Vintage Series

When designing the Vintage Series snare drum, our goal was to create the classic sought after sound from years gone by, but using solid up-to-date hardware and Premier’s new technology to create the ultimate mixed wood thin shell.

Unlike other thin shells and vintage style snare drums, that feature reinforcement rings at the top and bottom of the shell, we wanted to capture the characteristic warmth and depth of a thin shell but without the unwanted overtones that reinforcement rings add. The end result is a 14” x 6” shell that is painstakingly handcrafted at our UK workshop.

Using premium hand selected plies of mahogany and birch, the 14” x 6” size is the optimum and most versatile sound for this drum and sits perfectly with swing or jazz drumming, or for those who like the more open, warm traditional sounding deep tones.

The combination of thin plies and our new shell technology has allowed us to construct the 5mm shell with 6 plies of Premier’s iconic birch at its core that is complemented beautifully with an inner and outer ply of mahogany.

The thinner shell’s wall permits the air inside to resonate longer with its perfect mix of woods and our secret blend of two glues. This delivers a fat, warm open tone with just the right balance of attack from the birch core.

After researching and paying extra detail to the bearing edges, we finally settled for a 45 degree round-over for the top batter edge which gives more shell to skin contact, enhancing the shell to sing pleasant woody deep notes with extra resonance. The bottom bearing edge is a sharp 45 degree angle for extra sensitivity and features our precision hand cut 2.5mm deep snare bed. The combination of all these features achieved our desired goal and much more.

The shell’s outer finish is an elegant hand rubbed satin oil which adds to the perfect setting for the natural beauty of the mahogany’s rich colour and grain. The inside shell and edges are coated with satin oil to protect and seal the wood’s fibres but also allowing the shell to breathe.

• VS1460
  14" x 6" Vintage Series Snare Drum