My Premier “Elite”, “Kit #1” – takes a selection of some of the “natural” finished shells I recently acquired, and I’ll begin to fit them out with new and salvaged hardware, as required, to form a basic 22, 16, 14 configured kit. After having scraped away the hand-applied, white emulsion paint from the insides – the smoothed inner surfaces of the three shells have all been lightly sanded to regularise the irregular sheen from the remaining, original, (polyurethane?), sealer. They’re then given a light application of Renaissance Wax, and buffed to an even sheen. The bearing edges are given a final check, and similarly treated with Renaissance Wax.
The outsides of the shells are cleaned with a proprietary guitar cleaner – suitable for use on polyurethane coatings. After the full treatment – even 40-odd year old shells can apparently “scrub up” well. I’ve sourced, sorted and cleaned various bits of original, “period” Premier hardware whilst I’ve been preparing the shells – it’s now time to begin the assembly of the basic kit – starting with the bass drum.
The shell is given a final check over. The bearing edges look good, and there are no splits or cracks detectable anywhere. The drilled mounting holes, although slightly ragged at the outside ply in a few places, are still serviceable, and a test-fit with one of the lug boxes shows that they’re still tight and sturdy. There are a few remaining bits of white paint around the edges of some of the mounting holes – but that’s easily scraped away. As a final check – the shell is held up and tapped like a bell, to check it’s resonance. I figure any hidden, internal splits or cracks should reveal themselves as “buzzing” or rattling. Instead, the shell rings nicely, and sounds “solid” enough. I’ll take that as sound.
For the hardware – I’ve mostly managed to track down authentic, period Premier “Elite” cast-offs – but there have been some “supply” problems to deal with. I’ve sorted all of the hardware I’ve acquired into “A” and “B” grade components – saving the bits in best condition for the potential re-wrap of “Kit #2”, and assigning any lesser, “B” grade stuff, for these first, “natural” finished shells. They’ll act as a “starter” kit for me to develop on, and as a practical introduction to some of the finer, technical aspects of drum fettling I haven’t encountered before. With most of the hardware I’ve obtained, even the “B” grade stuff is in pretty good general condition – but there are some components which seem to be scarce, and really hard to get hold of…
That’s especially true of the “vintage correct” claws, and “L-rod” tensioners. Although the only available examples I can find of the correct #125-25 claws (left in the image above) seem to have cleaned up quite well – on close inspection the chrome is badly corroded, and has worn away right through to the dull grey cast metal, in some areas. They’ve had a hard life. Worse, however, is visible signs of cracking around some of the “hooks” of the claws, and fracturing of the casts in the thin detail around some of the forward tension rod holes. All-in-all, I think I need to consign these to grade “rough”. The thing is – the correct “look” is that short, sculpted – almost “Deco-like” form. There really aren’t too many similar replacement options.
After scouting around for a while – I finally narrowed my available choice down to, what are known as, Premier “B-type” claws. These are the closest in overall shape I can find – although the form is much simpler than the intended, and the front face is entirely flat. The finish also appears to be much thinner, and looks more like polished nickel than it does Premier’s famous, thick “diamond” chrome. I think these “B-type” claws came in on the APK kits of the 80’s, and may date from when Premier had a brief “flirtation” with Yamaha ownership. (I’ve seen these occasionally advertised for sale as Premier/Yamaha claws).
The “B-type” claws share a similar, (same width, but ever so slightly longer), footprint with the original, intended #125-25’s – so they should still work with the existing hoops OK. However – the actual claw itself is more square in section, (as opposed to curved on the originals), and seems intended for a slightly “beefier” hoop. After a bit of experimentation – I think some carefully sized cuts of 3mm black felt might work as effective pads, to help keep the contact firm, and help bed the hoop firmly into the claws. (The felt might also prevent the hoop from developing further “claw rash”). The squares of felt are cut so that they wrap around the insides of the square-profiled jaws, and only extend back to mid-way underneath the main claw body. This stops the “pads” from unintentionally lifting the claws and diverting the line of each tension rod away from the hoop – so the claws stay in-line with the lug boxes.
The drum assembly begins with installation of ten reclaimed #125-20 lug boxes. I’ve managed to source or clean up all of the various washers, screws, inserts and swivel nuts required, and each lug box is fitted with a swivel nut and insert at each end – before being firmly attached to the shell from the inside, with the usual screw and washer pairing.
Any lugs which show more obvious wear and tear are used towards the underside of the drum – where they’re less visible, and will reflect fewer highlights.
Next – the two leg supports are attached to the shell. The vintage “Elite” kits used the exact same #392-35 fitting, which acted as both tom mounts and leg supports. This is useful from a “parts collecting” point of view – but there are, in fact, differences between different fittings – despite all apparently seeming to display the same product code on their castings.
