Search
Register
Only Admins can see this message.
Data Transition still in progress. Some functionality may be limited until the process is complete.
Processing Attachment, Gallery - 127.25678%

Need help identifying Premier Drum set + snare

Posts: 2 Threads: 1

Hi Guys,

I recently had the chance to buy an old premier drum set. I'm a bass guitarist, not a drummer but I'd like to give these drums a try. Normally I'm pretty good in finding info on basses and guitars but drums seem to be a bit out of my league. So this is a cry for help here :)

This is what I found out so far:

* It seems to be made somewhere near 1968-1970. Serial number are all between 09000 en 15000.

* Kick = 22", toms = 13, 14 and 16", snare is 14"

* The guy that sold it to me was the drummer of well known Dutch orchestra/showband from the sixties and seventies that used to tour Europe.

This is what puzzles me:

I cannot find a similar set anywhere in the catalogues. Somehow most premier drums seem to have different lugs and different set-ups.

Is this an official colour? It's black ad gold and it seems to be the original colour. Original tags and sticker (of a drum shop in Brussels) are still there.

The snare seems to be a bit deeper than a normal snare. Any ideas?

Here are the pics. Any help would be appreciated.

[IMG]http://i40.tinypic.com/10hm5q0.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i42.tinypic.com/nouhic.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i39.tinypic.com/rms3li.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i40.tinypic.com/eajckm.jpg[/IMG]

Posted on 12 years ago
#1
Posts: 1432 Threads: 110

Hello and Welcome !

This is a Premier from the late 70s (or perhaps early 80s) with the so called 'speedboat lugs'. Definitely not 60s or early 70s. Premier used such combinations of stripes, often with different colours, but this combination (black/gold) is new to me.

The snare drum is a COW (chrome of wood) type.

Don't try to evaluate the manufacturing year by the numbers on the Premier badges: there's absolutely no system behind it, as the numbers are not continuously!

A nice drumkit!

Ralf

Vintage STAR (= Pre-Tama) website: www.star-drums.de
Posted on 12 years ago
#2
Posts: 425 Threads: 20

The kit is a circa 1978-79 Soundwave mk. I - as can be found in the "1978-79 Outfits" catalogue on drumarchive.com/Premier.

The finish is in that catalogue described as for Resonator-kits only, but as has been said - with Premier many things were possible.....

Very nice kit, that can be made to sound really great - even if Soundwaves were the cheapest of Premiers at that time, the shells were the same as Elites. Only the pressed hoops and lugs from the Olympic range differed. Then again, all that distinguished Soundwave mk. Is from Olympics were finishes and the number of lugs - Olympics had only 5 on even 12" toms, and 6 or 8 each side of a Bass.

Enjoy them!

Jon

Posted on 12 years ago
#3
Posts: 1014 Threads: 14

Nice find,you should be able to make those sound good.The good thing is that if you don't have the rims and lugs for the bottom of the toms ,triple flange rims like you have on the top should be pretty inexpensive.It looks like while your snare has the slotted t rods,that the toms use standard squared off t rods,so that should be an inexpensive fix as long as the threading is pretty standard,or you might could find inserts that would work if not. I don't know enough about the sound wave kits to be sure if they used square rods or not.

Posted on 12 years ago
#4
Posts: 2 Threads: 1

Hi guys,

thanks for the info. Couldn't have identified it without your help.

Luckily the guy that sold this drumset gave me all the all the bottom rims and shells. So I put them on last weekend and the toms sound significantly better now. Also I borrowed some cymbals and hihats from a friend and bought myself a new snare stand.

So now I'm pretty much set. Now all I need to do is getting my arms and legs to do what I want them to :p.

Posted on 12 years ago
#5
Posts: 174 Threads: 4

They weren't the cheapest, The Club kits were, formally Olympics,

These were known as the "Signal" finishes, great drums, I have 3 Soundwave kits in different finishes. If you gott'em cheap, great deal

Posted on 12 years ago
#6
  • Share
  • Report
Action Another action
Something else here