A restored, late 1970's Premier "Elite" (B304) kit - built up from a set of abandoned shells. All on-drum components are original, reclaimed and re-conditioned, Premier chrome items - with die-cast hoops, Premier "TriLok" hardware, Istanbul Agop B20 cymbals, and new Remo CS heads.
“Small maintenance tasks, #’s289 & #47”. Adjustments to the practice muting on my late 1970’s, Premier “Elite” Drum Kit
"Keeping the neighbours sweet", continued... Adjusting the practice muting on my restored 1970's Premier "Elite" kit
“Small maintenance tasks, #117”. Re-felting Premier dampener mechanisms, the DIY way…
Sometimes - that little replacement part you need is long out of production, and there are simply none to be had, at any price. But I'm not going to throw out old Premier dampeners - just for the want of a bit of felt and glue...
Late 1970’s vintage, Premier “Elite” Drum Kit (#1) – “Natural” Finish. Matching the finish on a 13″ x 9″ Tom (Polyurethane)
Trying to match a 1970's Premier "natural" birch finish, using a modern polyurethane varnish. Close - but perhaps not quite what I'm after
Renovated, Late 1970’s Premier “Elite” Drum Kit – “Natural” Finish. Muting for practice
"Keeping the neighbours sweet"... Muting my restored 1970's Premier "Elite" kit, for practice...
Renovated, Late 1970’s Premier “Elite” Drum Kit – “Natural” Finish. Stands, cymbals and setting up…
Setting up my newly-restored 1970's Premier "Elite" kit, for practice...
Late 1970’s vintage, Premier “Elite” Drum Kit (#1) – “Natural” Finish. 16″ x 16″ Floor Tom – hardware, and head fitting
Continuing to fit out the restored shells for my basic, 22,16,14, 1970's Premier "Elite" drum kit. Now, the final piece of the kit - the 16" floor tom
Late 1970’s vintage, Premier “Elite” Drum Kit (#1) – “Natural” Finish. 14″ x 10″ Tom – hardware, and head fitting
Continuing to fit out the restored shells for my basic, 22,16,14, 1970's Premier "Elite" drum kit. This time - it's the turn of the 14" rack tom
Late 1970’s vintage, Premier “Elite” Drum Kit (#1) – “Natural” Finish. Bass Drum – hardware, and head fitting
Vintage, 1970's Premier vibe alert... Taking one of my "natural" Premier "Elite" 22" bass drum shells, re-uniting it with some original, vintage chrome hardware, and turning it back into a fine-looking, playable piece of kit.
Late 1970’s vintage, Premier “Elite” Drum Kits. Salvaging some original Premier “Everplay” heads, and applying a reproduction, vinyl logo
Getting the right "look" for the bass drum reso on a restored, "vintage" kit, depends either on getting hold of decent reproductions, (if they're even available), or on finding ways to sympathetically "spruce up" surviving, original period heads