Need help to ID old Premier Drum set

When I restored my buddy's Premier '54 (made in the mid to late 60s), I was MOST impressed with how WELL the hardware polished up. I used NEVR DULL. Thanks Mum!

Before

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After

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Old Dog New Cans: I think your was in worse shape than my set, but I certainly see the excellent work of Abe’s mum in the hardware! I love that wrap!

I’m pretty sure my XPK was a gigging set judging from the nicks all over the shells but other than where the bass drum legs banged against the shell, the finish was intact, thick and high quality. I‘m working on the bass drum shell now. I’d like to see that steel snare when your done.
 
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Edited to add: I am assuming the snare shell is constructed like the rest of the kit; two birch with eucalyptus in the middle?
Yes it is. It's on the shelf but I have the matching snare.
 
Old Dog New Cans: I think your was in worse shape than my set, but I certainly see the excellent work of Abe’s mum in the hardware! I love that wrap!

I’m pretty sure my XPK was a gigging set judging from the nicks all over the shells but other than where the bass drum legs banged against the wrapped shell, the wrap was intact, thick and high quality. I‘m working on the bass drum shell now. I’d like to see that steel snare when your done.

Yes definitely. I'll post pics of the snare for sure. The wrap on the Premier kit I restored is the blue pearl from Precision drum. Yeah it's good quality Delmar.
 
Just curious - how much $$$ were they????

I’m new to the forum but have been lurking for a while. A very nice forum.

I picked up a used Premier drum set at a great price and am just starting to restore it. Can someone help identify the model, year and the color?

The hardware seems solid but shows its age. The shells have taken a knock or two but they are perfectly round and new heads rotate smoothly. The shell on the Tom is a dark wood outer and what appears to be two birch rings? The color seems like a turquoise but can switch from green to blue depending on the light. Any help is appreciated. View attachment 99360View attachment 99361View attachment 99362
 
Just curious - how much $$$ were they????

For $300 I got the 22” bass drum, 16” floor Tom, 12” mounted Tom, drum throne, a Pearl Firecracker snare drum, Ludwig snare stand, no-name cymbal stand, hi-hat stand that works but it’s pretty bad, Iron Cobra bass drum pedal, 16” Zildjian Titanium ZXT Medium Thin crash (sounds awful), a matched set of Zildjian A 14 inch hi hat cymbals (sound good) and a wonderful 20” Zildjian A ride (sounds really good), Zildjian cymbal bag, and and a stick case full of sticks that need to be thrown away.
 
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I took the mounted Tom bracket off the bass drum and there has been a slight darkening of the finish in the 20+ years, but not bad in my opinion.



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That's an OK deal if you needed all the other stuff besides the 3 piece kit. The Iron Cobra bass drum pedal and the Zildjian A cymbal make it a good deal if pedal works great and cymbal is your sound. I bought same model kit in absolute mint condition with 20x16 kick and one additional rack tom (not in pic) for $500. These kits sound great and they were made in England. Looks like you're putting a lot of work into refurbing kit - enjoy it!


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Nice set, pretty finish too.

I’m the kind of guy that would have given whatever drum set I bought a good going over; even a mint one. I like to know what shape everything is in and this set sounded so good that I had to buy it. The bass drum - especially where the Tom’s were mounted - took some good hits but that’s ok. I am recently retired and could afford any drum set I wanted, even a new one, but this one spoke to me and frankly, did not know if I would get back into acoustical drums or not. After I found out what this set really is, and why it sounded so good at the sellers home, I found a mint set near Ft Worth for $200 listed on Craigslist; but by the time I contacted the seller it was sold.

As a bit of a background, I was a highly trained drummer in 70s and 80s leaving high school and entering college, drum line, regional band percussionist, regional orchestra drummer, etc. Studied with Dr Bill Horton in Corpus Christi, TX. I played in a rock cover band and also a Dixieland jazz band (which was a blast!) But after getting as associate degree in Journalism, I moved to Austin to get a bachelors at the University of Texas and got out of drumming completely. I only picked it back up two years ago with an electronic drum set which I liked but it’s not the same thing as an acoustic drum set. I play with a local string orchestra and was very rusty when I volunteered to play the drum set during the Holiday Concert in December. But that was enough to light my fire for an acoustic set.

Oh, and I was wrong about the cymbals. I have been out of acoustic drumming for so long I have no idea what the best cymbals are today, but I used Zildjans back in the day. The hi hats are a matched set of Avedis 14” inchers; and the 20” ride is a A-Zildjian Constantinople, respectively I thought they sounded ok and I really liked the ride. A friend of mine is putting together a female vocal jazz band and he has no problem with the drummer using electronic drums so I will probably audition with my Vdrum set since I am used to it. But the XPK seems to be a nice first acoustic drum set after a 30-year absence.


