Hello Donovan D... and Welcome to the forum!

Premier's Olympic snare drums were just a lower-price line, usually incorporating less lugs, different hoops, etc. However, they did continue to use those slotted tension rods, requiring a special drum key. Since your drum already has the slotted keys, you can find reproduction keys on eBay here... https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Premier-Slotted-Drum-Key-Fits-Premier-Olympic-Beverley-etc/123887995694?hash=item1cd84ccb2e:g:jfwAAOSwy2tdUgpT

I have a 60's Olympic snare drum, wrapped in original Red Silk, that came with "normal" tension rods. I believe they were changed out by a previous owner. I was thinking about restoring the drums back to slotted rods, but the cost of good condition rods and a key were going to set me back a bit more than $60! I'll just leave my drum as is! You already have the proper tension rods, so why not just obtain a key, and keep the drum as it was made. Good luck!

-Mark

Thank you for that information.

I want to keep it original...

I am mounting an all out search for the slotted key! It feels like a quest for the grail!

No and no.....

Plenty of slotted keys for premier drums over here in the UK. The reason premier went with the slotted rods was so that if the drummer ever lost a key he could still tune or detune using a suitable coin. No big deal not having a key. Quite simple to make one with basic skills or just use a flat small blade (screwdriver) works well....Regards sean

Like others have said, very underrated drums these, and they do sound great.

On the subject of rods, Premier mixed and matched a lot of parts in the factory, so it wouldn't be beyond the realms that this snare ended up with some slotted rods that were hanging around, even though it should've had standard ones. The diameter or gauge of the rods never changed over the years, whether they were slotted or not, so you wouldn't have a problem replacing these. Just remember to look for ones with the same thread depth.

Any idea what that thread depth is?

Thanks for the information!

I've seen varying ones on different drums! If you remove the rods from one of the heads and measure the length of the thread on it, then you'll know the length of thread you need on your standard lugs. It shouldn't make a massive difference, but I've seen some tension rods with barely a cm thread length, so it's worth checking.

If memory serves me, your Olympic snare later became rebadged as my c1981 Premier model 1005 snare. Parts for it are plentiful so you should be able to score rods without much trouble.

I have slotted rods on my 2000 snare and I wouldn’t consider them a inconvenience, but to each their own.

Pete