Sonorous

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Sonor GmbH

logo
legal form GmbH & Co. KG
founding 1875
Seat GermanyGermany Bad Berleburg-Aue
management Stefan Althoff
Branch Musical instrument making
Website www.sonor.com

Sonor [ zoˈnoːɐ̯ ] ( Latin sonor 'deep', 'sonorous') is a German company based in Bad Berleburg - Aue that produces percussion instruments for drums, percussion , marching music , concert music and Orff, as well as matching accessories.

Corporate development

Snare drum from Sonor

In 1875 Sonor was founded in Weißenfels an der Saale by the wood turner Johannes Link (born 1847 in Forheim ) as a manufacturer of natural eardrums and military drums. Three years later, the company expanded the production facility and moved to Leipziger Strasse. Production was also expanded further. Around the turn of the century (1900) the manufacture of timpani , cross drums, xylophones , cymbals , triangles and smaller percussion instruments began.

In 1907 Sonor was registered as a trademark at the Imperial Patent Office in Munich. In 1914 the founder Johannes Link died, his son Otto Link was his successor. Despite the turmoil of the World War, the company opened a second plant in Markneukirchen . Two years later, the main factory on Leipziger Strasse was largely destroyed in a fire. In order to quickly compensate for the loss of the systems, the nearby “Am Bad” factory in Weißenfels was acquired. In 1925 the company had around 145 employees. Around that time, the first Sonor drum kit appeared, and in 1930 the first special catalog only with jazz instruments.

After the Second World War, the company property was expropriated and later nationalized. Otto Link narrowly escaped arrest and, together with his son Horst Link, decided to flee to West Berlin. Otto Link's wife later also managed to escape. To this end, the company was re-established in Aue, Westphalia, in 1946 . In 1950 the first Sonor drum kit was published with 13 pages. In 1952 the second appeared with 31 pages. In 1953 Orff instruments were added to the product range. When Otto Link died in 1955, the management of Sonor passed to his son Horst Link. He wanted to bring the company back to its old size and continuously expanded production and the product range. In 1956 the third Sonor drum kit / musical instrument catalog appeared with over 100 pages. Some of the most famous jazz stars of the time such as Kenny Clarke , Connie Kay or Lionel Hampton played sonor instruments at the time.

In 1991 it joined the Hohner Group, and in 1997 the company cooperated with the Taiwanese-run KHS group of companies . The production of inexpensive drum kits and drum components was relocated to Tianjin in China. In 2000 Sonor celebrated its 125th anniversary.

Special achievements and inventions

Drums

  • 1900 - the world's first foot pedal
  • 1935 - the world's first double foot machine (duplex)
  • 1930 - Snare drum with 3-way carpet lift-off
  • 1935 - pedal and first hi-hat
  • 1955 - first drum set with concert toms
  • 1973 - Champion series: drum set in rosewood (for the first time with vertically cut veneer)
  • 1980 - First single-column foot pedal
  • 1988 - Signature HLD 590 snare drum made of bell bronze, the heaviest snare drum at 15 kg

Series

  • 1960s - big beat
  • 1960s - Rocker 2000
  • 1965 - teardrop
  • 1969 - Champion
  • 1970 - Super Champion
  • 1970s - Action (successor to Rocker 2000)
  • 1970s - swingers
  • 1975 - Phonic
  • 1983 - Lite
  • 1981 - Signature (successor to Phonic)
  • 1981 Champion (Taiwan) (successor to Action)
  • 1982 - Super Champion (Taiwan)
  • 1985 - Performer (successor to Super Champion; German production again)
  • 1987 - panther
  • 1987 - Signature Lite
  • 1990 - International
  • 1990 - Sonor Signature Jet Set (Limited edition)
  • 1990s - Hilite
  • 1990s - Hilite Exclusive
  • 1990s - Force series (1000, 2000, 3000, Maple, 503/5/7, 1003/5/7, 2003/5/7, 3003/5/7)
  • 1993 - Hilite Nussbaum
  • 1994 - Designer series, first custom series
  • 1995 - Sonic Plus (birch) made in Germany, the successor to the Force 3000
  • 1997 - Sonic Plus II (Maple Mahogany) made in China
  • 1997 - S-Class (Birch, Maple) and S-Class Maple
  • 2000 - S-Class Pro Series, Delite Series
  • 2000 - Special Edition Snare, brass shell (hardware from S-Class Pro and Delite)
  • 2001 - Giant-Step
  • 2006 - S-Classix
  • 2006 - SQ2 series
  • 2010 - Smart Force, Essential Force, Select Force, Extreme Force, Ascent (beech)
  • 2012 - ProLite
  • 2013 - Birch Infinite Special Edition
  • 2015 - Vintage Series
  • 2017 - SQ1 series, AQ2 series, 3D configurator for SQ² Custom Drum System
  • 2018 - AQ1 series

Known users of Sonor (selection)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Information about the drums of the century
  2. ↑ Welcome back Nicko McBrain! sonor.com, accessed on January 25, 2016 (German).

Web links

Commons : Sonor  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 51 ° 3 '4.1 "  N , 8 ° 17' 0.9"  E