IN DECEMBER'S One Two I looked at the Tama Art star range which, at £1432 for three toms, one holder and a bass drum, seemed destined not to be seen at many pub gigs. This is exactly where Premier will be hoping their APK range can corner the market.

For £549 you'll get a 6½in metal snare, a 22 x 16 bass drum, 12 x 11 and 13 x 12 rack toms, a 16 x 16 floor tom (with legs), a double tom holder, two straight cymbal stands, a snare drum stand, a hi-hat stand, a bass drum pedal (with felt beater), a sheet of setting-up and tuning tips, a pair of sticks and a tuning key. It's everything the budding basher requires except a stool, a pair of hi-hat cymbals, two other cymbals and, when the local Working Mens' Club beckons, some cases.

Should you fall into this noble category, this will undoubtedly appear to be an attractive and competitively priced package, but don't be too misled by the fancy new name. This kit is essentially the Royale series (which I've also reviewed before) with power toms, deeper bass and snare drums, and more heavy duty hardware. Despite an overall improvement there are still inclusions on this kit that have been plaguing Premier for at least 12 years, and that's rather a pity.

The bass drum has been rethought and is the better for it. The original Royale shell was alarmingly thin, was easily bent out of shape, and looked destined for stress problems in the area of the tom holder. The new drum has a thicker shell and a reversion to the older Premier styling with an extra hoop (about four plys in thickness and an inch wide) placed inside the front and back of the shell for improved strength. The spurs have also been upgraded, with the straight, retractable originals having been superceded by an angled variety which slip into retaining boxes on the outside of the drum.

The bass drum pedal is another step in the direction of robust longevity. The playable but decidedly fragile version that I found on the Royale has simply been replaced by a superior model with separate heel and footplate, twin-spring adjustment, and key-controlled pins to help prevent the dreaded creep.

However, there is nothing to stop the nuts which hold the springs at the required tension from slowly loosening with each beat of the pedal. This is hardly an expensive problem to solve: all you need is a couple of extra nuts to hold everything tight. So why haven't Premier done it?

The soft alloy from which the footplate has been cast looks as though it would be difficult to repair in the event of a split at its junction with the heel plate (which is made of stronger stuff altogether). First to wear, though, will be the feeble wing nut which grips the beater. It's a real knucklebreaker, small and awkward. It's the sort of size that can only be safely tightened with pliers — the fastest known route to the frustration of the shorn thread.

Meanwhile, the connection from beater to footplate doesn't look too clever either. Where most rivals opt for a strip of leather, fabric or chain, all of which are flexible, cheap and easy to replace in the event of breakage, this pedal has a strip of metal (fine) which hinges at either end by means of loose rivets (bad). Any drummer who plays vigorously is likely to cause stress at these points, and they will pose a tricky repair job to anyone without metalworking experience.

All of which pertains to extended use. In immediate sound and comfort terms the pedal is easy to play and makes a crisp, thwacking thud on the drum. I feared that the felt beater would be too small to create any volume, but not so.

The Royale snare was a 5½in deep steel-shelled affair which I liked very much. Its replacement, the 1006 6½in version, is equally impressive. Responsive to extremes of tuning, almost Linn-like at the lower end of the scale, and with plenty of sharp, military precision at the other. I've always been a fan of the no-frills, two-bits-of-string method of snare attachment, as found here. It creates response right across the batter head with the minimum of hardware screwed to the shell which would otherwise affect volume and offer a variety of breakpoints and buzz sources. This action owes a great deal to the old badge Ludwig, which must obviously be out of patent by now. Also unchanged from the Royale is the damper, another relic from the past — it has a plastic support for a thin strip of felt which effectively offers only on or off options.

In the years since this redundant damping fellow first rolled off the production line, the drum industry has at least developed the power tom. Dismissed by cynics as a means of creating money via fashion, the theory ran along the lines of creating more natural volume, more tonal definition and a better match with the sound of floor toms. In practice it makes the choice of drum sizes even more crucial. The pitch difference between 12in and 13in toms is often so small as to create tuning problems, as I've mentioned before. The extra depth of the shells can also cause trouble when trying to set up. Plonk a couple of power toms on a 24in bass drum and you'll need a stepladder to see across the top of them. Such considerations obliged me to go for a 22in bass drum and 10in and 12in power toms for my Ludwig kit (which also match well with 14in and 16in floor toms).

