I don't think Sonor made Trixon shells. Mainly because Sonor used beech in shell construction, and I've never seen any references to Trixon shells at the Sonor factory. Plus, Sonor only really got going in the late 50's after re-location their plant from East to West Germany and capacity for manufacture was very small.

Gerd Stegner at www.stdrums.de is a Trixon expert. There's also www.trixondrums.de which has a lot of info.

There's also some Trixon catalogues on the Drumarchive.

Very nice drum BTW.

Well hey Brett and Gaz...

Tommyp here... I am the one that told Brett about Sonor making SOME of Trixon's shells... and both types of wood were used: Beech, and Birch. I got this information from Ingo at the official Trixon website after he asked about featuring my Trixon WMP 1/440 on his website. My drum is currently on his site now... please go visit! ( it can also be seen on THIS SITE under the Tommyp Collection ) Anyway,

My snare drum certainly looks like it has a Sonor shell, which is why I thought that this could be possible! Sonor was certainly up and running during this particular drums run, late 60's. And one must remember that Sonor would have been making the shells TO TRIXON'S specs, not theirs... this is born out by taking a nice look at the shells themselves. Let's just say mine needed some work to be real nice... but it is now... and it sounds great! Regardless, this is difficult to completely research as there doesn't seem to be any records of this besides verbal.

And Jeeze Brett, I GAVE you a value on your drum... The value I gave you was based entirely on what I have seen this particular drum sell for over the years,... and, your particular wrap is A COMMON one... you see a lot of those. Mine, in WMP, is much rarer, thus it's value/price reflects that.

And by the way, your drum is EXACTLY what I said it was: A Trixon 1/440 Standard/Luxus w/parallel strainer... ( without the help of pictures! )

Thanks again for the imput.

Dont sound offended its not that I doubt you I just hadnt provided much info too you and wanted to get several opinions. I'm not sure I want to sell it anyways Its about the only thing I have left from my brother that died when I was 3 and he 12. If I did sell it it would be with the condition that I got a chance to buy it back before it was sold to anyone else.

Thanks again,

Brett

Oh PS.

I find the snare strainer to be a poor performer. The way it lifts the snares up it doesnt seem to provide much tension. It may be thats the way it was designed...for a lighter touch. I've never used the drum much in my kit. It seems more suited for a smaller jazz kit with more subrile tones and touch.

I've also added a picture of the inside of my sheel. maybe it will help you compare it to yours.

Brett

Regarding the performance of the Trixon parallel strainer... AGREED!... not the best system. I had to use TWO DRUMS to get enough workable parts to rebuild my strainer for proper function... and now it does, beautifully! Actually, my '67 Trixon 1/440 Standard plays and sounds EXCELLENT now... but it took some re-work to get it there. I lacquered the interior of the shell with 3 coats of clear, lightly sanding in between coats. This made a world of difference as now the Beech shell has some reflectivity in sound... and at only 6 plies, no rings, the fundamental note of the shell is LOW to begin with. Buddy Rich had ALL his drums finished in extra lacquer for this same reason. Of interest:

Listen to some of the recordings/filmed shows that Buddy did while playing Trixon and you will be amazed at how HIGH he is tensioning those drums, especially his snare drum!

Brett, your Trixon shell is EXACTLY the same as mine in it's construction. The main difference is mine is SEALED... the drum speaks with authority, but isn't at all harsh.

I'll try to attach a couple pics of mine showing the shell and snare attachment detail.

Hi Tommyp,

Thanks for the info from Ingo. I'd be interested to see a Sonor shell by a Trixon from this period, just for the hell of it.

Regarding researching anything from Sonor; you always seem to hit a brick wall. I enquired about a Designer snare about 6 years ago in Makassar Ebony. The reply; Sonor never offered that finish. Funny old thing, as it's the same as my Sigs.

You can still find bits from the 70's and 80's in the factory. But getting them to admit it is a nightmare.

Regarding Trixon, I'll have a kit for the collection someday!!Cool

I took the snare side head off last night to look closer at my shell. Mine has a light semigloss finish on it. Did yours Tommy? I've been toying with the idea of removing the Trixon snare, one because they are hard to find, and two because I'd like to try to use a traditionally designed bed and see if it can be drawn up a bit tighter. Have you ever tried this. My original trixon snare is missing one strand/ wire. I s it possible to buy new ones? If so where?

Thanks again

Hey Gaz/Brett:

Gaz... I would love to have a complete Trixon BR Luxus kit in WMP, no harware needed as Buddy used his Rogers hardware with the Trixon's... but I doubt that will ever happen! They just don't seem to come along... especially in WMP.

Brett... Yes, my Trixon shell interior also had a light semi-gloss clear on it... not really enough to actually seal anything though... which is why I did the 3 coat process on my shell. And now... a beauty... in sound and looks!

Regarding the Trixon strainer: I got my parallel strainer working perfectly, but it took TWO parts drums to do it!... so no, I haven't modified my drum with the exception of the clear coat... it could certainly be done, but then, the drum would be worth even less as I'm sure you would have to drill holes.

Regarding Trixon snares: Near IMPOSSIBLE to find in NICE COMPLETE condition. I've noticed that Trixon uses a LOT of plastic parts, and I think that's the problem with these snares... the wires are imbebbed in PVC plastic. They are kind of soft, and if the drummer wasn't/isn't careful, they are very easy to pull out of... or lose strands... ( like yours )... and that is a very common happenstance! Because my strainer is working correctly, my set of snares are in excellent shape and not missing wires, or streched out of shape. Amazing, because a LOT of the Trixon snare drums I have seen over the years suffer from the very trouble yours has. You know,

Buddy Rich was with Trixon/Vox for a very short time... less than 6 mos... I think I know why!

And for the record: I'm NOT bashing Trixon! I own one! It's just that they didn't seem to have real high end stuff... although they certainly were real quirky and experimental!

Hi Tommy

In the interest of saving my original trixon snares and because I had time over the holidays I decided to experiment with my snares a little bit. I purchased and inexpensive set of "snappy snares" froma local shop and after 4 or 5 experiments I came up with a very pleasing result.

I removed the trixon's snares and packaged them up for safe keeping. (By the way they were "twisted" once I got them free. The whole trainer wanted to torque) Then I reinstalled the pins holding in the original snares. I ran string in between the strainer arm and pin , through a small section of plastic tubing (like brake line) and tied both ends off in the snares. The plastic tubing pulls up against the inside of the throw off and holds the string between the pin and throw off.

Its pretty basic but when tightened and lifted up against the snare head they work great. The drum sounds much better than with the original setup. Now I can keep the original snares safe and feel free to play the snare too. I'm considering trying one of the Rhythm Tech Active snares next. The other nice thing about this is that it didnt mean modifying any of the Trixons snare throw.

Oh and on another note..I measure my Trixon's depth vs my Rogers. The Rogers is 5.5" (head to head)..and my Trixon is 4.75" (head to head) as best I can tell.

Thanks for the info.

See the pics for the snare setup