Hello all,
just grabbed this old Premier (see pics below) as a bargain off feebay.
She´s a 4"x15" and seems to be from the 30s-40s-era, as far as I could find out.
I didn´t clean her up at all, just fixed some snares (came without) and tuned her up - this beauty is KILLER!
Greets, Lissy
Wow that's a beauty Lissy! Very well done. Hope you enjoy it!
Thank you for your kind words!
It is indeed a very enjoyable drum, it has that kind of "twang" you can guess when you look at it. Full tone (due to the "oversized" diameter) but also crisp, and very nice overtones as well.
But, it´s not only the sound, mainly the look of the gracefully aged brass shell, tubelugs and hoops catched my eye when I searched feebay. Even the claws for the tension rods are brass. The hoops obviously are not flanged but soldered accurately. A true masterpiece of British craftsmanship.
Technically everything works fine - rods turn easily, and the strainer still moves very smooth. Almost unbelievable that this instrument is about 80 years old!
That snare could be as early as 1927 and they didn't produce bare metal snares, you had your choice of Ivory or Ebony.
So find yourself some calfskin heads, paint of your choice and try to make up some real snares for this critter.
It's a #52 De Luxe
Warning: DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN THE SNARE MECHANISM
Hello,
Lissy, congrats on this catch.
This appears to be a great and early Prem snare drum. The lugs are timeless (this type is still available at different shops). I wouldn't polish the shell, as the patina seems to tell stories about the centuries in between ...
@ the capt.: do you mean that this snare had 'strings' made of skin as snare wires?
Ralf
Hello,Lissy, congrats on this catch.This appears to be a great and early Prem snare drum. The lugs are timeless (this type is still available at different shops). I wouldn't polish the shell, as the patina seems to tell stories about the centuries in between ...@ the capt.: do you mean that this snare had 'strings' made of skin as snare wires?Ralf
NO Not what I meant, this snare shell never came without a paint finish, no bare metal, and I doubt if it were nickel plated it all wore off, so Ivory or Ebony paint. I think I've heard of guys making old fashioned snare "wires", out of guitar strings or something but they would have to be pretty flexible. The ones with the coiled wires look interesting, I need to go to a good music store and check that out
