New Vintage Drums - DW Contemporary Classic Vs. Sonor Vintage Series 

Sonor, hands down. Nice cymbals as well. I own a DW kit and I like it, but the more I research Sonor the more I think they may be the best sounding drums out there.

I own this exact Sonor kit. I’ve never played a drum kit and said this before…it’s the only drum set I ever want to play again. I know that may sound absurd, since I own 4 kits and 16 snare drums. One of the kits I fully built, spec’d out and designed from finish to hardware and it sounds killer…but this Sonor kit is perfection and the snare and kick are the most effortless playing drums I own. Just an unbelievable drum kit and an honor to own a high end Sonor kit.

they both sounded good, heck, they're high end kits, but my God .... I get chills when I hear a Sonor ...wow!

Omg those Sonors!!! They have them at my local music store and I used to go in and just stare at them!!

Sonor hands down. Wow! Very pure tone and I know from owning a Hilite and playing other Sonor kits, how amazing the craftsmanship in all of the lines is. I want a new kit and I always come back to Sonor. They respond accurately to any drummer who plays them.

Okay, the Sonor kit kills the DW kit! LOL. Wow.

Why don't you get the 'Drum Whisperer" to tell you how DW drums have glue that rings in a certain note?

Huge props to whoever tuned those drums!

14" depth bass drums are the business man. much more articulate and punchy without all the soul-less boom.

Man, those Sonor drums sound great! I still have a early 80s Sonorlite spalted birch 7x14 snare drum that I love.

Just wanna say I always enjoy the way you guys review and compare products! Great stuff as always! Best wishes from Atlanta!

Sonor for me. They sounded killer. Dw tried but that kick on that sonor sounded sweet.

Lucky enough to have just bagged a Sonor Vintage to go with my Phonic reissue (6.5) snare - so this video made me smile a lot. Loving your work guys, and honestly as biased as I may be, loving that Sonor kit so much!

Great video! Thanks for turning those snares off so we can hear those beautiful shells sing!!

I have to admit the DW nailed the slow and thuddy vintage vibe. Probably not the most versatile, but they truly sound like a vintage mahogany kit. The Sonor however seems to really be the perfect marriage between vintage and modern. I feel like the sonor would be better just because you could get more out of it.

I loved the concept of this video and I really enjoyed the video. Thank you so much for sharing!

Wowwwww the mixing got a lot better! This is awesome! Us drummers don’t have a lot of ways to test out these nice drums unless we drive a long ways, so these accurate comparisons are exactly what we need.

i fell on this internet hole... and i'm loving it!! Awesome comparison videos! Quality content!

Hey guys! Great vid. I just sold my vintage series and the guy who bought it said it was because of this vid! Really appreciate it and keep up the great work

Loved the Sonor's. Both kits sounded better in the lower tuning.

The Sonor Vintage kit has the best drum sound to me, but the DW set is also very nice. I once owned a 1970 Slingerland kit so the DW sound is very similar to that. Should have kept those Slingerlands! Thanks for the demonstrations of those nice sets. Bob McGowan

The noughties is what you was looking for 😅👍

The tom groove Shane went into on the Sonor kit sounded great!

They're both different in sound. But both kits sound great. The snare drum on the Sonor kit is incredible. Thanks fellas. Love ya work !

The DW sounded so crisp and clean😍

Both are exquisite instruments, but I think I prefer the Sonor over the DW. There was a greater richness in tone for me. The BD was killer, fat, warm and tight. Sonor make incredible drums, well worth their price.

Shane's comment about the "naughts" making him uncomfortable, and sounding like a medical condition"...PRICELESS!! Happy Christmas, DCP family :)

Those Sonors. Just gorgeous.

That DW kit sounds absolutely perfect to my ears. Wow.

I agree with Shane: The wrap on the Sonors is STUNNING! Hard to compare the sound because the DW had 2-ply heads; the Sonors had coated Ambs. That right there would account for the DWs having a "slower" feel. To my ears the Sonors sounded a bit too "boingy", although that snare is really nice.

If the DW are modeled after the Slingerland shell with rerings, It makes sense that they want to be tuned much higher. My slingys have no ass on them but they float in the mix. Very bright and musical drums

The Sonor just has that something special to it. I have a DW Collector's pure maple and a Sonor Force 3007 jungle. Time to investigate the Sonors from Germany and order this or an SQ1!!!!

DW for the win in this head to head (for me)

Both beautiful kits.Cant wait to see the sonor kit done up in silver sparkle. Can only imagine how gorgeous it will be.If I'm going to make a move,this will probably be the year.Been torn between a DW Santa Monica kit,and sonor vintage.Knowing what both sound like,the silver sparkle with those tear drop lugs might just push me off the buying cliff.

Best DW kit I’ve heard in a long time! Very Nice! Both kits look really nice!

