A VISIT TO GERMANY AND SONOR - page 3

From the showroom we entered the factory facility at the drying room. Where pallets and pallets of rosewood, palissander, pau ferro and other exotic tonewoods dry in preparation for manufacture into xylophones and marimbas.

I did not realie how much of Sonor's production capacity was dedicated to percussion instruments other than our beloved drums.

Karl-Heinz Menzel graciously gave me a one on one tour of the facility. He is explaining here that the woods come in from all over the world and are kept at a constant temperature and humidity to ensure even curing. Behind David (taking the picture) is a drying oven where the woods are cured at 60° Celcius for some 4-6 weeks before being processed into tone bars. The result is wood with an internal humidity of about 5%.

A look around...

Next, to the receiving area, where all of the components arrive, are inspected, sorted and put in the proper bins for use later on. This is where the first QC steps occur. If the parts don't meet Sonor's criteria they are rejected.

Raw castings for Giant step pedals

Some brass snare shells and tubes for bar chimes

Steel that will be turned into glockenspeil bars

Rubber and plastic parts