Sonor
AQX Jazz 4-Piece Shell Pack (18,12,14,SD) - Blue Ocean Sparkle
Specs
• Material: poplar shells
• Construction: Bass Drums, Tom Toms, Floor Toms, Snare Drums: 9 plies, 7.2 mm
• Shell hardware finish: chrome plated
• Bass drum mount
• Pre-Muffled Bass Drum Heads
• AQ Lugs including TuneSafe
Configuration:
18x14" Bass Drum
12x8" Tom Tom
14x13" Floor Tom
13x6" Snare Drum
Including Tom/Cymbal Holder
Q & A
Reviews
I honestly didn\'t expect much from this, I wanted an affordable compact kit that didn\'t look cheap.
So the good:
- It looks awesome, honestly it does NOT look budget, and looking good on stage is important to me and is one of the reasons I bought this over other affordable \"bop\" sized kits
- Nice sizes (no interest here in compact kits with only a 10\" tom and 13\" floor tom)
- The 13x6\" snare is a cool unusual size, which is great because if you\'re serious you\'re gonna be using this with a \"proper\" snare anyway, and this makes a great side snare instead of just ending up unused.
- In true Sonor style, the hardware overall is pretty good. It stays tuned, the tom and ride holders are solid and don\'t sag when playing. Nice fat rubber ends on the kick and floor tom legs.
- It has memory locks pretty much everywhere, even on the kick spurs. Setting it up is a breeze.
- Real wood hoops with 8 lugs a size on the kick (they would have looked better wrapped though)
- 8 lugs a side on the 14\" floor tom (painful memories of a Pearl Decade 16\" floor tom with just 6 lugs a side... PITA to tune)
The bad:
- It sounds \"okay\" at best AFTER you have upgraded the heads. As you can expect from any imported poplar budget kit, the shells don\'t have a clear note or much sustain. Basically, it doesn\'t really have a sound of its own, so it\'s all about what heads you\'ll put on it. It\'s a perfectly fine live kit when closed mic\'d, or for low volume acoustic gigs, but it\'s not a room filling sound.
- The kick feel takes some getting used to. If you\'re a heel up guy, accidental doubles are an issue. Tuning the batter head down a bit and porting the reso head helped a LOT. This may just be me not being used to a smaller kick size.
- If your plan is to tune the 18\" kick way down to use this as a small footprint \"rock\" kit, you may be disappointed. Even with a proper Remo USA Powerstroke 3 head, the \"note\" of the kick basically dies before I get it down enough for that kind of sound. Then again, you may like this because you won\'t have the need for much muffling to get it sounding good mic\'d. Perhaps with a different head style.
- No riser for the kick. It\'s not that big of a deal, and is common with these compact kits, but the Gretsch Catalina Club Jazz for example comes with one (appears to be the Gibraltar SC-BDPM which is like 30$ anyway, Gibraltar and Gretsch are both DW brands so it makes sense they would use that one). I may or may not get one eventually, but it hasn\'t really been an issue so far. The kick spurs do have enough range to raise it up if you add a riser.
One interesting thing: there was a Ludwig Breakbeat right next to it in the store and... exact, and I do mean exact same wrap. Looking at the shell, same shell composition too. So if you like the Breakbeat but would rather have an 18\" kick (with wood hoops instead of plastic), then look at this.
Protect your investment with the Long & McQuade Performance Warranty
A warranty can be a very important factor when making a buying decision. Because repairs can be very expensive in terms of parts and labour costs, manufacturers usually only provide one year limited warranties that generally only cover items that malfunction due to a manufacturer’s defect. With an important purchase such as a musical
instrument or piece of studio gear, however, many people want to have the peace of mind in knowing that their investment will be protected should the product no longer be performing at 100%.
Because of this, Long & McQuade provides our customers with a FREE one-year Performance Warranty on most of our products. The Long & McQuade Performance Warranty supplements the manufacturer’s warranty to ensure that our customers receive complete “no hassle” warranty coverage within their first year.
How does the Long & McQuade Performance Warranty differ from most manufacturers' warranties?
- Performance Guarantee: Normal wear and tear is covered, so your product will be performing as well as the day you purchased it for the entire duration of the coverage. Band and Orchestral Performance Warranty does not include replacing pads or cleaning for woodwind instruments, unless deemed necessary by our repair staff. Ultrasonic cleaning for brass instruments will be provided if deemed necessary by our repair staff, but is not routinely offered under the Performance Warranty.
- Product Replacement: If your product cannot be fixed or costs too much to fix, we will replace it with the equivalent model for no additional charge. If this is not possible, a full refund will be provided.
- No Lemon Policy: Your product will be replaced should the same problem occur multiple times.
- Convenient: Easy drop off and pick up of the product at any Long & McQuade location.
- Guitar Setup: Guitars purchased at Long & McQuade come with 1 free setup, to be redeemed within 1 year for new guitars and 90 days for used guitars.
- Loaners Available: A loaner product may be given while the product is being repaired.
- Power Surge Protection: Your product is covered even if damaged from a power surge.
- Accessory Coverage: Any peripheral devices or accessories that come with your product (i.e. foot pedal, case) are also covered.
- Commercial Use Coverage: Music and recording professionals who purchase gear for “heavy-use” commercial purposes will still be covered.
Long & McQuade reserves the right to restrict the purchase of additional years of Performance Warranty. Used products come with a 3-month Long & McQuade Performance Warranty. Some products (i.e. computers, software, cymbals and other items) are covered only by the manufacturer‘s warranty. Consumables (i.e. strings, reeds, drum sticks, batteries, tubes, cross faders) are excluded as they are designed to be replaced. Cosmetic Damage, Accidental Damage, or problems caused by Humidity or Temperature Issues are not covered. Speakers damaged by overpowering are generally not covered. Our coverage does not provide compensation for loss of use. As of June 2018 the Performance Warranty is no longer transferable. The warranty is only valid in Canada.
Purchasing additional years of coverage
Some manufacturers provide warranties for longer than 1 year; however, these are usually limited warranties that do not provide the same coverage as the Long & McQuade Performance Warranty. Customers interested in more complete and convenient (but not necessarily longer) coverage are still able to purchase additional years of the Performance Warranty.
If you are interested in receiving this coverage for longer than one year, you have the option of purchasing additional years of the Performance Warranty. The pricing is as follows:
- NEW products: 4% of the current new selling price to double the warranty from 1 year to 2 years. 4% for each additional year.
- USED products: 4% of the current new selling price to increase the warranty from 3 months to 1 year. 4% for each additional year.
- GUITARS: 4% of the current new selling price to double the warranty from 1 year to 2 years. 4% for each additional year. $45 maximum. An additional free setup is not included with additional purchased years of Performance Warranty.
- BAND and ORCHESTRAL instruments: 4% of the current new selling price to double the warranty from 1 year to 2 years. 4% for each additional year.
Great Additions
Reserve in Store
| Product | SKU | Qty |
|---|---|---|
| AQX Jazz 4-Piece Shell Pack (18,12,14,SD) - Blue Ocean Sparkle | 748271 |