These are both great-sounding kits. I own a Sonor Vintage Series kit and and am a big fan of that series. But I have to say, I prefer the DW's in this comparison. They have a little bit less attack and maybe more sustain than the Sonors, and sound so warm and beautiful.

Both sound great, Sonor edges it for the vibe that I like, Previously I tried a vintage series beside a Brooklyn and the Brooklyn won out for me though it was 50:50 for others present at the time. I think the bass drum head on the Sonor has a big impact on the sound too.

Thx for the video very nice. Both kits sounded better at a lower tune. The bass kicks both were awesome & Sonors snare was on point. Overall they both were nice..

Both are amazing. I liked the DW more, richer and more mids

I like both but the DW fits my playing style best. Great video.

I would love to here the dw with different heads. Im in love with the sonor. Was actually looking athem pretty hard last spring but found a killer deal on a beautiful gms kit i could pass up. Now here i am looking at them again.

They both sounded good- very vintage with that traditional fat midrange with quick decay type of sound. For my money, I'd go DW. They sounded more focused to me, which I prefer. I wonder how much the heads had to do with it.

I'll take either snare. Thank you.

It's the "aughts," guys. Aught 1 was 2001, Aught 2 was 2002, etc. But great job on the video, as per usual.

Good gravy, those dw’s!!! 😘👌

Great video :)

I'm anxiously awaiting the release of the Rosewood finish for the Vintage series along with the extra rack tom sizes. I think I may have found my next kit when they hit the shelves.

Both sound great.

Why haven't they released the yellow version of this vintage model? Ever since I saw Brian Blade playing one of the yellow models when he was part of Joshua Redman's jazz combo, I fell in love with that yellow drum.

I live in CR but somehow I will get my dream kit from you.

You guys are to serious. Need to smile more in a camera. Thank you for the wonderful video.

OK…. Been a DW fan since when Neil P. switched from Ludwig to DW. But to echo other posters comments, the Sonor did sound much better than the DW! A future head-to-head video featuring Ludwig vs DW would definitely be interesting. PS: Noticed what looked like a Rush road case in the background :-)

I like both with the lower tuning, although I'd crank the snares. It would be difficult for me to choose between the Sonor and the DW kits if I were seeking to purchase this type of drum kit.

I love Sonor, but I prefer the sound of the DW on this one. Sounds great as always!

When I see the kick drum spurs for the sonor not at the same angle it makes my head hurt but otherwise everything is awesome!!

The Sonor Vintage series, absolutely. No doubt about it.

That DW set sounds fantastic! Like my old Ludwig when I was 14. The Sonor sounds really good, I really like Sonor snares, but to me my clear choice is that DW and I'm not much of a DW fan either so...

Sonor has that Vintage sound . you put Ambassadors on it it sings tuned up or down . Coated emperors tuned up or down its the same beautiful true tone but fatter . DW , to my ears doesn't have that at all . despite the fact they call it Classic . one dimensional . I played a few DW kits in the past , and always missed that certain something . just recently i bought a used Vintage Series and i dialed them in . 12"13'16" 22" it has everything you want in a drum set when you want to cover swampy blues Rock , Rock , Funk, Latin and jazz vibes . thats my honest opinion, nobody pays me to say this . I actually listened to the demonstration of the DW to hear what i am looking for and see/hear if they deliver it . then i hear 10 seconds of the Sonor VS (That i already know intimately ) and i stop the video to write this . Shane you know what i am talking about!

The Sonor kit definitely sounds vintage. The other not as much. But both sound good. You can hear that the Tom feel of the Sonor is more solid feeling than the DW and the DW has a more pillowy feel when struck. That’s why they say it felt delayed etc

I liked the Sonor most! Absolutely!

I thought that the Sonor kit would run away with this, but the proof is in the sound. The DW toms and the Sonor bass drum were my winners, but either kit would be great to own and perform with.

I think that those who prefer DW will be very happy with this kit. Me personally, I just don't like the look of the DW lugs on any of their kits, no matter how gorgeous the finish, the lugs kill it for me. I think that Sonor will always be special for me. I saw the Sonor video showcasing the brand spanking new Vintage Series...... some good stuff is coming! Man, how I wish I lived near by....... Thanks and Blessings!

The DW has the richer tone and longer sustain. This kit would be my choice; the sonors sound good, and they're definitely up there with my favourites, so to beat them, the DW has done something extraordinary!

What you consider high tuning I would consider a medium low tuning. That being said very nice sounds all around. Great cymbal pairing as well.

