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The huige 26"x16" bass drum.

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Do you remember when the choice of off-the-shelf drum kit set-ups extended no further than 22"/12"/13"/16" Rock or 20"/10"/12"/14" Fusion types? Boring, wasn't it? These days, while most kits don't deviate too far from these basic blueprints, there's a good deal more flexibility when you come to place an order for a new five-piece. And we're all grateful for that.

Premier's Artist Series is a case in point - no fewer than four main options are offered in the form of the Rock 22, Fusion 22, Jazz 20 and Jazz 22 flavours, which mix and match toms and bass drums to arrive at a line-up that has something to suit most of us.

And Premier are spoiling lovers of the less-than-run-of-the-mill even further with the introduction of the Heavy Rock 24 and Rock Legend 26. If you're fed up with not being able to find monster size drums at non-monster prices then the two newies will be right up your street.

Meaty, beaty, big and bouncy

We love instruments that don't try and be all things to all men. Drums and cymbals with a single-minded dedication to one task are, to our mind, more interesting than middle-of-the-roaders that try to cover all bases. There's just more character with stuff that's either really heavy or incredibly thin, teeny-tiny or absolutely huge.

Talking of which... The '26' suffix of the Rock Legend gives it away, doesn't it? Yet nothing quite prepares you for the sight (and size) of a 26"x16" bass drum emerging from its packaging if you've not seen one for a while. Complementing the colossal kick are a trio of whopping great toms; a 13""x10"" mounted and 16""x16"" and 18""x18"" floors.

This is a seriously big rig.

The Rock Legend package also includes a tidy looking 14"x6 ½" brass snare and the usual hardware suspects, specifically hi-hat, straight cymbal, boom cymbal and snare stands, clamp and L-arm mount for the 13" tom and a simple chain-driven bass drum pedal. It's a pretty comprehensive package, and although this is unlikely to be anyone's first kit, the included hardware is worth having if you're trading up from something more entry-level in nature.

Which wood?

The sheer scale of the kit prompts a good few minutes of wandering around it, checking how it looks from all angles and grinning like a loon once it's set up for the first time. There's no escaping the fact that the sheer scale of the Rock Legend is instantly impressive. But getting down to construction notes and such is inevitable.

The Rock Legend 26 is available in either Premier's Artist Maple or Artist Birch shell types - we got the former for the purposes of this review. As such the set-up features six-ply maple shells and in our case these are finished in Rosewood lacquer, which we liked for its understated and slightly retro styling.