Sure enough I couldn't manoeuvre the 13in on the APK into a comfortable playing position. The two choices were close to the 12in but too high and straight, or low enough but too far right on the bass drum. This restriction might force the beginner into an awkward and unnatural playing position, so if you're interested in the APK do bear in mind that Premier also make power toms in 8 x 9 and 10 x 9 sizes. Pester your local dealer to let you experiment with some of their gear, sit at as many kits as you can, look at photos of your fave players to see how they set up, but do be sure about a 12in and 13in combination before you lash out. Trying to buy and sell individual drums can be tiresome and expensive.

Tuning the test pair was no problem. The thin shells, rough inside in traditional Premier style, are now painted a cosmetic matt black. They resonate clearly and with plenty of volume. Premier heads have improved over the years, but I found the gauge of the Powerplay and Everplay combination too thin for my taste. Mayhap the Remo Ambassador and Pinstripe would suffice?

The L-bracket tom holder is another derivation from the Ludwig heritage, and like the snare action it's still the most effective means of keeping the toms at the chosen height and angle without perforating their shells. However, once tightened this method does still choke the sound of the drums. My Ludwig does it and so does the APK. To check the difference, hold the drum in one hand and whack it with a stick. Then fit it on to the holder and hit it again. You'll detect about a 50% difference. Not much you can do about it, but worth knowing.

The 16 x 16 floor tom is much the same as the Royale version. So the wing nuts which hold the legs (which could still be longer) in position are still fitted to the outside of the retaining boxes. This means that they're still vulnerable in the event of being dropped and that they make the drum far too big for a conventional matching case. No complaints in the sound department, however, and the extra coat of paint inside the shell certainly hasn't affected tonal quality or volume for single- or double-headed use.

The APK stands are selected from the Tristar range rather than the Trident variety which I've seen with the Royale. Essentially this means double-flanged legs and chunkier wing nut adjustment. All very well, but the tripod legs of the snare stand are still so broad that I found it hard to get the drum close to the 12in as the legs were restricted by the curvature of the bass drum, or far enough to the right because the bass drum pedal gets in the way. Even with the legs pulled up as far as possible this was as much of a handicap as I recall suffering with the Royale's Trident stand. Again, this worries me as a source of discomfort and hardship for the novice player. Otherwise the stand is perfectly serviceable and solid, although the wing nut that holds angle adjustment is peculiarly small.

The hi-hat stand is a strange combination of strengths and weaknesses. The structure can't be faulted, but the clutch is no better than the Olympic brand that Premier made aeons ago. There's another tiny wing nut (requiring wrists of steel and promising early breakage), thin felts and more fiddly little nuts to hold the top cymbal. I mention all this because drummers hate a) the beater which flies out of the bass drum pedal in the middle of a gig, or b) the top hi-hat cymbal that comes loose on its rod or falls out of its clutch altogether. Small points, but potentially important ones.

The hinging joint from footplate to spring seems extremely weak. Riveted in the same manner as its counterpart on the bass pedal, it's even looser and looks like another job for Bicycle Repair Man before long. Until which time it will play comfortably, even offering a modicum of spring tension variation and a nice ping if you tap the top half of the tube with your stick, a feature not available with some of the more expensive models.

The cymbal stand is fine, with six feet of height on offer, massive legs, and solid balance. Until you reach the top, that is. Here we find the same small arrangement of washer, felts, nylon bush and small wing nut that is another throwback to the Olympic era. It does the job but has to be tightened fully to prevent the nut from slowly unwinding every time a cymbal is hit. In fairness, holding the cymbal while still allowing free resonance and a variable degree of swing is a problem beyond many a rival.

As far as I'm concerned the best feature of this kit is that it doesn't include a stool. If you are a potential buyer be thankful that you won't be obliged to suffer the poor balance and arse-numbing discomfort of the Premier. Instead, spend the best 80 quid or so that you ever will as a drummer and get a decent stool. My vote would go to the Pearl which is a pleasure to park on (for hours if necessary) and absolutely rock solid. All of which will make you a happier, more relaxed and ultimately a better drummer.

So the APK range is trying hard to compete with mostly Japanese opposition on the limited funds which are obviously available to Premier at the moment. With six different finishes, black bass drum hoops and front head, it's cosmetically right up to date, is good value for money, but must be looked after and, in the case of the pedals, played carefully.

PREMIER advanced power kit (apk): £549

CONTACT: Premier Percussion Ltd, (Contact Details).