I've seen this too. The wrap is different than that on American or German drums from the era.While I have no direct comparison for the pearls, some of the sparkle wraps seem more similar to the stuff that was on 60's Japanese drums, which buckles and splits as well. Perhaps, Premier, in an effort to save money and eke out an existence until Boosey&Hawkes ,John Grey and Dallas/Carlton collapsed were buying cheap wrap?

The White and black Pearls on early 1960's Premiers are definitely a bit thinner than for example modern Delmar wrap. Most of the damages I've seen has been on the top part of the bass drum. Maybe the vibration of the tom-mount causes the glue to break, let loose and eventually break,... just a theory.

Maybe just the combination,...?

Thin vibrating shells, bad glue, thin wrap.

Regarding Premier going for cheap options in the early 1960's,...???

I would doubt that. Just look at the superb chroming and the amazing craftsmanship of those thin birch shells,... probably the best of their time.

Not to mention the die cast hoops.

Neither the blue or black pearl versions of the late 50s and early 60s have any degradation in my experience and really have no fading at all. So it must be something to do with that particular color which does turn to a yellow tint over time.

I've seen it mainly on Marine but also on Black Pearl.

Don't get me wrong, I think Premier are great drums and the shells and chroming are typically British---extra fine. but....

Wrap is one of the things that a drum company can save money on.If you have ever rewrapped a kit you'll know how expensive the hand made stuff , such as Delmar or the very fine products from Deutsche Celluloid Werken that Trixon, Sonor, Tromsa, Trowa, Meazzi used is/was. The cracked stuff I pulled off of mid-60's Premier made products was thinner, brittle and had the curious feature of having an opaque backing. It seemed that it was made by the sheet , like acetate film , rather than in a block and then peeled like the cellulose product is, which is ****genous right through the sheet and usually is transparent..The other thing about the Premier wrap was that it had a coarse almost crystal- like structure, whereas the structure of the really good cellulose wrap is much finer and the texture a little more pliable.

Hi Calfskin, thanks,... great input.

My experience so far with vintage Premier drums is limited to 2 Royal Ace snare drums. A 5,5" Black pearl and a 4" White Marine. Never had issues with them but I suppose that on small surfaces, the cracking is less. I'm looking for matching sets but they all seem to have cracking issues.

I have done some rewrapping but never on 1960's Premier drums.

Soon I will get my hands on an early 1960's Premier that will need re-wrapping.

... thinking about Delmar Turquoise glass glitter.

Stedi - don´t think twice on the Turqoise Glass Glitter:

http://www.gratisimage.dk/image-A0AA_4E257C82.jpg

It looks even better in reality.

The Delmar Turqoise Sparkle is quite different, but nice too.

Jon

That is pretty wrap. Where can I get that color of wrap?

I assume that the cracks came up due to bad storage (on the attic under normal wheather conditions and for a long period). Or if someone had several gigs in the winter season meaning transportation from warm to cold to warm, etc. .

BTW, it remembers me to a trip by car I made in vain last year: totally 390 km, 'cause the Premier set I intended to pick up had cracks all over the shells Mind Blowi (yes, it was wrapped in WMP). The pics I received in advance didn't show it and the description of the set also kept still about it. No set - no joy: a quite frustrating Saturday afternoon.

Ralf