Having owned and gigged with both model drums I offer this critique: Premier's Super Ace with the handle protruding through the shell looks really cool and classy. Its parallel throwoff mechanism differs from that of the later model Royal Ace. The Super Ace mechanism has a 'smoother' feel in comparison but tends to wear rather poorly over time, becoming knackered and dysfunctional so that proper alignment and full head contact with the snares becomes almost impossible. The Super Ace snare assembly resembles the typical set of twenty strand snappy snares we see today soldered at their ends to metal end plates, the difference being the metal end plates' edges are rolled over forming enclosed channels through which elongated pins are inserted to secure the snare wire assembly on each side. In contrast, Premier's Royal Ace parallel mechanism is much improved over that of its predecessor. This better engineered mechanism gives both perfect alignment and superb snare response. Even so, the action has a bit of a heavy spring-loaded feel and 'pops' audibly when throwing on the snares. Royal Ace snare wires consist of two individual sets of ten wires, each lying side by side enclosed within the undersides of the butt plates. Royal Ace throwoffs are problematic because of a flawed design of the snare wire end plates which secure the wires to the drum. Rather than being fully rolled over into round channels through which the pins are inserted, they are simply "crimped over" to form a rounded and open sided 'claw'. To attach the wire sets threaded end pins are inserted traversing the butt plates so that the open sided crimped metal end plates of the wire assemblies lay on top of these pins. The wire strands straighten and align parallel to the bottom snare head by adjusting the dual tension knobs; one on each butt plate. Over time these snare wire end plates suffer metal fatigue and will no longer allow for adequate tension. The wires rattle rather than snap crisply. Overtightening the tension knobs to compensate causes both the delicately threaded butt plates to strip out as well as bending of the end pins securing the snares. By the late 1960's Premier addresses these inherent design flaws: snare wires now would have flat metal plates with cut out channels to fit over vertical pins on newly designed butt plates. Dual spring loaded and internally threaded large knurled knobs hold and maintain constant snare tension and parallel alignment. There are still some new old stock snare wire sets to be found and I believe there are also retro-manufactured wires on the market for use with Royal Ace drums. I've always thought of my vintage Premier kits as high maintenance fashion models - stunningly beautiful, fun to play with, and demanding constant attention!

got the snare today and i am thinking i should have passed on it. the wires dont line up properly, one of the wires is bent/buckled whatever you want to call it and one of the pins on the mechanism is shot/threaded on the throw side. the tensioner on the throw side wont tension properly, so i guess the mechanism will need some tinkering to get it to tension properly...if thats possible? the wrap looks like contact, the slotted lug nuts have been changed for after market square types and some of the housings (not sure of the actual name) that the nuts go into on the lug casings are after market and dont match the size of the originals. thats the bad side done.

now for the good: the shell is perfect along with the bearing edges, no extra holes at all in the shell, the hoops are ok and now i got to decide what i want to do with it? i could modify it and turn it into a player or try to restore it to its former glory....any suggestions guys? now i know why i dont buy from Ebay.

Having owned and gigged with both model drums I offer this critique: Premier's Super Ace with the handle protruding through the shell looks really cool and classy. Its parallel throwoff mechanism differs from that of the later model Royal Ace. [COLOR="Red"]The Super Ace mechanism has a 'smoother' feel in comparison but tends to wear rather poorly over time, becoming knackered and dysfunctional so that proper alignment and full head contact with the snares becomes almost impossible[/COLOR]. The Super Ace snare assembly resembles the typical set of twenty strand snappy snares we see today soldered at their ends to metal end plates, the difference being the metal end plates' edges are rolled over forming enclosed channels through which elongated pins are inserted to secure the snare wire assembly on each side. In contrast, Premier's Royal Ace parallel mechanism is much improved over that of its predecessor. This better engineered mechanism gives both perfect alignment and superb snare response. Even so, the action has a bit of a heavy spring-loaded feel and 'pops' audibly when throwing on the snares. Royal Ace snare wires consist of two individual sets of ten wires, each lying side by side enclosed within the undersides of the butt plates. Royal Ace throwoffs are problematic because of a flawed design of the snare wire end plates which secure the wires to the drum. Rather than being fully rolled over into round channels through which the pins are inserted, they are simply "crimped over" to form a rounded and open sided 'claw'. To attach the wire sets threaded end pins are inserted traversing the butt plates so that the open sided crimped metal end plates of the wire assemblies lay on top of these pins. The wire strands straighten and align parallel to the bottom snare head by adjusting the dual tension knobs; one on each butt plate. Over time these snare wire end plates suffer metal fatigue and will no longer allow for adequate tension. The wires rattle rather than snap crisply. Overtightening the tension knobs to compensate causes both the delicately threaded butt plates to strip out as well as bending of the end pins securing the snares. By the late 1960's Premier addresses these inherent design flaws: snare wires now would have flat metal plates with cut out channels to fit over vertical pins on newly designed butt plates. Dual spring loaded and internally threaded large knurled knobs hold and maintain constant snare tension and parallel alignment. There are still some new old stock snare wire sets to be found and I believe there are also retro-manufactured wires on the market for use with Royal Ace drums. I've always thought of my vintage Premier kits as high maintenance fashion models - stunningly beautiful, fun to play with, and demanding constant attention!

You must make the decision as to what is the best action. If I may suggest a few options to consider: Depending on the price paid, if the item was misrepresented in its auction listing, and whether or not the ebay seller accepts returns, you may opt to contact the seller and demand a full refund. Sometimes a seller may offer you enough of a partial refund in hopes that you will keep the drum, accept the refund, and in so doing avoid all the trouble of repacking/shipping. If you actually like the drum and feel it is worthy of restoration you may decide to keep it to use as a "guinea pig" subject to learn all the ins and outs of vintage Premier repair/restoration. You might also choose to keep the drum for a "parts drum" resource for vintage Premier parts. A remaining option is to attempt to recoup your loss by "parting out" all the good pieces like lugs, hoops, knobs, heads, shell - listing them on ebay on separate auctions. Often the rare parts can be worth more than the whole assembled drum when purchased separately. The after market square head tension rods now on the drum might be viable if they're actually 70's - 80's Premier or Olympic square heads with the same threading as the earlier slot head rods, which have a thread gauge of 7/32-24. Otherwise they are international size standard 12-24 rods and will thread in but fit slightly loose, causing the heads to lose their tension while you play. Should you opt to keep it and repair/restore contact Bikers locally who own and work on the vintage British motorcycles. They will prove to be an excellent source of British Standard and Whitworth threading taps and dies necessary to repair castings and parts. However, remember that even when functioning smoothly and with no stripped or damaged parts the Super Ace mechanism may still fail to give you the snare response and sound you desire. It's just comes with owning an antique English mechanism with inherent design weaknesses. I would very much enjoy seeing a few photos here of your drum if that is at all possible.

Hey BB,

thanks for all the info and advice its greatly appreciated. i know of a guy in Sydney (australia) who has restored these types of snare, so i am going to give him a bell and see if he can fix the original set up...depends on how costly that will be as well. i paid including postage $192...i have a mate that has a super ace and the throw has been replaced with a standard pearl setup and he loves it. pm me you remail address and i will fire off some pics of the snare from my iphone.