I think I got the steal of the century for mine. Just left goodwill where I found it in a hard shell Ludwig case … paid a whopping $11 dollars for it. Not a single broken piece on it. Mine is a 1979 and is ready to play.
literally just bought one on instinct and watched your vid after and holy cow i can’t wait for it to arrive. been after a drum this versatile for aaaaages!
Nice man! I got a '70 about a year ago for $130 and just snatched it up immediately. A couple drummers I know just swear by them, and having run sound for them or played with them, I can concur that these are easily the best bang for buck vintage snares you can buy. So good I own one despite not really being a drummer! PS Those tuning spots you found are glorious! I prefer a low to medium tuning, but both the high and gushy sounds were great. Will definitely try them out!
Yeah, these drums are pretty undeniable for the price. And thanks for the kind words about the tuning. I have ended up tuning this thing in that gushy range and just left it there. haha. I use my Supraphonic for everything else.
Acros are great, owned quite a few. I don’t get robbing a Supra to set up an acro but to each their own. Ludwig makes so many great snares but they can get pricey. One cheaper option is the “standard” series snare (s-102 I believe) which is an acro without the center bead. It has the smooth standard lugs and kind of flimsy hardware but still has that great acro sound. I’ve picked these up for as little as 40 bucks which is a great deal on a great sounding snare.
Acrolites have aluminum shells, just like the more expensive (and yet more famous) Supraphonics. That's most likely what gives them such great tonal qualities - mostly dryness and good suppression of unwelcome overtones.
Best drum investment value. Mine was $149; boogered-up head and original tired snares (the shell was immaculate). Together they produced the most killer penetrating dry crack that sounds like you're hitting mild rimshots at medium tuning.
I’m pretty sure I have this drum! I was given it from junior high school where my mom was a teacher at the private school I attended. I used it since mid eighties and still works great to this day! It’s a amazing drum! I find having top head tuned higher sounds best!
This is my go-to gushy/dry snare. They do sound great cranked, but the bowtie lugs are notorious for developing cracks if you keep the drum at high tension. I truly love mine, and a throw-off upgrade was worth it - 35 bucks for the die-cast P88 strainer. Ludwig made these so cheap by cutting corners on the bowtie lugs, the P85 throw-off, and their thinnest triple-flanged hoops, so if you are a heavy hitter, a batter hoop upgrade might be advisable. I don’t do rim shots on this drum at all (I save those for my Supraphonic) so the thinner hoop is just fine for me. Cheers!
I've had mine tuned to the gushy/dry tuning since right after I filmed this haha. This drum just lives there now. Never tune it or change it. It just does "that thing" now. Couldn't agree more!
Hahaha! just came across this video. I still have my Acrolite that I rented-to-own in middle school in 1975. Snare, oversize full drum head practice pad, bells and drum stand. Think I'll start playing again. :)
Top head is LOWWWWWWWWWWW. Bottom head is tight. One lug on the top head is probably detuned below all the others. Then it is just about playing with the snare wire tension until it sounds right. Hope that helps!
Just got a semi-vintage 94-94 Black acrolite, perfect mix of age and quality in my opinion. Beautiful snare in looks and sound! It has a very sensitive feel to it with versatile tuning abilities!
It’s aluminum shell, I have one as my main snare and it’s awesome, I’m yet to try other snares from Ludwig the next might be the Ludwig supraphonic snare.
jorge cabanas I see the shells alone on eBay for really cheap. I’m gonna get just the shell and get tube lugs when I can. I’m a little broke now to buy another snare,or anything for that matter.
I just found out that the Acrolite I bought in the late 80's is a 1967 model. It's got a junky aftermarket strainer. I'm going to put a Ludwig on. Great drum!
Wow they really DO sound good at a low tuning! I was always under the impression that the deeper Supra would be required for that kind of tone! I would LOVE to see a video on your "four tunings" that you applied here, as well as your EQ and compression settings used to obtain these sounds. They're outta sight!
Rick - thanks so much! I LOVEEEEEE my supraphonic. Like. LOVE IT. And that is a drum that on almost EVERY gig I've played someone has complimented how it sounds. And...you are right. I need to make a mixing/drum sounds video. A lot of people have asked. I just shy away because I view "my mixes" as such a work in progress that I don't feel like I have authority enough to share it.
Hey bud, great video, very informative. I have an acrolite that I think 🤔 is a 78-79. Serial number 1.7 million. Yours looked like 2 million something. Is your drum stamped? Mine is also a pointed badge, Yours looked rounded. I'm confused. Thanks in advance.
