Learn all that's new for 2014 from Sonor's international product manager Michael Stumm, who was happy to give a booth tour.

Sonor Nebula
The first video starts with a unique kit that is only available by custom order. The Sonor Nebula Stellar Spire is a Maple medium shell SQ2 drumkit with a custom airbrushed, hand-painted finish based on an image from the Hubble telescope.

This limited edition SQ2 drum set will be offered in a Stage 3 configuration: 22x18" virgin bass drum, 10x8" and 12x9" toms, 16x16" floor tom and a 14x6" snare drum.

All shells are handmade in Germany from 9-ply, hand-selected North American Maple, featuring the air brushed Stellar Spire finish and black nickle plated fittings. The snare drum features die cast hoops made in Germany and uses Sonor's Dual Glide snare strainer system.

New SQ2 veneers
Sonor has also added two exclusive veneers to the SQ2 line in 2014: Mountain Burl and Smoked Larch. Mountain Burl is highly figured with tight swirls and burl eyes. Smoked Larch is a vertical veneer with spectacular contrast. Often used for high end furniture or interior design, the veneer sheets are 'smoked' or fumed to modify the surface color. In addition to the design, the physical properties of the wood are improved, too: it becomes more elastic, less brittle and easier to work and process in the shell manufacturing.

SQ2 Birch Infinite
At the 2014 Winter NAMM, Sonor also showed a special edition SQ2 Birch Infinite drum kit, which was introduced in December 2013. With a matte lacquer over satin veneer, this drum set is available in three colors: Vintage Amber, Vintage Onyx and Vintage Azure. The kit also features offset natural hoops and fiber skin drumheads on the bassdrum. All shells are hand-made in Germany.

Martini kit Intoxicating, ProLite series and Ascent series
The third video shows Sonor's Martini kit Intoxicating: a small set with a great sound that comes with an Emerald Isle sparkle finish. The set consists of a 14x12" bass drum, 8x8" tom tom, 13x10" floor tom and 12x5" steel snare drum. Its minimum advertised price is US $359.

Also making its debut at NAMM 2014 was Sonor's Prolite series with new Blue Sparkle finish, replacing the Ruby Red finish. The second new Prolite finish is called Chocolate Burl veneer and has a nice exotic grain. Sonor also introduced new bass drum sizes to the range of single components: 22x15" (with or without tom mount) and 24x14" (without tom mount).

Sonor's Prolite series are all made in Germany. Using only the finest hand-picked wood selections from eco-friendly resources, precision metal components, and a superior lacquering process, each ProLite Drum is a piece of art. The Vintage Maple shells are characterized by a soft, warm tone that highlights the lower pitches and provides balance in the mid-range and treble, without sacrificing projection and power.

The Ascent series marks the revival of the famous Beech shell construction that has been a trademark of Sonor throughout the decades. Thin Beech shells are used for all bass drums and thick Beech shells for the snare drums, tom toms and floor toms. This results in full rich tone, powerful and clear. The newest additions to the finish family are Coral Red (high gloss) and Matte Black (with black hardware).

The Essential Force Series, designed for advanced and semi-professional drummers, features six-ply Birchwood shells, creating a dynamic sound range. The pinnacle of the Force Series, Select Force, features 7-ply Canadian Maple shells.
A high gloss Creme White finish is now available in the Essential Force range. Select Force Series drums are now additionally offered in the new Transparent Black Burst and Blue Galaxy Sparkle finishes.

Video four: new finishes
Sonor introduced several new finishes for this year, including Vintage Onyx, Vintage Azure, Moutain Burl and Smoked Larch for the SQ2 Birch infinite series plus a Chocolate Burl finish with a nice exotic grain for Sonor's ProLite series. New for the Ascent series is the Coral Red finish, the Blue Galaxy Sparkle and Transparent Black Burst finishes are added to the Select Force series, while Sonor expanded its Essential line with a Creme White finish.

Redesigned hardware lines
All of Sonor's hardware lines (100, 200, 400 and 500 series) were completely redesigned and merged into three series: the 2000, 4000 and 6000 series. New DT 6000 RT / ST models are on their way to herald the all-new 6000 Series Hardware before the next NAMM Show in January 2015. The idea was to get the pricing down and the specs up. Starting with the stands, drum thrones and tom holders, the pedals will follow with the complete transformation and merging. Among the new features are a 8mm thread, which is an industry standard nowadays.

Sonor's new 2000 series hardware - designed for the price conscious player - and 4000 series - the midrange workhorse line - consist of a number of new items and new features including:

• new wing screw (taken from the German made hardware) for better grip
  
• new rubber feet design for maximum stability
  
• cymbal stands with retractable, knurled boom arm
  
• snare drum stands with gearless basket adjustment
  
• drum thrones include the tuning key holder

Lightweight and low level versions of the 2000 series are also available.

The new 4000 hardware series now also features a gearless cymbal tilter and new 2-segment tube clamp plus the tom arms now come with flexible open ball clamp, short hex rod

The first items of the all-new 6000 Series Hardware show top designs and an improved base result in maximum seating comfort and stability with the DT 6000 RT Round Top and the DT 6000 ST Saddle Top model. Other features in this hardware range are:

• new 2-segment top / tube clamp
  
• spindle drive
  
• reinforced brace connection

One Of A Kind snare drums
Last but not least is the sixth video about Sonor's limited edition One Of A Kind snare drums, which were one of the highlights of the Winter NAMM Show 2014.

These limited drums are the top of the line of the Sonor snare program and honour the long tradition of exiting veneers and innovative instruments within the company's history. Each series features an extremely limited run of special designed snare drums with spectacular natural grown veneers and new shell designs.

For each edition a certain tree has been selected with the goal in mind to only use the most exiting parts of the grain and set them to perfectly set vertical grain patterns. Vertical outside veneer grains have been introduced through Sonor in 1973 and a the companies trademark ever since. All veneers are sourced at specialized suppliers in Germany, which guarantee that these trees come from environment friendly sources and are exported/imported legally.

The instruments badges highlight laser cut mallet shaped logos, made out of the same veneer that is used on the snares itself. Due to the massive success with the actual Gavin Harrison Signature snare drums, Sonor chose to cooperate with Hardcase UK again. Each One Of A Kind snare drum is delivered in a hard case, made to Sonor's specification.

The first One Of A Kind snare model is the 14x7" White Ebony (diospyros embryopteris), which will be limited to 45 snare drums world wide. Its shells consist of hand selected North American Maple, 21 plies/14,65 mm thickness with a modern 45 degrees bearing edge. It's finished with a high gloss lacquered White Ebony veneer and black nickel plated fittings.

The second One Of A Kind snare model is the 14x6.25" Red Tigerwood (Larix spec.), which will be limited to 75 snare drums world wide. Its shells consist of hand selected German Beech, 9 plies/8 mm thickness with a modern 45 degrees bearing edge. It's finished with high gloss lacquered Red Tigerwood veneer and chrome fittings.

Both One Of A Kind snare drums come with:

• Dual Glide Snare System
  
• Bronze snare wires, handmade in Germany
  
• SQ2 lugs with internal Tune Safe and APS plus Sonor medium white coated drumheads on top and medium resonance head on bottom, both made by Remo USA
  
• One of a Kind badge with laser cut mallet shaped logo
  
• Exclusive packaging - includes a unique 'One of a Kind' case, made by Hardcase UK and a personal 'welcome to the Sonor family' package