Sonor is an incredible drum company. They’re well-known for their high-quality construction and commitment to providing kits that sound beautiful. The brand has been around for decades, with many famous drummers playing their kits all the way back in the 70s.
One of their newer lines of drums is the AQ2 Series. The AQ2 drum kits are intended to be affordable options that can still be used professionally. They provide pristine materials that allow them to compete with many other intermediate drum kits from different brands.
In this review, we’re going to take a deep dive into the AQ2 Series drums from Sonor.
One of the main features of the AQ2 Series is that you can get the kits in a few different variations. The first AQ2 kits to be released were the compact ones, which are the Bop, Martini, and Safari. Sonor released the AQ2 Stage a few years later, which is a full-sized drum kit.
All the AQ2 sets are made from maple wood, and they use Sonor’s SmartMounts to hold the rack toms in place. They also have die-cast lugs around all the drums, which is a distinctive feature of most Sonor kits.
We’d say that these are intermediate drum sets, but they can easily be used for all settings. The quality of the AQ2 snare drum is a particular highlight.
The selling point of the Sonor AQ2 drum kits is that you get high-quality hardware and sound at a relatively affordable price. All the drums have 7-ply maple shells, which give them a very balanced tone.
The AQ2 kits feel very solid to play, thanks to their hardware. We noticed this the most with the AQ2 Bop kit. It competes with many other compact kits on the market, but it feels a lot sturdier than most.
The snare drum is one of the best features of all the AQ2 kits. It has a cracking tone that sounds very punchy and fierce. It also sounds decent when tuned low, giving plenty of response to your strokes.
The two big features to mention when it comes to construction are the die-cast lugs and the Sonor SmartMount suspension. Starting off with the lugs, these are a big part of what makes the AQ2 kits feel so pristine.
They’re a bit heavier than the standard lugs you’ll find on most kits, giving you a better feeling of durability.
The SmartMount is what connects the rack toms to the bass drum. The toms mount onto ball-and-socket joints, giving you plenty of freedom to position them wherever you’re comfortable. This mount is very similar to Yamaha’s YESS mount, which we think is great.
There are five finishes to choose from for the AQ2 drum sets. These are White Marine Pearl, Aqua Silver Burst, Titanium Quarz, Brown Fade, and Transparent Black.
We highly recommend getting an AQ2 kit for their performance features. These kits sound amazing, and you can create a professional drum setup by equipping the kit with high-quality drumheads and surrounding it with professional cymbals.
As with most intermediate kits, the stock heads you get here aren’t amazing. You’ll get a lot more out of the drums by putting on some Remo, Evans, or Aquarian drumheads.
The drums also feel incredible to play, considering how solid the build quality is. The AQ2 kit will feel a bit different depending on which version you get, so let’s look at your choices.
Our favorite thing about the Sonor AQ2 drum line is the sheer number of options you get. There are five drum kits to choose from, and here are the details with their names and shell sizes:
Sonor AQ2 Studio – 14” snare, 20” bass drum, 10” and 12” rack toms, 14” floor tom
Sonor AQ2 Stage – 14” snare, 22” bass drum, 10” and 12” rack toms, 16” floor tom
Sonor AQ2 Martini – 12” snare, 14” bass drum, 8” rack tom, 13” floor tom
Sonor AQ2 Safari – 13” snare, 16” bass drum, 10” rack tom, 13” floor tom
Sonor AQ2 Bop – 14” snare, 18” bass drum, 12” rack tom, 14” floor tom
If you’re looking for a standard kit, the Studio and Stage kits are what you need to choose between. We suggest getting the Bop version if you want a compact kit. The Martini and Safari are decent kits, but the Bop tends to sound a lot fuller, thanks to its larger bass drum.
Sonor isn’t a company known for providing cheap kits. While they do provide plenty of entry-level options, those kits aren’t as popular as the ones from other brands. This is because they’re slightly more expensive, so beginner drummers gravitate toward the other brands.
When looking at the prices of the AQ2 drum sets, you’ll see that they’re also slightly pricier than the competitor intermediate kits from other brands. For example, the Pearl Decade Maple is a good competitor kit, and it costs a few hundred dollars less.
However, the quality of the AQ2 drum sets is well worth the extra cost. You could get the studio version instead of a pro-tier kit, and it would still work excellently in any setting. So, the price-to-value ratio of the AQ2 drum kits is fantastic.
You can also take a look at the Sonor AQ1 for cheaper option.
AQ2 is Sonor’s intermediate line of drum kits. All the AQ2 kits are amazing, as they have strong maple shells that are warm and full of projection. They can be easily tuned, and the drums look fantastic as well.
If you want something a bit higher in quality, then you should look at Sonor’s SQ1 and SQ2 drum kits. Those are the top-of-the-range kits from the brand, and they’re some of the best-sounding drum kits available on the market.
For something more affordable than the AQ2 Series, check out the AQ1 line. These are Sonor’s entry-level drums, but they’re superior to most entry-level kits out there. Just be ready to pay a bit more for them.
Sonor is a German company, and all their top-quality kits are made in a factory in Germany. Their more affordable kits, including the AQ2 line, are made in China.
They do it this way to save on costs. The kits are affordable because they cost less to make, allowing the company to produce more of them over time.
Yes, Sonor is one of the best drum brands in the world. They make dozens of drum kits that world-famous drummers use, and they’ve been selling them for decades.
The other top drum companies in the world are Yamaha, Ludwig, Gretsch, Mapex, DW, PDP, Pearl, and Tama.
Maple drum kits tend to do well in studio settings, thanks to their balanced tones. The AQ2 drum sets work brilliantly in studios because of this. However, you should choose the appropriate kit size for the music you’re playing.
The AQ2 Bop would work brilliantly for a jazz recording, but it won’t be effective enough in a heavy metal setting.
As we said earlier, you’ll also need to change out the stock drumheads to get the best sounds and tunings that you can possibly get.
If you have a world-class recording studio and you need a house kit, the AQ2 may not be the best option. You’ll need something with richer tones and better build quality. These kits are great for occasional recordings, though.
The AQ2 kits work wonderfully for live gigs. They sound very present on stage, and the finish options all look amazing under lights.
The biggest benefit of the AQ2 kits is the number of compact shell sizes available. If you want a small kit to play on small stages, you can choose between the Bop, Safari, and Martini. Most other brands only have one or two compact kit options. So, props to Sonor for this.
At the end of the day, the Sonor AQ2 kits are great options for drummers who don’t want to spend too much money on a shell pack. Their maple shells and pristine build quality make them suitable to use in most professional settings.
An AQ2 kit is a worthy upgrade from your first entry-level set, but it’s also an ideal option to take on the road with you for a tour.
If you like the sound of these kits, look through the five shell pack options. Get the drum sizes that suit your playing the most, and then get a good set of drumheads to go with them.
Drum Teacher
Brett Clur has a Drum Performance Diploma from Trinity College London has been playing drums for over 20 years. He is passionate about advanced concepts and uses his years of experience to teach his students about them. While he is a full-time drum teacher, he is also working on growing a YouTube channel where shares his insights. You can see him playing there, or on Instagram where he posts daily videos.
Find useful lessons, tips and reviews for any drummer. From beginners to professionals there’s always something new to learn and improve. Join our Newsletter for exclusive advice!
11407 SW Amu St Suite #ABM436 Tualatin, OR 97062
There may be affiliate links on this website, which means we may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases, at no additional cost to our readers.
© All rights reserved Copyright 2024
Subscribe to our ninja mailing list and get a Free E-book!
Subscribe to our ninja mailing list and get a Free E-book!
