Sonor · Teardrop · about 1952–1971
Teardrop is what collectors call Sonor's kits from the years the lug looked like a falling drop of water, roughly 1952 to the early 1970s. Sonor didn't sell a model by that name. Its 1964 UK catalog offered the same drums as five numbered Star outfits, from the small Memphis Star up to the Super Star, with a 20-inch bass drum as standard and a 22-inch at extra cost. These were the drums the Link family built after rebuilding the company in Aue in West Germany, and Sonor says jazz drummers like Kenny Clarke and Connie Kay played Sonor in the 1950s. Finishes moved from marble stripes, sparkles and leopard-pattern Cubana in the early 1960s to rosewood and ruby pearl by 1969 and 1970. The badge changed every few years, which makes dating easy if it's original. In 2015 Sonor brought the look back with its Vintage Series, using newly designed teardrop lugs on 9-ply beech shells. Sonor's 1960s catalogs only say wooden shell, so don't trust a listing that names the wood. Buy the set whose badges and finish agree on every drum.
Inside the shellTeardrop
The logo dates it. A painted script logo fits 1953–1954, a metal script logo about 1954–1959, a logo of two drum beaters a short spell in the early 1960s, and a square aluminum badge from about January 1963, later chromed with the logo stamped in. Some drums carry an extra small Made in Western Germany tag from the early 1960s.
Kits this old often have a swapped drum from a later era, which shows as a different badge or a different lug. Floor tom legs, bass drum spurs and the internal dampers are the parts most often missing.
Buying guide
There's one teardrop-lug Sonor for sale, a rosewood bop kit with an 18-inch bass, 12-inch tom and 14-inch floor tom at $7,149 delivered, so its price isn't a market read. Teardrop sets with an 18-inch bass are the rare layout, and rosewood was one of the last teardrop finishes, arriving around 1969. The first photo shows a square badge on the floor tom, which fits 1963 on, so ask for the badge on every drum to confirm they started out together. Ask for photos inside each shell and of the bearing edges too, and make sure it isn't a 2015-on Vintage Series kit, which has teardrop-style lugs on new beech shells.
$7,149.00est. delivered
The only teardrop kit on eBay right now, a rosewood bop set with an 18-inch bass, 12-inch tom and 14-inch floor tom. The 18-inch bass is the rare layout, so ask for each drum's badge and inside-shell photos before you offer.
Vintage And Extremely Rare Sonor Teardrop Rosewood Bop Drum Set 18/12/14
Delivered prices include shipping as eBay quoted it to a US address on Oct 12, 2026. Many sellers charge by distance, so your total may differ. eBay shows yours before you pay.
Snapshot
Checked . Some may have sold.
Delivered prices include shipping as eBay quoted it to a US address on Oct 12, 2026. Many sellers charge by distance, so your total may differ. eBay shows yours before you pay.
Used$7,149.00est. delivered
$6,999.00 + $150.00 shipping
Buy It Now$6,999.00
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Good buy
Rosewood bop kit, 18/12/14, three drums. Photo shows a square badge on the floor tom.
Seller: sonormallets
100% positive
Prices change daily. The live eBay search shows everything listed now, including anything new since Oct 12, 2026.
See every listing on eBay ↗eBay searchSonor · Teardrop
SnareTeardrop snare D421
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