Last Updated on July 30, 2021 by Danny
Sonor has been making drum kits from 1875 and has been used by legendary drummers like Phil Rudd. The Martini is Sonor’s offering for intermediate drummers who want a compact kit without spending more.
The Sonor martini kit has a gorgeous looking finish and sounds very good. The Martini is a pretty good drum, but it isn’t without its drawbacks. However, the drum is no longer widely available in the market, so you might want to look at Ludwig drums if you want to save yourself the hassle.
However, if you don’t want anything but the Martini, you will surely be able to find one with a little effort.
Sonor Martini Review At One Glance
The Martini is Sonor’s offering for drummers who want an excellent sounding compact drum set that can be comfortably played in small venues. It features a steel shell for the snare and maple shell for the other drums, so it packs quite a punch.
The tonal range of the maple shell allows drummers to tune the kit to suit nearly all music genres. However, it isn’t suitable for hard rock or Metal due to its smaller size.
The kit is lightweight and occupies a tiny space, so it is easy to transport and store it. The drum has quality hardware and features a good drum riser, so your kick pedal beater will always strike the middle of the bass drum.
The only issue with this kit is that it does not come with hardware or cymbals, so you will have to purchase them separately if you do not already own them. However, once you get those parts, the Martini is one of the best sounding compact kits in the world.
- Has maple shells, so it provides a broad range of tone.
- A versatile drum that can be adapted to any genre of music
- Compact kit, so you can play in small stages and storing is easy
- Portable, so you can take it to gigs without any issue
- Chrome hardware, so it should last a long time
- Has a quality drum riser
- The finish and design of the set looks amazing
- Has quality snare drum made of steel
- Doesn’t have many advanced features
- Features a direct chain pull that isn’t adjustable
- Does not come with cymbals, hardware, or a bass drum kick pedal.
- The bass drum is quite small and doesn’t pack a punch needed for hard rock.
What’s in the Box?
Being a four-piece kit, the Martini comes with a 14″ bass drum, a 12″ snare drum, an 8″ mounted tom, a 13″ floor drum, bass drum mount and floor tom legs.
As for the drum heads, you get a set of Remo’s heads. You also get a bass drum riser that makes sure that your beater always strikes in the middle of the bass drum.
You also get a mounting system for the tom that gives you endless choices in positioning the tom.
The martini drum kit also features Sonor’s TrueSafe technology that makes sure that your tension rods do not become loose when you play hard on the drum.
Who’s the Sonor Martini for?
The Sonor Martini will be an ideal drum set for anyone who needs a compact kit that sounds great. If you need to practice in a small apartment, carry the drum in a car, or play in venues with small stages, the Martini will be perfect for your needs.
The tonal range of the Martini means it’ll be great for fusion, pop, jazz drumming, or hip-hop drummers who perform on small venues. It would also be an excellent option for beginners who want a drum set that sounds nicer than typical beginner drum sets.
The compact size of the drum also means that they would be suitable even as beginner drum for children. However, the drum might not be appealing to Metal or hard rock drummers as it only doesn’t have the visual flamboyance required to captivate those audiences.
Pricing and Purchasing details
Sonor is well known throughout the drumming scene to produce high-quality drum sets. While the Martini is a good quality drum, it is still one of Sonor’s cheapest drum sets.
If you are starting to learn drums and do not already have cymbals, a kick pedal, a throne, or hardware, you would have to purchase these separately. Buying all these accessories will substantially bring up the overall cost quite a bit.
However, most compact beginner kits usually do not come with these included. For example, the Ludwig Breakbeats has the same price as Martini, and it lacks these components.
The kit is available in two colors, the Champagne Galaxy Sparkle and the Turquoise Galaxy Sparkle.
Alternative Product – Ludwig Breakbeats
The Breakbeats from Ludwig is a viable alternative for the Martini. It is priced similarly and shares many features with the Martini. You can read our review on Ludwig Breakbeats or read Customer reviews.
The Breakbeats has similar dimensions to the Martini, and it too does not come with hardware, cymbals, or a stool. Designed by famous drummer Ahmir “Questlove” Thomson & sounds pretty good.
With no significant distinction between these two kits, it’s hard to pick a favorite. Your best option would be to go to a nearby music store and see if you can test these two drums.
However, if you aren’t sure about getting the Martini, the Ludwig Breakbeats is a good-sounding compact kit that will not let you down.
My Final Opinion
The Sonor Martini tends to attract anyone who looks at it because of its fantastic design and color. The kit is quite compact, and most people might think that it doesn’t pack a punch, but the Martini proves them wrong and sounds quite amazing.
The compact size and fantastic sound mean this would be an ideal kit for traveling drummers who perform in small venues. The only thing that the set might not be suitable for is hard-hitting genres like Metal as it lacks the punch and visual extravagance for those performances.
All in all, the sound quality and flexibility of the Sonor Martini makes it an incredible option for anyone who wants a compact drum set.