SONOR AQ2 150th Anniversary Edition Drum Kit - Soundcheck by Bryan Macaranas

As soon as I heard about the release of the Sonor Limited Edition, AQ2 150th Anniversary Drum Kit - I ordered one straight away for the drum shop. Its a fantastic opportunity to own a piece of Sonor history, within reach and budget for most fans of the brand; definitely a welcome decision from Sonor considering not all of us could afford the higher end, more limited 150th Anniversary products released months prior. But ultimately - it all comes down to sound . And I know how well AQ2 drums sound...I'm already a fan having owned one. But I've never recorded one, at least not in this configuration, so I cannot surpass the opportunity to soundcheck one. I recorded it as natural as I could with minimal effects (reverb) and no compressions bit of EQ on the floor toms, zero muffling. All the drumheads were replaced with EVANS G2 Clear on tom batters, G2 Coated on snare batter, and Clear EQ4 on kick batter - purely to maintain the brand new state of the factory 150th stamped heads. Have a good listen at the full bodied tones, balanced attack/warmth of these drums and would be right at home in any recording OR live gigs. This set is for shop stock and available to buy now from THE DRUM HQ, but I am most certainly ordering another one to add to my collection, ya heard!

Visit the The Drum HQ shop here: www.thedrumhq.com.au

Recorded at Dirty Laundry Studios Brisbane QLD, Australia AUGUST 2025
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DRUM GEAR LIST
SONOR AQ2 Limited Edition 150th Anniversary Edition
All Drums in Gloss 'Ebony' Veneer Finish Outer
10x7 Rack Tom
12x8 Rack Tom
14x13 Floor Tom
16x15 Floor Tom
22x17.5 Bass Drum
14x6 Snare Drum

UFiP Cymbals (L-R)
16" Blast Hi-Hats
8" FX Dry Splash
7" Class Splash
8" Ice Bell
20" Blast Crash w/ 6" Class Splash inverted
22" Blast Extra Dry Ride
10" Class Hi-Hats
18" Tiger Crash (modded)
21" Vibra Crash
12" Hyper Stax
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RECORDING & MONITOR GEAR
Porter & Davies 'Gigster' Drum Throne Monitor
Mics are mix of brands
Beyerdynamic 57/58c for rack and floor tom
Beyerdynamic D50d for main snare
Lewitt LCT240 as overheads
Lewitt DTP640REX w/ Dr Alien Smith Subkick 01 for kick
Sennheiser e906 for snare bottom
Prodipe A1 Pencil Condenser for hi-hats
Logic Pro X DAW
Audient id44 + SP8 Interface