Three Top Tier Bop Kits Head-to-Head
Jazz. It’s one of America’s original art forms and provides the soundtrack for your Sunday brunch. The anchor of any good Jazz trio is the bop kit drum set. Just like the eggs in your Sunday brunch, there are many ways to make a bop kit. We chose three magnificent maple bop kits from three different manufacturers to compare their discernable differences. Our “Bop Kit Battle” participants are the Sonor SQ2, Canopus RFM and the Ludwig Classic Maple Jazzette.
The Parameters
For this comparison, we chose three maple kits in “standard” bop configuration. Each kit consisted of a 12-inch rack tom, 14-inch floor tom and an 18-inch kick drum. The depths of the drums were also standard, except for the Canopus and its 13-inch deep floor tom. Accenting these three gorgeous kits were some seriously high end Paiste cymbals. The hi-hats we selected were some genre-appropriate 15” 602 Modern Essentials. The crash cymbal was a luxurious 20-inch Signature Traditionals Light Crash, and the ride was a 22” Masters Dry. For a comparison this classy, we needed an extraordinary snare drum. After much deliberation, we decided on the Schagerl Anteres Brass 14x6.5 snare drum with Black Hardware.
Canopus RFM Bop Kit
The first kit we set up was the Canopus RFM in a Bitter Brown Oil finish. Canopus drums are a staff favorite at Drum Center of Portsmouth. They are a boutique-level brand that is devoted to the science of their sound. They build their drums from scratch, and spend an obsessive amount of their resources on R&D. Canopus has a drum line for every conceivable genre of musician, and their RFM Bop Kit was a joy to experience. The 12-inch tom uses a RIMS style mount, and their proprietary low-profile solid lugs are very sleek. Their Bolt-Tight leather washers are a small but ingenious addition that help keep the kit in tune throughout your gig. RFM shells have a relatively vintage vibe to them, as they are thin and sport reinforcement rings. They arrive from the factory with Remo coated Ambassadors on both the top and bottom, giving them a focused, slightly drier tone. The low end is prominent when tuned low, and they have clean, crisp tone when tuned up high. he Canopus RFM kit falls right in the middle of the three kits, pricewise. You get a ton of value for your money with this kit.
Sonor SQ2 Maple Bop Kit
The Verdict
The idea behind this comparison was to highlight three flavors of maple bop kits that might not be on every drummer’s radar. Despite their base-level similarities, each kit managed to distinguish itself visually and sonically. The RFM had a unique tone with a slick, vintage vibe that would easily hold its own in any trio. Canopus makes an incredible instrument and may be the best manufacturer you’ve never heard of. At Drum Center of Portsmouth we like to say that people who know drums, know Canopus. If you aren’t familiar, you should definitely get acquainted! The SQ2 gave us everything we expected from an ultra high-end, custom drum set. Flawless tone. Gorgeous finish. Practical, sturdy hardware. You pay a premium when you choose a Sonor SQ2, but you know exactly where your money has gone once you sit behind your instrument. Ludwig’s Jazzette kit performed well above its price tag. It’s can be argued that the sound you get from the Classic Maple shells is preferable to that of a kit costing twice as much. Great looks, practical hardware and distinguished tone make this kit an undeniable value.