Hey William! I'll be honest - I have NO IDEA. Although I have a good amount of gear, I don't usually get into the "era specific/lineage" stuff. So I'm not much help here.
i have an acrolite, a 14x8 black beauty, and a 14x6.5 bronze phonic and i can't for the life of me figure out why the acrolite is like 1/7th the price i paid for the other drums.
Gushy tuning? Never heard that before. Great video, but I have been trying to keep the Acrolite a secret because I am greedy and wanted to keep the price down....secret's out I guess. Great snare. One of the few 5 deeps that sound like they do. That fat juicy sound usually comes easy to deeper drums.
Secret has been out of the bag in Nashville for a WHILE on these drums. Great drums and do the job nicely, but like you said - getting harder and harder to find!
Ludwig Acrolitrs are painted seamless aluminum shells. Ludwig super phonics are seamless chromed aluminum shells that's the difference. Generally the Acrolite it is 8 lugs and the other Chrome shells are 10 lugs. Great Alternatives would be the aluminum Pearl Senistone and the tama slp dry aluminum snare drum
As the Ambassador X is slightly heavier (20% I believe) than the ambassador I have to imagine the regular ambassador would ring a bit more. I have a vintage ambassador on there now and it sounds great.
It is a 13 x 9 drum. I tune it med on the bottom and med-low on top. Then usually drop one of the lugs on top a half turn or so. A little bit of gaff tape on the bottom head and one moon gel on top. The rest you are hearing is all just my playing and the EQ/compression I use.
Tim Buell small bit of gaff on the bottom. Do you usually use that? You detune one lug on the toms, huh? I’ve mainly tried/heard of that on the snare...
It is really just for that drum specifically. But detuning a bit is a way to get a more "dead" sound without using gaff or moon gel or anything else. It is a more "natural" way to dampen.
Did something I say here contradict that? If so, didn't mean for it too. One of the reasons I made this is because there is a huge movement (especially in Nashville) that "vintage drums are better". Which, in a lot of cases, I think is true. But just because there is a movement going on of what "most people think", that doesn't always mean it is. The point of this video was to see if the "myth" of this drum being so great was true (which as I stated I found that to be true). The additional lessons with this were to help people know what they are getting into with buying vintage snares. 4:44 in the video "it's worth the hype" referring to the reputation you are talking about. And then just giving people a heads up that if they buy a vintage drum they might need to replace the strainer and it may have some rust on it. That's all I was getting at.
He was referring to you saying that it's a metal snare of some kind , he just stated that it's aluminum . That's all. Nice drums for sure they were designated as a student model,but are the same shell as the supra, the supra has 2 more lugs and the shell is chromed
I have the same snare. Put a coated ambassador on it and crank it up as high as you can. The cracks and rimshot are out of this world.
pwtil def going to try an Ambassador X on it next time for that exact reason!
pwtil That’s my recommendation,as well.
I think I got the steal of the century for mine. Just left goodwill where I found it in a hard shell Ludwig case … paid a whopping $11 dollars for it. Not a single broken piece on it. Mine is a 1979 and is ready to play.
Got mine with a vintage ludwig set from 69 got the entire set for 150
literally just bought one on instinct and watched your vid after and holy cow i can’t wait for it to arrive. been after a drum this versatile for aaaaages!
Yeah. This drum is great - worth having in the arsenal.
I own 2 acrolites from the 70´s it is one of the best drums ever made, I´ve recorded a lot with them . beautiful for pop, rock, fusion and Funk
Nice man! I got a '70 about a year ago for $130 and just snatched it up immediately. A couple drummers I know just swear by them, and having run sound for them or played with them, I can concur that these are easily the best bang for buck vintage snares you can buy. So good I own one despite not really being a drummer! PS Those tuning spots you found are glorious! I prefer a low to medium tuning, but both the high and gushy sounds were great. Will definitely try them out!
Yeah, these drums are pretty undeniable for the price. And thanks for the kind words about the tuning. I have ended up tuning this thing in that gushy range and just left it there. haha. I use my Supraphonic for everything else.
Acros are great, owned quite a few. I don’t get robbing a Supra to set up an acro but to each their own. Ludwig makes so many great snares but they can get pricey. One cheaper option is the “standard” series snare (s-102 I believe) which is an acro without the center bead. It has the smooth standard lugs and kind of flimsy hardware but still has that great acro sound. I’ve picked these up for as little as 40 bucks which is a great deal on a great sounding snare.
Acrolites have aluminum shells, just like the more expensive (and yet more famous) Supraphonics. That's most likely what gives them such great tonal qualities - mostly dryness and good suppression of unwelcome overtones.
Nice and helpful video, thanks for sharing!
Glad to hear it! Thanks for watching.
