Premier Artist Birch Heritage Jazz Kit Reviews 4

I bought the kit in Johnny Roadhouse in Manchester. It was second hand but in mint condition and I paid £390 for the three toms and the kick (no snare). There was something about this kit that made everyone who came in have a look at it. I felt strangely drawn to it and it seemed like a reasonable deal so I went for it.

The birch shells give the kit a nice snappy sound. The lugs are high quality which makes tuning the kit easy. The 20"x14" kick is very punchy and surprisingly is weighs as much as my 22"x17" mapex M kick.

The heritage kits are basically the same as the rest of the artsit series but with a different range finishes and sizes. My kit is the marine pearl finish which is actually a thick plastic wrap. Ideally, I wouldn't have choosen this finish because it looks too dated and I don't like the idea of wrapping expensive shells.

The shells are quite thin and are constructed with 6 plys of birch. The bearing edges are clean and sharp and the lugs and tom mounts are solid and work well. No problems with the build quality. The finish gives the kit an impressive vintage style.

My band plays mostly funk and indie so this kit always feels a bit small but I think it will work nicely for recording. I've got myself a cheaper Mapex M kit for gigging now. The artist birch will probably make a nice jazz kit for when I'm to old to play rock! Overall, I'd say it's a bright snappy kit that would work well for a loudish jazz or miked up for funk.

Dan rated this unit 4 on 2004-04-16.

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