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If anyone else is interested, this seems a really excellent deal ($899) on similar Premier XPK Made in England. But with a lot of drums - 5 toms, kick, plus the snare. And a lot of hardware!!!! And free shipping. I have NO affiliation with seller - I'm just letting folks know about this great XPK for sale at great price (considering everything it comes with) in honey amber finish (same finish as my kit) and free shipping. It's a buyer's market for sure. https://reverb.com/item/38080748-premier-xpk-lacquer-7-piece-1990-s-amber-lacquer
 
Cymbals are worth more than what you paid for everything. Great score!!!

And a vintage Made in England XPK kit is a great GREAT kit whether just getting back in after 30 years, playing regularly, or collecting quality vintage drums, or most anything. You got a winner there!!!!

How big is that kick drum? For a female vocalist little jazz group, if it's your typical Premier size of 22x16 or 22xsomething, it may be a bit of overkill for that jazz. Playing in small clubs (2021 is Year of Optimism lol) an 18x12 or something small is going to be a better match for that genre. And, a small acoustic kit is gonna sound killer behind your vocalist. Refurb the Premier and use it at home. Get a smaller kit for gigs. Electronic at live jazz gigs - no please no lol.

Nice set, pretty wrap too.

I’m the kind of guy that would have given whatever drum set I bought a good going over; even a mint one. I like to know what shape everything is in and this set sounded so good that I had to buy it. The bass drum - especially where the Tom’s were mounted - took some good hits but that’s ok. I am recently retired and could afford any drum set I wanted, even a new one, but this one spoke to me and frankly, did not know if I would get back into acoustical drums or not. After I found out what this set really is, and why it sounded so good at the sellers home, I found a mint set near Ft Worth for $200 listed on Craigslist; but by the time I contacted the seller it was sold.

As a bit of a background, I was a highly trained drummer in 70s and 80s leaving high school and entering college, drum line, regional band percussionist, regional orchestra drummer, etc. Studied with Dr Bill Horton in Corpus Christi, TX. I played in a rock cover band and also a Dixieland jazz band (which was a blast!) But after getting as associate degree, I moved to Austin to get a bachelors and got out of drumming completely. I picked it back up two years ago with an electronic drum set which I liked but it’s not the same thing as an acoustic drum set. I play with a local string orchestra and was very rusty when I volunteered to play the drum set during the Holiday Concert in December. But that was enough to light my fire for an acoustic set.

Oh, and I was wrong about the cymbals. I have been out of acoustic drumming for so long I have no idea what the best cymbals are today, but I used Zildjans back in the day. The hi hats are a matched set of Avedis 14” inchers; and the 20” ride is a A-Zildjian Constantinople, I thought they sounded ok and I really liked the ride. A friend of mine is putting together a female vocal jazz band and he has no problem with the drummer using electronic drums so I will probably audition with my Vdrum set since I am used to it. But the XPK seems to be a nice first acoustic drum set after a 30-year absence.


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The kick is 22x16” but it does have the clear Evans Emad batter head with one foam loop for it. A black Evans Emad resonant head with a 5” port was on the front.

Yeah, I hear you on the e drum with a female jazz singer ensemble. I was planning on just using the edrums for auditioning for the group. I’m trying to get the set ready to go quickly in case I get the gig. I also have been practicing on a Gretch Catalina set that belongs to the string ensemble I volunteer with.
 
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If anyone else is interested, this seems a really excellent deal ($899) on similar Premier XPK Made in England. But with a lot of drums - 5 toms, kick, plus the snare. And a lot of hardware!!!! And free shipping. I have NO affiliation with seller - I'm just letting folks know about this great XPK for sale at great price (considering everything it comes with) in honey amber finish (same finish as my kit) and free shipping. It's a buyer's market for sure. https://reverb.com/item/38080748-premier-xpk-lacquer-7-piece-1990-s-amber-lacquer

That looks like a great kit and with Premier hardware I think.
 
Does anyone know if the color for this Premier set is Terraverdi Green or Turquoise Lacquer? Seems like it is listed as several colors by sellers but I cannot find anything official.
Turquoise Lacquer.
We had one for sale in the store I used to work at, when we became a Premier dealer.
 
Those shells were advertised as 6 ply / 7mm, but the bases were usually thicker. so not too surprising....and your drums don't have a wrap finish. It's a lacquer finish.
The wood is stained, then has a clear coat shot over it.
Yes I keep saying “wrap” and that is not right. The thick lacquer finish sure makes touching up the shells a lot easier :)
 
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