5x14 Acrolite

OrangeAgent27

OrangeAgent27

Silver Member
Ok, first off! My deepest apologies to everyone because I know there is dozens of threads on the Acrolite on here but I couldn't find exactly what I wanted. I'll delete this once I get some answers.

I'm in the middle of a barter with a guy on a Ludwig Black Galaxy for $90 plus $16.00 for shipping. Thing is I have no experience with these snares. I have a Pearl Chad Smith snare and Catalina Maple, but I am always hearing good things about the acrolites so it makes me curious.

The snare is listed as "Great" condition but my question isn't a "should I buy" it's more of a "what to expect"? Is this drum versatile for jazz, country and swing? Should the 5" depth worry me because I usually only hear about the 6.5". All in all, is the Acrolite really what its cracked up to be? I wish I could play it but the deal is online.

Sorry again for posting this fellas. I just have a short amount of time to respond to him.
 
I have no personal experience with this snare, but I recall forum member Wavelength playing one in this video as a side snare. This may give an impression. Perhaps he can shed some light on its performance.
 
I owned one of these snares and they're awesome. I literally could not tell it wasn't a Supraphonic even when they were side-by-side. Very versatile, not very heavy, a great all-around workhorse snare. I'd get another one in a heartbeat if needed.
 
Yeah, the Arcolite is a great All-around snare. You can use it for anything.
The nice thing is, if you wish to swap out the P-85 sometime, the P-86 fits the same hole pattern.
Same with the lugs. Want tubes down the road? No problem. Imperials, no problem
Tubes look great with the Black Galaxy finish.

I'm going to put Imperial Lugs on my 6.5 Acro.
I like the Bowtie style it has (I put them on a CM snare), but Imperial lugs would look great with the Black Galaxy finish.
It's just not a necessity this minute, but I'll do it sometime. I tried tubes on the 6.5, but on that shell I like Bowtie or Imperials.

Have fun with the drum if you buy it!!
 
Okay, well I turned the guy down. Haha, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I have dreams of a Black Panther walnut Retrosonic dancing in my head and I wasn't sure about the Ludwig because I have the Chad Smith Sig, I thought maybe my next purchase should be a quality wood snare. Uh-oh, might have non-buyers remorse...
 
Let me ask you fellas something, would you say that most jazz or country drummers use wooden snare drums? Or is it something that is dependent on preference?
 
OrangeAgent27 said:
Let me ask you fellas something, would you say that most jazz or country drummers use wooden snare drums? Or is it something that is dependent on preference?
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That's definitely based on preference. Drummers use what they like - besides, I've heard some pretty woody-sounding metal snares and vice-versa in my time ;)
 
Just my opinion, but I think the Acrolites are great for the money. They are cheap, they are versatile, and light. I've always found them easy to tune for several different tones. I'd buy another one for a c-note. Hope you like it.
 
I payed right around 100 for a late 70's acro w/case a few months ago. I'd probably snap a black galaxy one up for 80-90$. Sounds good for everything to me and I like the BG finish. Also the Chad Smith is steel so way different sound vs the acro.
 
Like Danelectro guitars, the Acrolite is a real gem and should not sound as good as they do for the $$$ ...

I sold the stock snare that came with my Sonor Safari kit for $79.00, and bought this virtually un-used Acrolite on The Bay for $99.00 including the bag and stand.

A perfect match for the Safari kit, and just about any other kit out there IMO.

AcroliteSonor.jpg
 
Well, color me embarrassed! Sounds like I let a good one slip away. I'll keep my eye out for another. One thing I should've asked from the beginnin though. Most of the videos I saw on YouTube were mic'd up or of the 6.5 variety so I couldn't get a good idea of this but do the acrolites have any body to them? I was worried it would sound a little thin. Thanks again to everyone!
 
OrangeAgent27 said:
Well, color me embarrassed! Sounds like I let a good one slip away. I'll keep my eye out for another. One thing I should've asked from the beginnin though. Most of the videos I saw on YouTube were mic'd up or of the 6.5 variety so I couldn't get a good idea of this but do the acrolites have any body to them? I was worried it would sound a little thin. Thanks again to everyone!
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The 6.5 acrolite hasn't been made as long as the 14x5, and will be harder to find used unlike the 14x5's that have been made since 1962 I believe. I normally rock huge 8-12" depth snares so I'm all about a full snare sound. My 14x5 acro is sweet, live/recording it kills! I've used it over snares I spent 400+ bucks on for recording. It easily keeps up with the oversized kits I play just fine, I wouldn't call it thin at all.
Check out used.guitarcenter.com/ebay/CL I'm sure you can find acro's under 100$. If you get one, and hate it for some reason you can always sell it, and get what you payed back out of it too.
 
Evilbagua said:
Check out used.guitarcenter.com/ebay/CL I'm sure you can find acro's under 100$. If you get one, and hate it for some reason you can always sell it, and get what you payed back out of it too.
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Awesome, man! Great advice. Maybe I'll check it out then!
 
Evilbagua said:
....... My 14x5 acro is sweet, live/recording it kills! I've used it over snares I spent 400+ bucks on for recording. It easily keeps up with the oversized kits I play just fine, I wouldn't call it thin at all.
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+1

I have a '68 and it's anything but thin under the mike. Versatile and should be required (since it's relatively inexpensive) for every drummer walking into a recording situation.

Obviously a great live as well. Here's the highest tuning I've heard live by Steve Jordan (who has had a Yamaha Signature snare)

http://www.drummerworld.com/Videos/stevejordancrossroadmayer.html

Jim
 
Well, fellas I resubmitted my offer! Thanks for all your help! Today I was changing out the heads on my Chad Smith and noticed the lugs were stripping. Then, about 10 minutes later, the strainer was giving me problems an locking up....So I got up and contacted the guy, asked him the condition of the Acrolite and he said "like new". So I said "goodbye, Mr. Problem snare" and sent him my offer. A couple hours later this "like new" acrolite was mine for $106 shipped.

Question though, how do you guys feel about the drums quality overall? Like good lugs, parts and so on? As someone mentioned earlier, I've heard the strainer leaves a little to be desired.

Thanks again!
 
The Chad Smith snare was based off the Acrolite design. EDIT: or, maybe not...

So if you like one, you're bound to like the other.
 
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OrangeAgent27 said:
Question though, how do you guys feel about the drums quality overall? Like good lugs, parts and so on? As someone mentioned earlier, I've heard the strainer leaves a little to be desired.
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I have a older Acro (I believe it's a '71) and I absolutely love it. I lean toward the beefier sound of a deeper snare but the Acro hasn't let me down. It's got a lot of honk for such a shallow snare.

As for the hardware issues, mine has the older style lugs with the spring inserts. A couple of the threaded inserts were cross threaded which becomes an issue when you have to but new ones. Yours should have the more modern plastic tabs so you shouldn't have a problem.

As for the strainer, I really don't care for the P-85. It works fine but having to find a screwdriver to adjust my strainer is a PITA. I wonder if I can drill and tap out the holes on there to take short 4-sided screws that I could adjust with a drum key. hmmm...
 
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