Congrats! I just got an early 70's Premier Outfit and it sounds fantastic! I hate the tom mounting hardware! It's very difficult to adjust and though others have suggested it's really stable once you get it how you like it, that wasn't my experience. I found that the post in the bass drum was never secure. Lame I've opted for a separate snare stand for my 13" rack tom and don't use the 12". This setup works great. Here's a pic with the tom on the mount. My finish is called aqua shimmer.

Brian

thanks for the heads up on that. i'll probably buy the pearl mount for the 12". Sizes are 18x14, 12x8, 14x14. I also have that pearl mcx snare set up. I'm thinking of trading it in for an old timey nickel plated snare. I also have an arbiter 13" maple single tuner jawn also british made but haven't played it since my band's first album recording. I'm about to buy a 60s zildian ride from my friends uncle :)

I checked out the catalogs online but I couldnt find it. Your kit is probably in those catalogs, most were 20" bass drums. Supposedly they are the "elite" series. The hardware mounts and finish were the only indicators. The interior initially threw me off though. Ludwig put serial numbers inside the shell and these are white but no serial #.

Im happy with the sound. Mine have some road rash but nothing too big of a deal. Congrats to you as well.

Joe Smith

Joe...

I'm not an expert in vintage drums by any stretch, but my little experience on this site suggests that your cool kit is not actually a Premier kit. The bass and tom lugs, t-rods and such look like Ludwig, and though I can't see them real well, the lugs on the snare look more like Slingerland to me. Premier, as far as I can find, didn't use maple in their shells or create an elite series until the late 70's. Mostly the wood was birch/beech followed by mahogany/beech from the 60's into the mid 70's.

If you post your photo in the vintage drum section of the forum and ask for some help identifying the kit, you'll probably get some good feedback. Additional photos of the inside of shells & closer shots of badges, lugs and snare throwoff/strainer will help the real experts.

In any case, have fun with your new/old kit!

Brian

Joe, the lugs and floortom leg mounts are not Premier, suggesting that the kit in its entity is not Premier at all.

But it looks very nice!

Regards

Jon

I'll do more pics soon. Now I'm really wondering. the tom mounting hardware is premier for sure (weird circle shaped mounting brackets). And FYI that snare is a Pearl MCX Maple w/ diecast hoops. Its definitely retro inspired and it sounds pretty good. I just bought an old 15" solid wood snare to go with these shells so I might sell that Pearl soon to pay for band expenses. This drumset is probably going to be on our second album. :) Thanks for the responses.