Danny Carey Signature Snare From Sonor Drums

I recently got to visit Sonor Drum in Virginia and I had a chance to check out the new Danny Carey Signature Series Snare.

As I approached this thing, not only was I amazed by the Bronze shell that just popped at me, but the size was perfect! 14X8!! This thing is a monster and has a sound to back it up.

I personally have always preferred wood snares... but after tuning this thing and hitting it quite a few times, I am absolutely sold on this! I went through numerous tuning and tensioning steps to check the tuning range of this thing. I was amazed with the variations I got off this thing.. from a DEEP tone to a high cracking pop.

Not too mention it is one of the best looking snares I have seen with all the engravings and the engraved Danny Carey signature.

Can't wait to get one of these back to the studio and test some different heads on it!!

Sabatur Pro Audio visists Sonor Drums

Dick Turcotte from Sabatur Pro Audio recently visited Sonor Drums in Virginia for Sonor Certification. While there, Dick was able to check out the new Phil Rudd Signature Series kit. So let's see what Dick had to say about this rig:

Dick Turcotte:

"First glance at this kit made me think... Oh my god! Look at the size of those toms! A 13X12.5 rack tom, 16X16 & 18X16 Floor tom. This thing brought me back to the "80's big drums" and I was in heaven!

Now, after reconfiguring it for me (left handed) I sat down and started banging away and immediately I was absolutely impressed. The sound of the toms were like cannons. Unbelievable power! And for Basswood shells, I was extremely impressed with the sound and it had stock heads!!

So, needless to say, I will be ordering one these for myself and I am planning on doing a demo video on it!"

So there you have it.. heavy toms and cannon sounding toms make this a favorite here!!

Krank Dirty Valve 200 Bass Rig

Yes, you heard it right... Krank Amps will be releasing a new Bass Rig called the "Dirty Valve". The first version is a 200-Watt all Tube Bass Head and a matching "Basszilla" cabinet that sports 2-12's and 4-10's which can be configured completely separate but yet in one cabinet!!

When will these be available you say? Insiders are telling me mid-April they will begin shipping to dealers!

All I can say is... LOOK OUT! This thing is awesome!!

Crate Amps- Where are they all?

Well, I have to say I am a little disappointed that there are no new Crate Amps out this year. In fact, it is a real bummer that the V-Series amps are now discontinued!

Those are my personal thoughts on what's going on right now with Crate... now, on the other side of the coin, it is a tough economy out there right now and the competition is fierce. I can understand completely that Crate (Loud) is "scaling" down for the time being in order to whether the storm.

Fortunately, Crate also has Blackheart in order to give us those great affordable all tube amps that we have been looking for. Not too mention, the BV120H Blue VooDoo is still available! And for all you Solid State users, the FlexWave Series are a great bargain!

So, as an Authorized Dealer for Crate/Blackheart, and also a user... I am looking forward to when the economy turns and I have high expectations that Crate will release some great NEW products.!

Taye Drums Studio Birch Series

So Taye Drums has released a new series.. the Studio Birch series. Unfortunately I was unable to make it to the NAMM show to see it in person but from what I heard, the new series got quite the looks at the show! Especially the Double bass setup they had in a Natural Black burst color.

As you can see by the picture, this is a beautiful color and as always from Taye, a great looking kit!

Only 3 Studio Birch kits were on display at NAMM but I think it was enough to show that Taye is moving even further into the right direction. Although some may say this series is a step down from the Studio Maple series, I myself consider it merely as a replacement to the Studio Maple for those of us that like the sound of the Birch shells.

At this time, there are only 3 Studio Birch kits in the US as they will be shipping to us dealers mid-late March so some of are accepting pre-orders since the intial inventory will be moving fast! In fact, we (Sabatur Pro Audio) are actually receiving one of the 3 kits that was displayed at NAMM. We will be receiving the Galaxy White Model which we will be testing and creating another video for this series.


At the time of this post, this series is only available in 3 colors:

• Natural Black Burst
• Galaxy Ice
• Autumn Red

I am sure, as production moves forward and everyone wants more of this series, that Taye will be adding more color options but these colors are a great start!

For now, we are looking forward to receiving the NAMM kit and testing it out. From there, we will repost our findings and direct you to the demo video as well.

If you are interested in pre-ordering the Studio Birch series, click the link below to take you to them!

Taye Studio Birch Series

More configuration options will be available soon and Shell packs are available for pre-order now.