https://66.media.tumblr.com/8acdc4f4bde283da558f823213b99f86/tumblr_ph2hroDIJ81sfhpj5o1_1280.jpg

Harvey Mason

triple flange on an upper set

Happy new Year everyone! x-mas2

New to me: Ron Tutt played Premier on Elvis' first Las Vegas Shows June/ August 1969! D' Drummer

Note the 18" / 20"undampened Bass Drums and completely removed Reso Heads.

IMHO the coolest looking setting: The King Burger Kin in Black and sparkling Premiers!

I have a stray....14 by 24 virgin Gloss Black Prem BD....Early 70s...pretty much NOS!..Original heads..PLUS ,I have another set of NOS heads I can sell....You dont see too many 24” in USA..so,I grabbed.....PM..If interested...thx....

Can you tell if that was a Metric set or International..

The bd Spur under the last lug- was that a metric thing on 20s/

Hi! Just chipping in as a Premier fan, and I can't resist a Prem thread on here! I'll echo what others have said about avoiding pre-international - only because of the head issue. New ones are still manufactured and available, but will prove more costly.

Also, it's worth noting that the quality of the builds didn't suffer during the period of the shift from pre-international sizes. Later 1970s rather than 1960s drums also tend to have hardware that's a little more robust. I have a set of Premier Resonators and they are fantastic drums. Clue's in the name really - very loud and focused but still with lots of character. If you ever see a Resonator, snap it up!

I played a bop sized root beer/"duroplastic" set once - it sounded great. Early 70s. Insane tuning range, miles beyond Ludwig or Slingerland (not a fan of either). Besides that I don't have much experience with the sets but will say the snares are amazing. My main snare is a 60s Royal Ace COB with the parallel mechanism stripped out for a standard throw and it still sounds great, which rarely happens when you swap out one snare system with another. (It doesn't work on Dynasonics, etc.) Soundmen love the snare and I got it for $40. The issue with Premier, as stated, is the metric heads, which kept me away from a $500 set in a cool wrap that was missing all its reso heads. BD is usually standard but the toms are often metric for late 60s sets. Also, had a piccolo COB snare that was killer but it required those "double ten" wires that are ultra rare and sell for $150+ when they do pop up so I'd need to drill it when the wires eventually went.

The question is never the build quality or sound, but the cost of maintenance and replacement parts. That said, if the seller is willing to come down, factor the hassle and scarcity of parts into what you pay for one and you'll have a great sounding high quality set for a decent price.

Early Premier drums weren't 'metric' - they were 'pre-international' size

For what its worth - Premier did not make metric drums - they were simply 'pre-international standard sized'

That's close enough; what were the The British (sized in) Whitworth? Like MGB's and early Jags?

I was a Fiat mechanic all thru the 70s and (worked on all) there was American, metric, and what the British used Whitworth I think it was..

(neither an American nor metric wrench, would fit exact on some (some would)..British bolts (they were Whitworth). I think everyone knows that. Wonder if the early Premier hoops and shells, were Whitworth sized..

https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf=ACYBGNTDn1X0pD0XCNBt90Qx2YyyRSe8mw%3A1580314405558&ei=Ja8xXszOIdiIytMP6rKj4A0&q=british+standard+whitworth+wrench+sizes&oq=british+Whitworth&gs_l=psy-ab.1.4.0i7i30l3j0j0i7i30l3j0l2j0i7i30.1665.4152..9933...0.2..0.408.1829.0j4j2j1j1......0....1..gws-wiz.......0i71j35i304i39j0i13.x4K_a8LVM2c

https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf=ACYBGNQCvmedvzzavUuFGs8AGY6tmgy1FA%3A1580314434875&ei=Qq8xXsCINdTA1QHm777QDA&q=british+standard+whitworth+&oq=british+standard+whitworth+&gs_l=psy-ab.12..35i39j0i20i263j0l2j0i20i263j0l5.68186.69967..72416...0.2..0.465.2267.0j4j3j0j2......0....1..gws-wiz.......0i71j0i22i30.oEzgsbl1-OU&ved=0ahUKEwjAsZiEmqnnAhVUYDUKHea3D8oQ4dUDCAs

There's a fantastic looking Resonator set on CL in the Boston area. And that's one fine looking 8x14 10-lug snare. The pictures aren't great, and there's no price - just "best REASONABLE offer" - which probably means he doesn't want to scare us by listing his asking price. But the snare drum looks very intriguing. Wish there were more pictures of it.

https://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/msg/d/weston-premier-resonator-drum-set/7054948364.html

As an aside, if you're ever in the market for a second hand kit (but not really "vintage"), a 90's Signia (maple) or Genista (birch) are fantastic drums for the money. I've owned my Signia kit for over 20 years and I'm still in love with it.