Hi Everyone -
there is a rather nice midnight blue Premier kit for sale on ebay for $385. Also comes with a bunch of stuff. The owner is honest in admitting he has no idea what year they are. The badges are the large red P - Made in England with serial numbers. Here's the crazy part - the numbers are all over the place. Here they are. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
Dave
64419 - 001310 - 001280 - 000941 - snare has no serial number but a similar badge.
I couldn't find it so a link would help. Premier are known for their incoherency concerning serial #s though. For the model info, there are catalogs here
Hi Everyone - there is a rather nice midnight blue Premier kit for sale on ebay for $385. Also comes with a bunch of stuff. The owner is honest in admitting he has no idea what year they are. The badges are the large red P - Made in England with serial numbers. Here's the crazy part - the numbers are all over the place. Here they are. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.Dave64419 - 001310 - 001280 - 000941 - snare has no serial number but a similar badge.
They started serial numbers in 1970...
Are the drums birch or mahogany inside?..Birch is 1975 and later...
You will have to provide some photos, but there are some clues to be found in the catalogues at drumarchive.com/premier - try and see for yourself.
Note the "disappearing" spurs on the bass drum, for instance - they disappeared for real after 1973 when the "folding" spurs were introduced.
Tom mounts are a clue too, like the mounts for the legs on the floortoms.
Numbers are of no use whatsoever as regards to dating.
The mahogany years generally span from the late sixties to around mid/late seventies, but on the other hand anomalities are to be found throughout the period.
Regards
Jon
Jon,
my understanding is that the Lokfast tom mount came out in 1973.
I have a partial set in that purple finish >(can't think of the name!) ,that has a Lokfast tom mount ,and disappearing spurs on the BD........transition kit?
Thanks,
Blair
Some people say the numbers were introduced for insurance identification reasons and are somewhat random and not much to do with production sequence.
Jon,my understanding is that the Lokfast tom mount came out in 1973.I have a partial set in that purple finish >(can't think of the name!) ,that has a Lokfast tom mount ,and disappearing spurs on the BD........transition kit?Thanks,Blair
I have one too - so I have decided that it must indeed be from 1973/74, as the folding spurs in LokFast mounts came right thereafter - just as the same, beefy LokFast mounts were used on the floortoms from then on.
I have retrofitted them to all the floortoms (not that many) I have or have removated and sold on, as I love them as much as I despise the earlier leg mounts, that was on my 1973/74 kit. The "disappearing" spurs I can live with, though the "folding" are better.
I think the Purple was called Royal Purple? It is in the 75 catalogue on drumarchive. "PL Royal Purple". I´d call it "Deep Purple", and play the kit in flared jeans. I like it!
And yes,
Jon
I like the Lokfast FT brackets better too...the much larger wingscrew tightens right down..
AND,I like the Lokfast mounts much better on the BD then the earlier ones that need almost 2 people to position correctly...DOH
FYI...I really feel in 73/74 is when Prem really got it all together...Yes SirPartyWalking
Blair Chewie:
Thank you everyone for the replies. The kit can be viewed on ebay. The snare shell is unpained wood without a laquer finish from what I can tell and looks as if it was made yesterday. No re-rings. All the other drums have coated resos on them so I can't tell about the interiors. The kit has those long lugs that was so typically Premier. The bass does not have disappearing spurs but rather modern looking heavy duty ones that fold back. The tom mount also looks modern and heavy duty. I guess I could ask the seller to take pics of the interiors but thought I'd go the VDF route first.
