As the opening statement declares: "for better or for worse" I picked this kit up FREE! on Facebook Marketplace.
The photo at the start of the video and in the thumbnail was the only image the seller uploaded of the drums; I could make out that it was a Premier Elite concert tom kit in Polychromatic Silver, but I really couldn't tell from the image whether it was a 13,14, 16, 24 or a standard 12, 13, 16, 22 configuration. As the seller was not a drummer and the kit was free, I decided not to burden the deal with too many questions and just hopped in the car and drove out to claim them!
I was initially a bit disappointed when I arrived to find it was (yet another!) classic 22" kick set-up, but thought at the time I couldn't really go wrong for spare parts - and it was free after all!
On a cold December night I loaded the drums from a farmers' outhouse, bid him Merry Christmas and head for home!
This video pretty much charts the blossoming romance and raging love affair that ensued over the following couple of weeks...
The surprise in my voice and the transformational restoration is completely genuine! I initially thought I would give it a bit of a clean, fit some part-used heads and maybe have it as a pub-gig kinda kit, not expecting anything glamorous at all!
This kit was originally silver, but has mellowed to what I can best describe as a "Gibson Gold Top" colour which is very classy and immensely pleasing to say the least!
To preempt some questions - I used a product called Novus to polish the plastic wrap. There are three grades of coarseness with this product, 1,2 and 3.
1 is like a liquid spray cleaner, good for removing grime and residue. 2 and 3 are both true polishes with a cutting compound. 3 is more coarse than 2, so depending on the level of scratches, 3 is applied first then 2. It literally cuts the finish in a similar way that T-cut will remove scratches from painted metal.
The shells polished up so well as did the chrome (Premier is famous for it's diamond chrome, the exact same chroming process as as used on Rolls Royce cars of the same era), that I decided to go all-out - sand and treat the inside of the shells and sand, fill and respray the hoops.
In all, an easy restoration project.
I opted to leave the bottom head off the floor tom. I also omitted the threaded inserts to avoid rattling - these could easily be refitted at a later date.
Tuned up and played, this kit has a classic late 70s/early 80s sound that I must say, I really like! I didn't deaden the sound too much, just engaged the internal dampers to give a soft, focused tone.
The bass drum is fitted with a white Emperor head and quite a heavy bolt of fabric dampening. the front head and hoop is retained, but a clear display head has been cut down to about 1" just to give enough margin to hold the head on the drum; otherwise, it is essentially a single-headed bass drum.
The bass drum on this kit sounds spectacular. plenty of volume and low end without being flabby. A great consistent playing surface.
Snare in the final performance clip is a Premier 36 snare drum, dated Feb '78. Tuned fat and low with a homemade o-ring, it complements the tone of the kit perfectly.
The track playing in the background and in the end performance is called Sun Salutation:Carpe Diem by Non-Verbal Reasoning.
The astute listener will notice this track features two different drum kits; the other kit on the verses and first chorus is a 1950 Carlton King, 20, 12, 14. It is featured in one of my other drumming videos, link here: • Slingerland Radio King...
Hope you enjoy the video. Let me know if you would like to see more restoration/transformation videos. I have plenty of footage from other projects I have worked on over the years.
Happy drumming!
#premierdrums #vintagedrums #restoration #drums