Premier Drums Nicko Sicko 14" Diameter X 5.5" Deep  Snare Drum/RARE/Brand New!

Nicko McBrain of Iron Maiden has endorsed Premier for 20 years, and to mark this milestone he and Premier have come up with two signature snares, the Nicko Sicko, reviewed here, and the more elaborate, more expensive Aces High.

Build

The snare is hand-made in Premier's Lancashire factory using 100 percent UK sycamore. Our native sycamore is a close relative and counterpart of North American maple and in fact is sometimes called European maple.

Our review model has a 14"x51⁄2", 19-ply, 10mm (3/8") thick shell. The lay-up is special in that Premier individually glues single veneers, alternated horizontally and vertically in H-V pairs, as opposed to the more usual H-V-H trio used by most manufacturers. Thus we have eight sets of V-H with a single inner H-V-H trio making up the 19.

"Every drum is dated and hand signed on the inside label by Premier's head designer/builder Keith Keough"

The Nicko Sicko has an outer sycamore veneer which appears vertical with its flame pattern. The finish is a satin silver-grey shimmer, a hand-applied natural satin oil. It's tasteful, but genuinely beautiful and we'd love to see a whole kit like this. It has 10 double-ended British-made solid brass chrome-plated lugs, with doubled rubber gasket isolation and stainless steel fixing screws.

The drum is completed with 2.3mm steel triple-flanged hoops, Premier's 610 strainer and 42-strand wires, plus the classy Premier script logo and Nicko McBrain signature plate. Every drum is dated and hand signed on the inside label by Premier's head designer/builder Keith Keough.

Hands On

In terms of timbre the sycamore is close to American maple, though Keith suggests it's "a little brighter and cleaner in tone". Added to this, the relatively thick, heavy shell also heightens the pitch.

First impressions are of a sharp, responsive and sensitive drum, with the bonus warmth you expect from wood. Arriving with the batters partially de-tuned, a full turn on each lug immediately confirms the refined nature of these instruments, with a resounding fat-slap backbeat and lively cross stick.

With the 45° bearing edges perfectly cut, there is sensitivity right to the edge and rim-shots ring without being unruly. Arriving at upper-mid tension the tone is still fat - there's plenty of body, but we would characterize the drums as bright parks rather than fat sloggers.

Winding up the batter towards marching tension, this is as crisp a snare as you would want. Unlike a metal snare it retains a woody timbre behind the shrill ring, while double strokes near the edge now produce a machine gun ra-ta-tat - hailstones on a slate roof.

The snare came fitted with Remo Coated Emperor X batters and Ambassador Hazy resonants. The Emperors respond well to energetic Maiden-esque onslaughts and the drums show no signs of choking unless you over-tighten the snares. You have to watch this as the sheer width of the snares covers a large area of the resonant head.

We've commented previously on Premier's 610 snare strainer, which although superbly built we find awkward to use because of its enclosed and quite small tension knob. Mind you, it does have a clever, quick-release butt side

(Review By Music Radar)

Features :

Handcrafted in England by Premier

Classic 610 snare strainer

14” x 5.5” thin shell

Outer ply of silver sycamore

10 mm, 16-ply sycamore shell

Solid brass chrome plated lugs

2.3 mm triple flanged hoops

42 Strand snare wires

Please e-mail me with any questions.  Please check out my feedback and bid with confidence. If you have '0' feedback or negative feedback, please e-mail me first. Insured Shipping in the cont. USA depends on your location.  I typically ship Fed-Ex and UPS.  I only ship in the USA, there is an additional shipping charge with Hawaii and Alaska.  International buyers, please email me for a shipping quote.  All customs and duty fees are to be paid for by the buyer.

Please Read Carefully:

Paypal Payment is due within 2 days.  I will verify, by email your shipping address and I will ship only to confirmed addresses from now on....No Exceptions.  You will receive a tracking number the day your item ships.  I will constantly communicate with, those who have questions, those who have won auctions and until you recieve your item.  Thanks again and happy bidding!!!! 

At Percussion King, we are dedicated to Customer Service and if you have any questions, concerns or issues with an Item or Purchase, please contact us.  Please email us if there is an issue with a purchase before you leave eBay feedback.  We are committed to making every purchase perfect!!

 

Shipping and Return Policies   DOMESTIC SHIPPING Free Shipping offers are only applicable to shipments within the continental United States. If you reside in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, or Guam,  please email Percussion King for a shipping quote If you need to return an item that was originally shipped to you for free, the amount of your store credit or refund will reflect the cost we paid to ship your item.  The vast majority of our domestic orders are shipped via UPS Ground, and some with USPS.  We ship UPS  Ground Monday through Friday and USPS on Monday through Saturday.  No Signature Required: Most domestic shipments are sent with No Signature Required by default for both UPS Ground and USPS. If you wish to have a signature required, there will be an additional charge.  Any purchases over $200.00 with be “signature required”. Insurance: All items are automatically insured for the purchase price and international shipments are insured for the purchase price up to $500.00. INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING We only accept PayPal (in US dollars) from customers with verified accounts and confirmed shipping addresses. In some cases, we can also accept bank / wire transfers. We use USPS Priority Mail & USPS International Express for most international shipments.  Shipping rates may vary from estimates shown on our eBay listings. There is usually a $5 charge for handling & packaging on International shipments. We make every effort to consolidate the number of boxes used when you purchase multiple items to reduce the cost of shipping. Please note that such "combined shipping" is done at our discretion with regard to the safety of the items you order. If we feel that combining certain items in one package may cause damage during shipment, we will notify you and items can be shipped separately at the appropriate cost. Many governments around the world levy some combination of excise tax, value-added tax (VAT), import duties, and other fees on products sent from the United States. We are not responsible for paying these fees. We do encourage you to check with local regulations prior to purchasing so you know what responsibilities you have to your government (if any). Most USPS Priority Mail shipments, regardless of the final destination, arrive within 1-3 weeks of shipment & USPS International Express may drive within 5-6 business days. However, in some cases, your order may get help up in Customs for an extended periods of time for any reason. We are not responsible for any delays caused by Customs processing in your country. In the event that a package is damaged on arrival or lost, it is the buyer's responsibility to open an investigation with the shipping courier (e.g., USPS, UPS), typically within 2 days of receiving a damaged item, or realizing an item has been lost. Make sure you have the box the item was shipped in and many high quality pictures to back up your claim. These investigations can take several weeks to conclude. We are not able to offer any replacements or refunds until the investigation has been completed. RETURNS Before returning an item, please email Percussion King first We accept returns within 14 days of you receiving a product on all new items. We Do NOT accept returns on used items and special / custom order items. If you wish to return an item within 14 days of receiving it, you MUST meet all of the following criteria: You must include ALL original packaging materials, in the condition they were received in You must include the original invoice / sales receipt and any other paperwork originally included in the package or with the item The item(s) must be unused and free of any signs of use, wear, stick marks, smudges, and/or fingerprints. The item will be subject to a 15% restocking fee if we are unable to sell the item in the condition in which it was sold to you. You are responsible for the return shipping costs, and if you purchased the item with free shipping, the original shipping amount will not be refunded. Supply tracking information when returning your item.