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Canadian maple shells give the 3007 a professional quality. There are 13 finish options in all

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Sonor's 3007 sits at the top of the extensive Force series, which also features the 2007, 1007 and 507. The 3007 spec is basically unchanged for the past two years, but now some new finishes have been added.

Plus, there's the new Rock format of our review kit, a four piece with traditional 12"x8" and 16"x16" toms coupled with 14"x6" matching wood snare and fashionably oversized 22"x20" bass drum.

Build

Although made in China, the 7-ply shells have outer and inner plies of Canadian maple. OK, the inner core is Chinese maple, but that's hardly going to make any difference.

The bass drum is 7.2mm thick, with 2.4mm of Canadian maple inside and outside of a 2.4mm Chinese maple core. The toms and snare are 5.8mm thick, with 1.7mm Canadian maple surrounding a 2.4mm Chinese maple core.

Construction is via Sonor's proprietary Cross Laminated Tension Free process (CLTF) and the quality of the Canadian maple is evidenced by the natural lacquered review kit which has a pronounced swirly grain. All the shells have sharp 45° bearing edges with the tiniest of round-overs to the outside edge. Bass drum hoops are smoothly rounded and lacquered to match the shells.

"Although the 3007 is Sonor's top semi-pro kit, these days it's increasingly difficult to distinguish from a pro set"

To the previous impressive array of finishes – Piano Black, Blue Sparkle, Sunburst, Maple, Midnight Fade, Red Maple and Autumn Fade – Sonor adds Black-Red Fade Sparkle and Orange Fade Sparkle (both with black shell hardware) and Smooth Red or Brown Burst.

Lugs are single-ended (double-ended on the snare), bearing Sonor's twin mallet logo, mounted on black plastic isolating plinths. Each bass drum claw encloses a thick rubber isolating and hoop-protecting pad.

Supplied heads are Remo's budget UTs, also made in China. The toms have Ambassador style clear batters and resonants, while the kick has a Powerstroke-3 style edge-damped batter, coupled with a fully intact black logo head to the fore.

Completing the kit is a generous 400 series hardware pack. The single chain drive bass pedal has a direct, tight feel so the double-sided felt or plastic beater delivers a firm wallop. There's an adjustable toe stop and the large base plate has a complete, non-slip, ribbed rubber underlay.

The jaw clamp also has a plastic grip to protect your bass drum hoop. The matching hi-hat has a swivel footboard to ease positioning if you use a double pedal etc. Bottom cymbal angle is controlled by a cleverly designed click-stop tilter knob.

A similar thumb-grip knob allows adjustment of spring tension, while the pull rod is hexagonal so the top cymbal is clamped more securely.