Best drum investment value. Mine was $149; boogered-up head and original tired snares (the shell was immaculate). Together they produced the most killer penetrating dry crack that sounds like you're hitting mild rimshots at medium tuning.
I’m pretty sure I have this drum! I was given it from junior high school where my mom was a teacher at the private school I attended. I used it since mid eighties and still works great to this day! It’s a amazing drum! I find having top head tuned higher sounds best!
This is my go-to gushy/dry snare. They do sound great cranked, but the bowtie lugs are notorious for developing cracks if you keep the drum at high tension. I truly love mine, and a throw-off upgrade was worth it - 35 bucks for the die-cast P88 strainer. Ludwig made these so cheap by cutting corners on the bowtie lugs, the P85 throw-off, and their thinnest triple-flanged hoops, so if you are a heavy hitter, a batter hoop upgrade might be advisable. I don’t do rim shots on this drum at all (I save those for my Supraphonic) so the thinner hoop is just fine for me. Cheers!
I've had mine tuned to the gushy/dry tuning since right after I filmed this haha. This drum just lives there now. Never tune it or change it. It just does "that thing" now. Couldn't agree more!
I think Acros sound best medium to medium low tuning. Honestly the three tunings in this video are low, lower, lowest. ;)
Hahaha! just came across this video. I still have my Acrolite that I rented-to-own in middle school in 1975. Snare, oversize full drum head practice pad, bells and drum stand. Think I'll start playing again. :)
Do it! You won't regret it!
Hi, how do you set up the snare sound from the 10-25 second of this vdo,very love that sound.thank you 🤘
Top head is LOWWWWWWWWWWW. Bottom head is tight. One lug on the top head is probably detuned below all the others. Then it is just about playing with the snare wire tension until it sounds right.
Hope that helps!
@@TimBuell Thank you very much for your trick,that’s very helpful.I’ll try.🙏
The acrolite is the greatest snare ever made. Just facts
Ethan Varden I’m in total agreement.
I like the supraphonic better in my opinion
Just got a semi-vintage 94-94 Black acrolite, perfect mix of age and quality in my opinion.
Beautiful snare in looks and sound!
It has a very sensitive feel to it with versatile tuning abilities!
I almost picked up a Black Galaxy Acrolite myself! They are good drums.
Was the high tuning that cranked? Sounded more medium high...
tdrum21 I would agree. Wasn’t quite “cranked” but that example it is much higher than I usually track on drums on tunes and tracks I work on.
I think it’s the head.
It’s aluminum shell, I have one as my main snare and it’s awesome, I’m yet to try other snares from Ludwig the next might be the Ludwig supraphonic snare.
jorge cabanas I see the shells alone on eBay for really cheap. I’m gonna get just the shell and get tube lugs when I can. I’m a little broke now to buy another snare,or anything for that matter.
Cool daddio. Good job on discovery 💡
Thanks for the review!
Mihai Drums thanks for watching!
I own one as well; and it's a 77. I got it in MINT condition, for 60 bucks! Haha! I am stoked that I can use this snare for just about anything.
David Brent Drums!!! Wow that mine cost $60,but that was 2013.
Ooh, I skipped around a bunch, but do you have any tips/tutorials on that “gushy” tuning?! 😄
(Sorry if this is super common knowledge; I’m but a lowly guitar player 😇 lol)
I just found out that the Acrolite I bought in the late 80's is a 1967 model. It's got a junky aftermarket strainer. I'm going to put a Ludwig on. Great drum!
Wow they really DO sound good at a low tuning! I was always under the impression that the deeper Supra would be required for that kind of tone! I would LOVE to see a video on your "four tunings" that you applied here, as well as your EQ and compression settings used to obtain these sounds. They're outta sight!
Rick - thanks so much! I LOVEEEEEE my supraphonic. Like. LOVE IT. And that is a drum that on almost EVERY gig I've played someone has complimented how it sounds. And...you are right. I need to make a mixing/drum sounds video. A lot of people have asked. I just shy away because I view "my mixes" as such a work in progress that I don't feel like I have authority enough to share it.
Hey bud, great video, very informative. I have an acrolite that I think 🤔 is a 78-79. Serial number 1.7 million. Yours looked like 2 million something. Is your drum stamped? Mine is also a pointed badge, Yours looked rounded. I'm confused. Thanks in advance.
Hey William! I'll be honest - I have NO IDEA. Although I have a good amount of gear, I don't usually get into the "era specific/lineage" stuff. So I'm not much help here.
They went to the rounded badge in 76
The P88AC throw off is worth every penny
ANYTHING is better than the stock throw off on these haha.
