1,3 cm. without the eylets to attach on the strainer. Eylets are 5 mm. each. It's made of 0,4 mm. steel.

Unfortunatly i don't have spare ones, but with this info i'm sure you can buy these in a hardware store.

Succes.

[IMG]http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd200/akaqua/Sonor%20message%20board/DSC08790_zps12e597c2.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd200/akaqua/Sonor%20message%20board/DSC02754_zps123853a2.jpg[/IMG]

Henk

Posted on 11 years ago
#6
Posts: 1040 Threads: 106

Thank you very much! This is all I needed to know!

Sysl krysu nenahradi!

-196?-72 6ply White Oyster Amati
-1960s 3ply Red Sparkle Amati
- Zildjian, Paiste, Zyn, Istanbul

http://bandzone.cz/blueswan
Posted on 11 years ago
#7
Posts: 1040 Threads: 106

Well, apparently I need to know something more.

My dad managed to make replacements for the missing parts (see attached photo). The strainer works now, BUT! the wires can't touch the head properly. Even when it's maximally tightened and the sliding mechanism parts are in the proper position, the wires just kiss the center of the head and don't touch it near the edge at all! Any ideas as to why this may be? It's really bugging me, because the drum is very well built and I really dig the mechanism.

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Sysl krysu nenahradi!

-196?-72 6ply White Oyster Amati
-1960s 3ply Red Sparkle Amati
- Zildjian, Paiste, Zyn, Istanbul

http://bandzone.cz/blueswan
Posted on 11 years ago
#8
Posts: 23 Threads: 2

Did you try to adjust the "lever" system.

It has two, kind of, flat little cilinders with a little srew on top.These must be in the right position, right and left side the same.

It's a little hard to explain, but if you turn the little screws loose, you'll see what i mean.

Posted on 11 years ago
#9
Posts: 263 Threads: 59

Y'know what I love about this site and vintage drums in general? I know almost nothing about Sonor, I know f##k-all about old snare strainers, but I still read these threads and scan every picture, totally infatuated with seeing these awesome instruments and hearing the interactions between so many knowledgeable people. What an amazing resource we have here.

Cheers all around, and great thread!

------------------------------------------------
"I've met cats and dogs smarter than Cory and Trevor."
Posted on 11 years ago
#10
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