How to tell Premier Genista Maple from Birch

Iristone

Iristone

Silver Member
Assuming both are the last incarnation made in Taiwan ~10 years ago. I'm no botanist, so I cannot really tell by wood grain.
Someone is selling a floor tom locally. It's got a lovely finish, but the seller is not sure if it's maple or birch. If it's birch, I could pick it up as the basis of my new drum kit.
Any insights?
 
It looks like this:
E09473B1-1654-433D-BA82-AC9D9E1EB34D.jpeg4198B7A0-FF3E-4DDB-9229-BC64F4C22419.jpeg12967F7F-F8D9-46E5-B2E5-C2F78FFDA6E2.jpeg

The grain looks slightly like birch to me, but I'm not really certain. If it's birch, it's a great price for a Genista Birch
 
see that badge says since 1922

on the recent website either Genista says Drums in that spot.
So assume it a few years old. Then decipher when maple or birch were even a decision/option/choice.
This era of Premier were Genista either M or B from the start? Or just Birch

there's Genista badge pictures
www.premier-percussion.com

Genista - Premier Drums

A special tri-band edition Genista Classic with the original distinctive lug design to celebrate Premier’s drum building legacy.
www.premier-percussion.com www.premier-percussion.com
neither say since 1922.. it's a toughie.
I would say Birch is lighter color than maple
 
img_6101-jpeg.643012


there's 50s Premier birch @Iristone color
 
Wait a minute…..all everybody does here is talk about how they know the difference between birch and maple….you telling me you can’t hear it? Come on now 😉
 
Bo Eder said:
Wait a minute…..all everybody does here is talk about how they know the difference between birch and maple….you telling me you can’t hear it? Come on now 😉
Click to expand...
Unfortunately I'm not that familiar with the subtleties regarding the thin, undersized Genista shells, other than that they sound really good. A maple and birch Genista may sound closer to me than, say, a Genista Birch and a birch Elite, or a Genista Maple and a Ludwig Classic Maple. That said I'd still like a matched all-Genista Birch kit if I'm going to splurge on it anyway.
Still indecisive... The grain looks like some 70's birch Premier, but some 80's Ludwig (maple) also has similar grain. Maybe I need to ask the seller for the original invoice, or build my kit from scratch.
 
I’m not 100% sure, but to me, this generation was maple shell.
 
Pass... Turns out the local dealer quotes Classic Maple prices for other components of the new Genista reissue. The dealer upcharge seems to be TWICE the drum cost, so no thanks.
 
Iristone said:
It looks like this:
View attachment 139777View attachment 139778View attachment 139780

The grain looks slightly like birch to me, but I'm not really certain. If it's birch, it's a great price for a Genista Birch
Click to expand...
On this first generation of far east Genista the birch kits have tom mounts that attach directly to the shells. If the rack toms have a RIMs alike mount then it's a maple kit. The birch kits of this era differ substantially from the UK built original Genistas and they're nothing like the same quality, to be fair they weren't supposed to be as they were sold at a lower relative price point. The drums are far more true to size in terms of diameter rather than the undersized UK and current production shells.

Essentially it's a birch Artist (nothing wrong with that, they're decent drums) wearing a pretty frock and jewellery.
 
jda said:
see that badge says since 1922

on the recent website either Genista says Drums in that spot.
So assume it a few years old. Then decipher when maple or birch were even a decision/option/choice.
This era of Premier were Genista either M or B from the start? Or just Birch

there's Genista badge pictures
www.premier-percussion.com

Genista - Premier Drums

A special tri-band edition Genista Classic with the original distinctive lug design to celebrate Premier’s drum building legacy.
www.premier-percussion.com www.premier-percussion.com
neither say since 1922.. it's a toughie.
I would say Birch is lighter color than maple
Click to expand...
Maple and birch from the introduction of the far east Genista, and this is one of those. Maple rack toms have RIMS type mounts, birch kits have them mounted directly to the shell and that's the most reliable way of telling them apart.
 
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Iristone said:
Unfortunately I'm not that familiar with the subtleties regarding the thin, undersized Genista shells, other than that they sound really good. A maple and birch Genista may sound closer to me than, say, a Genista Birch and a birch Elite, or a Genista Maple and a Ludwig Classic Maple. That said I'd still like a matched all-Genista Birch kit if I'm going to splurge on it anyway.
Still indecisive... The grain looks like some 70's birch Premier, but some 80's Ludwig (maple) also has similar grain. Maybe I need to ask the seller for the original invoice, or build my kit from scratch.
Click to expand...
Why not just buy it and play it? If it sounds good and you can’t tell anyway, get it and take it out to play. That’s what it’s for, right?
 
mpthomson said:
Maple and birch from the introduction of the far east Genista, and this is one of those. Maple rack toms have RIMS type mounts, birch kits have them mounted directly to the shell and that's the most reliable way of telling them apart.
Click to expand...
Yes, if it had been a full kit we'd have solved the question no problem. I also have a possibly false memory that the full kits also had white reso bass drum heads on the birch and black on the maple but I reserve the right to be totally wrong.
 
Woolwich said:
Yes, if it had been a full kit we'd have solved the question no problem. I also have a possibly false memory that the full kits also had white reso bass drum heads on the birch and black on the maple but I reserve the right to be totally wrong.
Click to expand...
And obviously the heads are easy to swap out.
 
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