There are actually two basic types of #392-35 fitting – but the only difference is in the actual clamp fitting inside. One type has a clamp piece which accepts an 11.5mm leg or L-post – the other accepts narrower, 9.5mm hardware. Obviously – the 11.5mm fittings work for pretty much all hardware – wheras if you have the smaller bore type, you can only use it with 9.5mm legs etc. (There were also black painted fittings made – although clearly, here I’m using the usual chrome). I’ve checked my bass drum legs for gauge, and they’re the thicker, 11.5mm type – so I’ve also checked that the leg mounts I’m using are the right type, before installing them.
The mounts themselves attach with inner mounting plates, and two screws apiece. I check some old product catalogues to ensure I mount them the right way round. They’ll still work either way up – but it appears they’re supposed to be installed so that the off-centrally mounted wing-nut, is placed towards the rear of the drum.
The shell is now slowly beginning to gain mass, with a considerable amount of additional metal attached to it. To keep it as stable as possible when handling – it helps to have the legs installed at this point. The legs are inserted into the mounts, and adjusted so that they lift the front of the drum slightly up off the floor. They are also angled so that they’ll tend to resist any forward movement from the momentum of the kick pedal. (The pedal will eventually support and anchor the bottom rear edge of the drum, and working with the legs, will lift the whole shell just clear of the floor). The legs for the “Elite” series were a simple affair, and they simply fold back against the drum carcass for storage. They’re often found with the original rubber feet – although these have been removed here to reveal just the basic floor spikes.
Next on is the essential tom post mount. This is a two-screw version, (I’ve also come across a rarer, single screw version), of the standard #392-50 mount. This accepts the period correct, oval post – which exactly matches the oval cut-out on the top of the drum shell. Many of these original mounts show stress cracks due to the overtightening of the twin screws, which hold the tom mounting post firmly in place. This overtightening is also the cause of the usual “dent rash” on the sides of so many vintage tom posts. The thing is – the mounts are supposed to be fitted with an essential “butterfly clip”. This is supposed to spread the holding force of the adjustable, wing nut type screws – but it’s prone to falling out of place – especially if you prefer to remove the posts entirely when breaking the kit down. (I think Premier’s intention was for the player to just drop the post down as far as it’ll go – rather than remove it each time – but this does tend to make the drum a little harder to “box-up”, in a standard 22″ Premier drum case, and seemingly explains why a case for a 22″ drum in fact measures something like 25 1/2″).
If the clip does fall out into the drum – you obviously have to take a head off to retrieve it. No wonder so many jobbing drummers preferred to ditch the clip entirely, and just over-crank those wing nuts, (and hence all those stress-cracked mounts out there). This particular mount doesn’t show any apparent signs of cracking in the cast – and I intend to keep it that way – so I’ve searched around and sourced a spare butterfly clip, (they can be hard to find), and it’s seated around the special post on the inverted mount casting – as shown in the photo above.
The tom mount sits on top of the bass drum shell – where I always think it looks like a bit like a plumber’s dream. All shiny chrome – with plenty of tap-like adjusters on show. The mount casting, with it’s tiny butterfly clip in place – is cushioned onto the wood of the shell with a black felt pad, (original Part number #392-51, since you ask). Obviously – gravity tends to encourage the clip to fall down into the shell – so keeping everything in place while you thread the fixing screws into the retaining bracket below, can be a fiddly business. It’s easiest if you fit the main mount with the tom post already installed through the oval opening. This stops the butterfly clip from falling. Even so – there’s still a tendency for the post itself to drop down too far, (which lets the clip escape), and you can’t crank the wing nuts up to hold it – since that throws everything out of line.
Anyway – it’s still a fiddly business – but it’s much easier with the post in place. The tom posts were originally available in one, two, or three tom variants. This is a one tom version for use with my single, 14″ tom. It has a much simpler, more elegant form than the somewhat “clunkier” two and three tom options, which closely echoes some period “Lokfast” cymbal stands I’ve managed to track down for use with the completed kit. When the post is fully retracted for storage, I think the original intention was to fold the L-shaped tom attachment down, so that it sits parallel to the drum shell. However – for simplicity’s sake – here, I’ve taken the attachment off, after taking the photo above, and temporarily stored it.
The top mount casting is secured to the wooden shell by means of a special bracket and four bolts. The bolts have nylon locking sleeves on their nuts – so they shouldn’t ever vibrate loose under playing conditions. They’re evenly torqued up from the inside, with everything held securely in place – helped by that inserted mounting post.
With the butterfly clip properly in place – the post is already under some friction, and it’s quite well supported – so it only takes a little torque from each of the adjustable wing nuts, to hold it firmly in place at the desired height. For the time being – until it’s needed – it’s retracted down into the shell, with just the tip left showing above the mount, and is locked off.