I bought a special order DW Contemporary Classic set with an outer ply of maple, 24" kick and True Hoops, 50 thread tension rods, and plan on using Dunnett Reso two batters and Reso-tone resonant (just got these delivered), instead of the DW heads. I was addressing the sound they are talking about in the video. My goal is to have that Mahogany Rumble but add some maple and the Dunnett head attack tone together with proper tuning. The sustain on the Sonor seems to be cut short although it does have attack and some rumble. This could also be that the DW STM mounts allow more ring/sustain than the Sonor Tom mount rather than the shell. The multi-tom rumble is deeper and roars more with the DW Contemporary Classic Maple. To get this sound naturally with added clarity is my goal, instead of using studio reverbs/effects which is what we have been hearing since vintage Mahogany drums became vintage. When I was a teenager I got a version of this sound with some classic CB700 drums and clear heads. Those were $400 drums back then. For the price of DW, I hope these blow me away when I am done setting/tuning it all up. The maple outer ply and Dunnett heads should remove that sense of delay they are talking about in the video. This video helped me recognize subtle sound differences, since I don't have those kits to play myself. I can compare my kit, etc..

Love the Sonor finish but those badge screws at 10:12 mess with my ocd

You’re right about those heads. I don’t think it was the kit giving y’all that impression. OCDP used those exact heads on that Travis Barker kit. Same exact feel

Both sounded great! The Sonors were more lively and sound like be great in any situation. Love the tone of the DWs! I’d play ACDC tunes all week long on those and be grinning the whole time.

Those Abe Jr sticks!

Would you guys demo the new Sonor drums for 2021? AQ1? Damn, I can't remember the series designation (it's 3:30 a.m. in Tacoma, WA and I should be asleep!) but the drums are the entry-level series.

Looks and finish Sonor all the way, love the lugs, badge colors etc I really wish they had offset the lugs on the floor tom and BD as well.. Sound wise I give a slight nod to the DW.

The wallop of that DW kick is just insane. So much of the firm low end. Was there any pillow in there?

Early 2000’s... now being a classic.... I’m old now...

This DW kit was actually my favorite DW playing live. They sounded great! I also played the Sonor Vintage, and they sounded great.. both different, not sure how you can say one is better than the other, just a mater of taste. The DW hardware is better than what come o this Sonor Vintage however, no doubt. Loved this comparrison!

Both were great. Really like the Sonor finish compared to DW. Soundwise, I didn't like the Sonor rack tom in higher tuning compared to DW, but in lower tuning, I thought Sonor overall sounded better, but that DW kick with lower tuning stood out more.

I like both....but The Sonor may have just edged it out by a little bit! I love that DW Snare......which is rare for me.

Could you please test Dw Collectors Maple-gum shell in big sizes? Many thanks

Hard to say when they had different heads, but based on the video, I like the DW's toms and the Sonor's bass drum.

That sonar was incredible I'll take it over the DW

Oh man Shane made me bust up laughing when he dropped the stick on the son or kit bass drum

Both kits sounded good, but the two snare drums and those cymbals stole the show. I would never have believed that was a cymbal pack!

That was classic Shane

Ayyy mamma.. mucho bueno soundido

For sure the Sonor's sounded better, especially in the beginning of the video. The DW's did sound better at the end than at the beginning.

Quick question: Does the yamaha stage custom birch bop kit sound as good as the yamaha PHX bop kit?

Not a huge DW fan but good god they sounded perfect.

The Sonor kit does it for me; but definitely prefer the lower tuning. But where is the matching snare drum? I actually got a chance to try out the very same Sonor kit in my local shop this past weekend, along with the matching Vintage Series snare and THAT snare drum was absolutely amazing! One of those few occasions where I felt that getting the matching snare would be definitely worth it.

Good day men, Im going with the D.eep W.allet's overall better sounding shells, however I would substitute the DW snare drum with the Sonorphonic snare drum.

Chops are getting better shane.

DW really nailed the sound but I prefer the Sonor kit. Shane always says he's not that decent blah blah blah. I wish I played half as good. The dude is an awesome drummer and very smooth.

Is that Sonor Vintage California a special or limited edition? Yes or no? And why?

Both great, but those Sonors though. Man, would you get a new Vintage Series or an old Teardrop? I think there's one in my town that might be for sale :)

DW's slightly warmer sound, and their round lugs offer a striking appearance

The DW is supposed to be a copy of the classic Slingerland shell and is the same as the contemporary Ludwig Legacy Mahogany but lacks the deep, dark, sonorous tone the Ludwigs have: Shane described it as “wrapped in felt”. No slight to DW, but in a vintage-style mahogany kit I would have the Ludwig. The Sonor kit definitely sounded Sonor.

Did you guys cut a port hole in that sonor bass drum? Or did it come that way? I thought those came unported. Also I freaking love that sonor kit. It's a beaut!

That Sonor had NO chance against the DW. Those shells are BEAUTIFUL!

This Sonor is Amazing, in general i only like the DW's drums between early 90's to late 90's.

You should experiment with the heads that would be fantastic honestly

The DW'S won this contest

I really don't know much about DW or sonor. In this demonstration I like the details. How about s Gretchen USA custom demonstration.