British Drum Company

Tamaefx said:
I didn't quite grasp al the fuzz around al Murray - I may not be British enough.
Still I really wish the best to this new company - Their lines are great, they didn't scattered in multiple lines. I especially like the Legend line, I'd just wish more colour choice, the one I see seems dull like hell. But craftmanship and hardware seem top notch and nicely designed.
The main problem is the distribution !
Would I want to buy one, I would neither know the price tag, nor where to get it !
- edit for better English sentences ;-) -
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Al Murray is a UK comedian, whose best well known creation is a character called the Pub Landlord, who takes the mick out of all sorts of stereotypically old fashioned British views, eg his belief that women shouldn't drink beer, only wine or fruit based drinks.

He's also presented well regarded historical programmes about WWII, particularly the advance across Europe after D Day. Alongside all that he's a fairly competent drummer, which is how he came to be involved with BDC.

He's a very British comedian if that makes sense and I think his style of comedy wouldn't transfer well, even to the US.
 
JohnoWorld said:
Who cares? I now add you to that list for not being able to accept someone elses opinion.

I couldn't care less if he is part of the funding for BDC. Anyone who starts a new drum company in this climate is.......yep, you guessed it..... a dick.

But there are many other reasons for calling Al Murray a dick, starting a new drum company is not one of them, even though in this climate, it's a pretty good reason on it's own
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Great ad hominem there, well done. I'm perfectly able to accept someone else's opinion, just asking why you think that someone who is prepared to do what he's done is a dick. Fine if you don't like his humour, but that's a personal opinion.

So your view is that no-one should set up a new drum company?
 
Yeah I'm also finiding the Al Murray bashing a little unnecessary and unfair. I suppose everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I can't see how anyone, famous or not, should be vilified for funding a company that produces well crafted products and gives a fresh choice to consumers. I'd rather watch an hour of Murray over 2 minutes of James Corden any day!

Anyone who can be smart, funny, humble, altruistic and help fund a drum company gets a thumbs up from me. I was in London on Monday and saw a lovely BDC kit in a shop window display. I wish them well.
 
The Modernist said:
*wild applause*

The Pub Landlord is a monumentally unfunny character.
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Comedy, like any other form of entertainment or art, is subjective. But I can't equate being unfunny with being a dick. I appreciate that some may disagree with Murray's politics, but a drum forum isn't the right place to debate that. I like what they're trying to do at BDC and I wish them luck.
 
Someone's Dad said:
Comedy, like any other form of entertainment or art, is subjective. But I can't equate being unfunny with being a dick. I appreciate that some may disagree with Murray's politics, but a drum forum isn't the right place to debate that. I like what they're trying to do at BDC and I wish them luck.
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I hope the company does well. That still doesn't take away from the fact that Al Murray is a bellend of biblical proportions.
 
Eh?......Well this thread has gotten a bit bizarre.

Maybe time to get back on track and talk about the drums perhaps.
 
Reviving this as there's no need for another thread and this company is gaining some momentum now.

I'm doing a lot of research in regards to small kits and came across their Imp kit, which I haven't heard much about. Anyone tried it>?


As for Premier. I have nothing buit good things to say about their older stuff and their value for money. They were the main brand here in Norway for a long while. If you couldn't afford a Maple Custom you had some sort of Premier kit. They sure messed up in the end, though. What happened to "The Beast"?
 
Odd-Arne Oseberg said:
As for Premier. I have nothing buit good things to say about their older stuff and their value for money. They were the main brand here in Norway for a long while. If you couldn't afford a Maple Custom you had some sort of Premier kit. They sure messed up in the end, though. What happened to "The Beast"?
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From what I know about Premier is they've had a history of issues. I think at some point they got taken over by the bank, then eventually were under Yamaha, then they got bought back but have had mix results since then.

Anyway this isn't the first time former employees for a company left and made their own company.

BDC stuff looks really interesting but I haven't seen any of it in person yet. It seems, at least in the US, they are entering a pretty crowded market of vintage styled drums. Since they will be going against C&C, Barton, and George Way not to mention the big name companies. Though for those in Europe it might be a good alternative to the US made drums.
 
