Status of Premier Drums

[JohnnyVibesAZ]

I just noticed on Reverb that a dealer by the name of Maxx Drums is selling new Premier snares and sets. I do know that Premier 'ain't what it used to be', as their craftsmen are now building drums for British Drum Company, and the new Premier drums are made in Asia. Does anyone know WHO owns the company, who distributes the products, and who the US dealers are? I don't know if there is a new company website out there or not.

 

[HalldorL]

I believe Gear4Music, a British on-line retailer owns Premier since last year.

New Premier Drums owner | Beatit.tv

The Premier brand has a new owner. For more, go to en.beatit.tv - the drummers' website. This is where everybody is obsessed with drums!

en.beatit.tv

 

[JohnnyVibesAZ]

I believe Gear4Music, a British on-line retailer owns Premier since last year.

New Premier Drums owner | Beatit.tv

The Premier brand has a new owner. For more, go to en.beatit.tv - the drummers' website. This is where everybody is obsessed with drums!

en.beatit.tv

Interesting. Thank you.

 

[flatwins]

I’m a huge fan of Premier (have kits from the 50s, 70s, 90s) but I consider the company to be dead.

 

[mkelley]

MAXX is the only retailer carrying them in the US, Musick LTD became the US distributor last spring, and Gear4Music has owned them for about a year.

Here's some of the previous posts about it - https://www.drumforum.org/search/23202036/?q=premier+musick&o=date

 

[bellbrass]

I wonder if British Drum Co. got the old Premier molds. They were undersized shells, right? I'm not a Premier expert, but i seem to remember reading that here somewhere.

 

[mgdrummer]

I wonder if British Drum Co. got the old Premier molds. They were undersized shells, right? I'm not a Premier expert, but i seem to remember reading that here somewhere.

Pretty sure I saw that Keith built all new molds for BDC.

 

[JohnnyVibesAZ]

I’m a huge fan of Premier (have kits from the 50s, 70s, 90s) but I consider the company to be dead.

Yep. What I see going on now is a lot like what Yamaha did to Rogers.

 

[TheDrummerFromAmsterdam]

Premier US got some new kits from Asia in last month I saw on the premier group.

The looked to be on the same par from the old ones. But I haven’t seen them up close.

 

[flurbs]

I wonder if British Drum Co. got the old Premier molds. They were undersized shells, right? I'm not a Premier expert, but i seem to remember reading that here somewhere.

Rumour has it that the Premier tooling was left outside to the elements and then scrapped in by whomever ended up buying the building.

 

[bellbrass]

Rumour has it that the Premier tooling was left outside to the elements and then scrapped in by whomever ended up buying the building.

Good Lord. I hope that's not true.

 

[RogersLudwig]

my post on another thread. "I got a quote on a custom order, which I can’t find the email, but it was around $2700 for a 20, 12, 14 Elite maple set to match a snare i have. And that didn’t include taxes or shipping, though I didn’t ask if it was shipping from Taiwan or the US dealer. Way too much for me."

 

[TheDrummerFromAmsterdam]

Well they did scavanged the whole building in the years that it was abandoned.

Now there is a nice super market and handy shop on the restructured grounds.

 

[flurbs]

Good Lord. I hope that's not true.

I know someone who was attempting to buy it. By the time they were told where it was, it was too late.

 

[JDA]

all the years supplying the (queen) and the military (Royal Army) you'd have thought government could have stepped in to save/rescue/ prop em up; Now I think the Military uses .....?

 

[JDA]

...........

 

[dsop]

Maybe we can convince DW to buy the rights to the Premier name... and bring back the 70s line! Some of my favorite drums.

 

[JohnnyVibesAZ]

Maybe we can convince DW to buy the rights to the Premier name... and bring back the 70s line! Some of my favorite drums.

If that happens, Premier will be in limbo, just like Slingerland is, right now. Yes, the 70s lines were great. I still like the later-made, Signia-Genista drums the best, though.

 

[JDA]

and bring back the 70s line! Some of my favorite drums.

the early 70s mahogany or the later 70s birch......
(answer: either)

 

[dsop]

the early 70s mahogany or the later 70s birch......
(answer: either)

Probably later, the ones with the high tension lugs similar to Keith's above (or Phil's)