Dowco-Triumph Street goes with Premier, Hosbilt combo

With less than two weeks before the band competes at the 2011 World Championships, Dowco-Triumph Street of Vancouver has implemented a complete new set of instruments for its drum section, dropping its Andantes in favour of Premier HTS800 snares, Hosbilt tenor drums and a retrofitted Hosbilt bass.

Dowco-Triumph Street brought out the new all-black and chrome instruments at the Seattle Highland Games over the weekend and, while Simon Fraser University won the competition, received a first in ensemble in the medley competition.

Leading-Drummer Andre Tessier confirmed that the snares and bass-section drums were purchased directly from Cameron’s Drumming Studio and Hosbilt, respectively, with no sponsorship in place.

“We are very excited about this new venture with our sound,” Tessier said. “While it is late in the season, I felt that the time was right to make a change. The new drums will allow the snare  section to project a bigger sound, while our mid-section will create extremely warm and precise tones. I felt that I needed more projection from our snare drums. The Andantes produce a brilliant sound off the top but, in my opinion,  do  not project as well as the Premiers. In a competition circle where our backs are to the audience, projection is a must.”

The new Hosbilt tenors comprise new models brought out by the Tiverton, Ontario-based company, which had an acrimonious split with Premier in 2009. Tessier remarked that the four new  tenors  feature  carbon-fibre hoops and a “T-stud” turnbuckle tensioning system that he described as “state-of-the-art.”