Thanks Tim. I’m getting one!
It’s a fun drum!
i have an acrolite, a 14x8 black beauty, and a 14x6.5 bronze phonic and i can't for the life of me figure out why the acrolite is like 1/7th the price i paid for the other drums.
Right? Its worth so much more than its priced at
Gushy tuning? Never heard that before. Great video, but I have been trying to keep the Acrolite a secret because I am greedy and wanted to keep the price down....secret's out I guess. Great snare. One of the few 5 deeps that sound like they do. That fat juicy sound usually comes easy to deeper drums.
Secret has been out of the bag in Nashville for a WHILE on these drums. Great drums and do the job nicely, but like you said - getting harder and harder to find!
@@TimBuell Even harder in Europe. 70's era Acro's in "good but not great" condition commanding in excess of 430 dollars!
Ludwig Acrolitrs are painted seamless aluminum shells. Ludwig super phonics are seamless chromed aluminum shells that's the difference. Generally the Acrolite it is 8 lugs and the other Chrome shells are 10 lugs. Great Alternatives would be the aluminum Pearl Senistone and the tama slp dry aluminum snare drum
I have a acrolite snare serial # 3036500 what year is this it has the blue and olive badge?
Honestly - NO idea haha. I just know that the listing said this was a 70s Acrolite haha. Wish I could help more!
it will be early or mid 1980's. 2,***,***+ began in 1979
what kind of Hi-Hats are you using on this? Great sound overall !!
Jason Gavalas Hey! These are 1970s Zildjian As. Bought them off a backline company on a gig a few years ago.
@@TimBuell brilliant tone!!
I can dig it! Especially at high and low/gushy tuning. Not a huge fan of that "medium." Sticking with my Dynasonic 😉
Michael Dallara hey man, you do you. It’s your funeral! Haha.
thanks for this
A regular coated Ambassador is best on that drum. The Amb-X will have a lot of ring.
As the Ambassador X is slightly heavier (20% I believe) than the ambassador I have to imagine the regular ambassador would ring a bit more.
I have a vintage ambassador on there now and it sounds great.
Just snagged a hammered finished acrolite near mint with case and stand for 60$
Wow. Killer deal.
Sounds good!
Love your rack Tom sound there. What’s the tuning/heads/dimensions? Cool vid here
tdrum21 thanks man! That rack Tom is a 70s Rogers big r rack Tom. 13” by something. Haha. With an ambassador on the reso and an ambassador x on top.
Tim Buell how do you tune it? Is it a deep depth?
It is a 13 x 9 drum. I tune it med on the bottom and med-low on top. Then usually drop one of the lugs on top a half turn or so. A little bit of gaff tape on the bottom head and one moon gel on top. The rest you are hearing is all just my playing and the EQ/compression I use.
Tim Buell small bit of gaff on the bottom. Do you usually use that? You detune one lug on the toms, huh? I’ve mainly tried/heard of that on the snare...
It is really just for that drum specifically. But detuning a bit is a way to get a more "dead" sound without using gaff or moon gel or anything else. It is a more "natural" way to dampen.
bro what tom mics
MikTek PM10 - they are GREAT and very affordable. Kinda a "hidden gem" in the mic world.
That was high tuning?
Acrolite's are a spun aluminum shell no seam just like the super phonic.
Sounds to me like you're reso head could use a little bit of tightening
Would sound better if you didn't tune it like wet cardboard.
haha. Used a couple different tuning ranges to demonstrate what it does at certain points. Each tuning range might not be for everyone.
Aluminum
once you learn how to tune it it will sound even better
Good burn. I was digging the tunings, but I get they might not be for everyone. Tuning is a fairly subjective thing - what would you do differently?
Come on dude. Acrolite is THE quintessential aluminum snare drum. Do some research. Thumbs down.
Did something I say here contradict that? If so, didn't mean for it too. One of the reasons I made this is because there is a huge movement (especially in Nashville) that "vintage drums are better". Which, in a lot of cases, I think is true. But just because there is a movement going on of what "most people think", that doesn't always mean it is.
The point of this video was to see if the "myth" of this drum being so great was true (which as I stated I found that to be true). The additional lessons with this were to help people know what they are getting into with buying vintage snares.
4:44 in the video "it's worth the hype" referring to the reputation you are talking about. And then just giving people a heads up that if they buy a vintage drum they might need to replace the strainer and it may have some rust on it. That's all I was getting at.
He was referring to you saying that it's a metal snare of some kind , he just stated that it's aluminum . That's all. Nice drums for sure they were designated as a student model,but are the same shell as the supra, the supra has 2 more lugs and the shell is chromed