Hi,
Can anyone tell me when the Premier Artist Heritage Club kit was first produced?
I think there are two variants: The "made in England", which came mostly in natural Wood finishes and the "made in Taiwan", which is mostly seen in WMP.
I'm trying to figure out, when the first "made in England" kits came out.
Thanks in advance
I can't find an exact date. but the one in the photo has the 2nd type of badge & I think they would be 98-ish off-shore. The one I had (& loved & stupidly sold) was made 96-ish ,with a P-Badge & silver sparkle lacquer finish. Great little kits! I have an 18/12/14 Artist Birch that I use for small gigs. People seem to like it, but personally I don't think it has the tone of the UK-made Club kits. Wish I could be more exact.
Hi Funkypoodle
Thanks for your quick reply. I thought they were older. Is the mid to late nineties the first production time for this kit?
I'm looking into buying one, but the badges on the kit I'm considering are with the large red "P" sign.
Once Again: Thanks for your reply.
The red P-badge ones are the ones to get. I'd love to have another one! My totally favorite small kick drum. The 13" floor is really surprising too. I do believe that mid to late nineties was the first production time for this kit, after Yamaha, but before they did all their entry/mid level kits in asia. I dug a bit but I can't find the catalog to confirm the exact year.
I got mine used in 2000, after considering the Pearl Rhythm Traveler. After I saw the very basic construction of the Pearl, when I saw the Premier I flipped. Double-headed toms! Sparkle lacquer finish! It was light years ahead of the Pearl. Instant sale.
My configuration was a 6"x 10" tom, 8"x 20" bass drum, a 10"x 13" floor(I think) and a killer 6" x 13" snare, all UK-made Artist Birch shells with the oval badge.
That 20" kick is a killer, and smack that 13" snare with a brush for a terrific fat backbeat. My only issue is sound of the 10"; I think it's too shallow to be tuned down deep enough to be the only rack tom.
Overall, though, no one has done it better. People shake their heads when they hear that kick; they think there's a sample or a mic on it....nope. :)
Dan
Would love to have one of the early ones with that walnut finish (if anyone is willing to part with it, let me know, please ...).
Cheers, Ralf
My only issue is sound of the 10"; I think it's too shallow to be tuned down deep enough to be the only rack tom.Overall, though, no one has done it better. People shake their heads when they hear that kick; they think there's a sample or a mic on it....nope. :)Dan
Couldn't agree with you more on both counts! The Artist Birch bop kit i use right now was a custom order. The guy who ordered it switched out the toms for 12" & 14". The 10" tom on the club kits kinda determines the pitch the floor tom is going to end up with, so as not to have too large a spread.
This is the Artist Birch bop kit I use for gigs these days.
Red P badge are actually later made in Taiwan models. There was a Heritage model released as part of the XPK line in 1998 which had the red P badge but won't say 'Heritage' on it. The Heritage configuration then became the Artist Heritage in late '99 and had the oval Artist badges but were still English made till 2001. The red P badge on the Taiwanese models appeared around 2007. The series was made up till around 2013