I’ve decided to follow the traditional “clear-type” head “look” for this build. I’ve managed to get hold of an original, clear “Everplay” reso head, and I’ll use new Remo CS series heads for the batters on all three drums. That’ll echo the original “donut” style heads of a period vintage kit. The clear reso head has been salvaged, cleaned, and the main logo “touched-up” with a little bit of black casein paint. After cleaning with “Goo Gone” and isopropyl alcohol – it’s cleaned up a treat, with just a few, light scratch and abrasion marks left visible on the surface.
The head will be stretched over the front of the shell, using one of the better, original beech hoops which came with the original shells. They’re all functional – but this one has less sticky gunk to clean off, and fewer gouges and chips from where the claw edges have bitten in, on previous fittings. I’ll eventually need 20 of the “B-type” claws, (10 for the front head, and 10 for the back) – and have prepared 20 identical felt pads, as described earlier.
As regards tension rods – it’s the same story as with the original claws. Getting hold of authentic vintage L-rods, in good condition, is extremely difficult. So far, I’ve only managed to find a limited number of these particular rarities – and the vast majority are badly pitted, rusty, or have chunks knocked off the front lever. I’ve selected the best 20, and cleaned and straightened them out. However, since I also have another kit project in mind – I’ll reserve 10 for use on that, and use the remainder on the front head here – where they’ll be the most visible. They’ll help maintain the correct “period” look – (from the front anyway). It’s quite usual to find plain tension rods on the two lower lugs, front and back – since the levers sometimes foul on the floor below – but here, I’m going to use regular, modern square headed rods all around the rear reso head – where they’ll be mostly out of sight to anyone but the player.
Each tension rod requires a metal washer, between it and the claw – but I’m also going to use an additional, thick white nylon washer between the claw and the smaller metal one.
The head has already been well stretched during it’s previous life – so fitting it is relatively straightforward. Firstly, the drum is laid on it’s back. Then, after checking that the head is centralised and well seated all around the front bearing edge, the selected beech hoop is dropped over the top, with it’s straight, flat edge, (the other is noticeably curved), against the metal ring of the head. The 10 claws are dropped onto the ring, with their custom felt pads fitted around the insides of the claws. Then, each tension rod is loosely threaded into place, and lightly turned into their respective swivel nuts. (I always think it sort of looks better if they’re all pointing the same way, and it’ll help later on, to provide a sort of “visual state of affairs”, when re-tensioning the head).
I’ll be doing that properly, later on – once I can hear the drum and compare it against other pieces of the kit. For the time-being, I tighten each rod just to equal finger-tightness. It helps to check the “tuning” of the head near to each rod position whilst doing this. By pressing lightly on the centre of the head, and then gently tapping the edge close to each tension rod – the head produces a clear tone. It’s one thing to visually centre the head, but equalising the tension across it – even to initial finger-tightness – helps keep the hoop straight, the head central, and will help with subsequent tensioning too. If the “tones” produced are all equal – then you can be pretty sure the head is on straight, and tensioning it up from there on, can be more easily achieved with equal turns at each lug.
With the head lightly, but evenly stretched – I then give an extra, positive half turn to each L-rod – to stretch the head out a bit. It’ll have plenty of time to settle again now, before it’s tensioned properly, with the rest of the kit.
The drum is flipped over onto it’s front, (and I can immediately see why most of those L-rods are so ground-up on their front faces). This – being a new, Remo CS head – needs to be carefully centred and stretched out. Remo heads always seem to crack around the edges a little as the tension goes on at first – but it’s no problem, and that little bit of wax over the bearing edge helps the head to seat. Once again – the hoop is dropped over centrally, followed by the claws and the tension rods. This time, however – it’s the replacement, modern, square-headed rods, (I’ll swap them out again if I ever come across any suitable L-rods). The head is, once again, lightly stretched to finger tightness, but this time, once the head is centralised and equally tensioned, I give each rod an extra turn and a half to stretch the head out. However – rather than just crank each rod the full turn and a half, all at once, one after the other – I work at opposite lugs, turning each a half-turn at a time, and around the circumference in a logical order. This ensures that the head stays as equally tensioned as possible, across it’s entire surface.
It’s quite possible that the eventual required tension on this rear batter will end up less than it’s currently set at – but the drum will be left for a while like this to stretch the head out. After cleaning up the shell and hardware – after bringing it all together – it’s a nice-looking drum, and I’m eager to get “stuck-in”. However – to keep the area free from clutter whilst I set about the rest of the kit – the drum is reluctantly stored away in it’s assigned, original vintage, red Premier case. Now, (amongst other things), for the rest of the kit…
Garageland 