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It's really just about not stepping up for more than your market can handle. I'm sure they have plenty of domestic interest. Several instrument makers here in Norway don't really export anything.

I'm a Gretsch guy, that will never change, but I'd like a few lightweight options.
 
Odd-Arne Oseberg said:
It's really just about not stepping up for more than your market can handle. I'm sure they have plenty of domestic interest. Several instrument makers here in Norway don't really export anything.

I'm a Gretsch guy, that will never change, but I'd like a few lightweight options.
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They do at least have something different about them since they are made from Scandinavian Birch instead of Maple or Mahogany like a lot of other companies are, so that might allow them to gain a bit of market share.
 
I dunno - Premier is pretty popular around my house lol

These vintage models I took pics of in my collection have excellent build quality and sound amazing. The aluminum Hi-Fi model in pic by itself (the other metal-looking one is actually a wrap on a thin 3-ply mahogany shell with re-rings) is one of my workhorse snares - you can tune it high or low it just sounds fantastic for jazz and blues. Brushes are articulate and you can play it very quietly. And with ribbed texture it just looks amazing, too.

Back in 70's when I was in high school the very best marching snare you could buy was Premier with gut snares on top and bottom. They weighed a ton and required a very skilled drum line to play together (DCI or else a high school like mine lucky enough too have 6 very skilled snare players).

I think Premier does have a great name and is a brand known for excellence by my demographic and anybody that played seriously in 60's/70's/80's. I suspect they sold a lot less product in 90's and later, and the name isn't as much a recognized brand by folks who started playing then.


Tamaefx said:
In the former Premier post that has disappeared , I said something like this :
The near death of Premier sounds like real pity

I don't much understand the energy and money spent in building a new drum company from scratch instead of rebuiding a brand with a great history and a strong brandname.
In France, Premier used to be strong, and the 80's - 90's models (I own one) are well-known, even the basic line like APK / XPK have better reputation on the second hand market than Tama RS, Mapex or Pearl Export.

British Drum Company or Natal may make great products (I don't know their products), nevertheless, they'll take a long time to get the reputation of a more than 60 year old brand. I understand that you're mostly from the US where Premier isn't as popular.
When I started drum in the 90's, Ludwig and Gretsch were out of the market, they came back really big time in the 2000's. Premier can (should) be saved the same way.
I think Premier is a great name (it sounds great - this french word, isn't it? And the red P is a strong symbol) ; it deserves really better. At least in Europe they should boost their distribution and communication But It looks like they're under paliative care...

About British drum company, I like their badge and their products are nice. the legend serie is beautiful and seems perfect, the snare seems great, too, but by now how about distribution ? I don't even find any prices.
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Nice vintage Premier snares. Here are mine.
IMG_2247.jpg


The 90's Premier were still very strong, genista and signia are really sought after now. The turn of the millennium saw the loss of the Premier mojo, the range went in every directions, lots of changes.

Nobody knows British Drum Company down here, nobody know where to buy them and at what price. But many musicians still know Premier (in France, in my musical circle.)
The investment involved in BDC doesn't show here. I'm not an industrial professional, but if half of those investments had been in rebuilding a Premier range, people would have showed interest. And not only because of nostalgia.

In the 90's nobody talked about Gretsch drums, it was all about Premier Tama Pearl. Gretsch is now as popular as Premier was 25 years ago (again - I'm French).

By the way, look what has been done to strong British brands that were very tired around the 80, 90's : Jaguar, Bentley, Mini,...
The investments were on A brand, not in building from scratch a new brand without any history. And the new Jaguar or mini have nothing in common with their British counterparts.
 
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I've just found the price tag for a 4 piece shell pack BDC in France : 3700 €.
Ok. Largely out of league.
More or less The price of a DW collector.
 
Yeah, they're pricey.

No matter. Give me some Gretsch and I'm happy, I was just curious about that small IMP kit.
 
I keep looking at them.................
 
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