And pics of the rack tom...

Cheers

And finally pics of the snare...

Cheers

Hello,

That tom holder bracket is sooo sweet! Love it. Unfortunately I can' t be of real help, but if it's coming to Prem & Co., you should ask in this UK-forum as well:

http://www.mikedolbear.com/forum/default.asp

John Grey (and sons) somehow disappeared in the 50/ 60s, [and there was a connection to Premier for sure (style of lugs can't hide it) - edited, 'cause this information is not correct].

Ralf

Really cool and nice set !

Never seen before this style kit.

George.

There was no connection between John Grey and Premier, except for the normal ones you would expect , when two companies are producing competing products in the same part of the world and marketplace. Clearly, they would share some common ideas and work off of others designs and employees might move back and forth between them and occasionally one company might contract the other to produce a part or two.

Some components , such as mufflers and possibly spur mounts may be common to the two companies----perhaps John Grey had parts made for them by Premier but the John Grey lugs ,although in a similar style to some Premier lugs are different and went through several different series.

I saw these drums on KIJIJI , I think and I had never heard of John Grey Capri----only the common brands Broadway, Autocrat, Shaftesbury etc.

The fittings and look, are pretty much a Broadway Kit----with the 6 lug and 5 lug drums. John Grey was very unique in being committed to diecast hoops---they even put them on their cheap drums.

John Grey did not make cymbals but had Premier make the Kamalas for them but they were essentially the more cone profiled Zyns/Kruts( Zyns and Kruts came out in two distinct shapes), stamped Kamala instead.They have a very shrill almost Chinese sound with a quick decay. They were John Grey's third line of cymbals behind Zyn(which they also sold) and A. Zildjian. The others being fitted with the higher end kits or as a preferred option.

The drums should have Ash shells( not sure on this but it is likely) and for an entry level kit have the potential to be surprisingly good. The heads on the rack tom are likely to be 11 7/8" and it may be necessary to source the Remo --Pr. heads for this drum= if heads are ever needed.

Calfskin is correct. Yes Sir

Ralf

Thanks for the info calfskin!! It has been very helpful...The interiors are a very light colored wood that does resemble ash...The snare/rack tom do have the slotted metric tension rods, so I believe that you would be correct in saying that they may be an 1/8" under sized...

Very interesting info regarding Kamal cymbals as well...Until this kit, I have never heard of them before!!

Any guess on value of the kit as pictured?

Cheers

English drums are really hard to put a value on in Canada and the U.S. because ,aside from Premier, very few North Americans know of, or appreciate any of them. They are kind of, tossed into a pot with any of the MIJ labels or odd German drums, other than Sonor. ---- but from a pure quality point of view-shell quality, triple chrome plating to the British standard, diecast hoops, wrap designs, precise sturdy built in mufflers, factory mounted high quality heads; they are far and above anything MIJ from the 60's and at least the equal of Sonor, Rimmel,Tacton, Deri, Trowa or Lefima. Only Trixon might rise above them but only in some ways(shell construction, hardware and wrap).

I haven't mentioned sound here because it is a somewhat subjective thing but the sound of the British drums need not take a back seat to anyone. It is only through a fluke of Sociology that they weren't more popular and only Premier managed to survive. Broadway's(Capri?) , being an entry level kit , would be lumped in with Olympic,Beverley( 60's Beverleys), Edgware, Stratford and perhaps Gigster-----all second line products for their respective companies. Only John Grey and Boosey&Hawkes maintained diecast hoops on their second line but all of the companies, curiously offered inferior hardware on the lower priced kits-----perhaps this attention to quality and detail was part of their demise, ; it surely must have been expensive to produce these drums and the frailness of substandard hardware on the budget kits didn't help their marketability.

You can be sure that the drums are worth more than their monetary value---but to answer the question----I would think 200.00 for a shell pack would be fair depending of course on condition. Unfortunately a Kamala cymbal is only a curiousity as would be the hardware ,unless it had been custom ordered or upgraded.

Thanks calfskin for your expertise!! I really appreciate it!!

Cheers