For jptrickster

[Agopsalott]

This should ring bells. Not mine.

Probably a distant second but I wonder how close they really are.

[nico]

A G for a student drum.

Thassa lotta frogskins.

[Agopsalott]

Not sure I would consider that a student drum, but.....yeah.

[nico]

They were made for the NYC schools, right? Schools have students. Ergo, student drum.

It's not like you're gonna give 14-year-old Johnny Wannebe Caveman a Gladstone to take home with him. Although those cost almost as much as this Acro.

[jptrickster]

Basically what you have here is a 6 1/2 Supra shell with no chrome, thus the Acrolite was born. Even though it was labeled as a student drum that basically meant that it was easy to tune,sounded great and was indestructable!! Ludwig was smart bringing back the elusive and hard to find 6 1 /2 Acro. Now every one can have a taste. I haven't played one yet but hear they sound great. I'd love to do a Coke /Pepsi comparison with my Keystone version.

As for the thousand bucks for the blue/olive badge I'm surprised it hasn't sold yet. I'd say they sound every bit as good as a Dunnett or Craviotto aluminum snare and you know those are deep bucks.

As with all things vintage you can't replicate mojo, vibe, history or the hands on craftsmanship of yesteryear (if your into that kind of thing) To me it has an impact on my approach and attitude towards an instrument and what style it will stimulate......This particular drum appeals to all of my musical roots and extracts fills and skills that I never knew I had, It plays me for sure..... That's a good drum right there!

[donbseattle]

First off, I agree with JP. That mojo stuff is true for me in my little world. I have never owned one, but have played on alot of acrolites over the years. They all sounded great, except a few old, bit up, poorly tuned ones that I have encountered now and then on cheap, bit up used kits that belong to non drummers. But ALL drums sound bad when they are bit up and poorly tuned.

That said, I never bought one, because I think they are UGLY! And I never bought a chrome over aluminum supraphonic, because when most geniuses put chrome over aluminum, you get that disgusting pitting.

I shelled out big bucks for a Ludwig pre serial COB supra. It was cool and chrome sticks well to brass. But then I got a COB Rodgie Powertone and I love that cheap little dude better than my old COB Luddy.

But I digress. I would like one of those acros that has the black galaxy sparkle on it? Am I getting that right? I have a black glass glittler drum kit, so that would look cool.

I have heard various aluminum snares. Alot of them sound terrific.

But I need snare drum chops more right now than I need another snare.


Course, I do have a hammered bronze luddy on the way. I special ordered it months ago. Supposed to arrive in July. One of those bill stewart types, but with die cast hoops and a p86. for the record it was WELL UNDER a grand and I would rather have it than a vintage ACKIE!


But getting back to my thesis. I agree with JP on the mojo angle. If something delights you and you feel the mojo from it, then I encourage you, by all means to go for it, whatever that might be!


Sometimes I get the urge to go looking for a 60's, low end, "Made in Japan" kit, with the wildest finish I can find. In the out there, free jazz world, anything goes!


My biggest mojo thing right now, if I can go off the track again, is a 22 inch 50's "A" block stamp. dirty like an old penny. Got it for 185 shipped. Love it!


Time to go listen to "Got my Mojo Workin"


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0bQKKrpj0E

[nomsgmusic]

This reminds me of a question that I asked on another forum, and a BB thread I started here and everyone was very helpful with. So I'll ask it again here.

Has anyone EVER done a side by side test of KB Supras, and B/O Supras? Same drum, same heads, same rims, EVERYTHING. Is there a difference in sound between the different shell eras of Supras?

Of course this question could (and maybe should) be opened to old (raw) vs. new (painted) Acros, regular Acros vs. Black Acros, and old (1920's) vs. new Black Beauty's as well.

To extend the experiment, I would LOVE to put all of the various companies (signature, and non signature) "new" versions of Black Beauty's up against one another, and against the real thing (both old and new,) and really hear the difference.

Maybe this what the SD Olympics does? I've only heard of that event, never seen any results or anything. I (for one) would be very interested to see if anyone has done any of this, and would love to know your results?

If all those cymbal tests prove anything, it's that we have some pretty refined ears here, lets apply them to some drums? There seems to be a few less variables in the production of drums vs. the production of cymbals, so this might be an easier (and possibly fruitless) process of comparison.

Or maybe I should just create (or find) SD-A-Holic.

Anybody... JP?

MSG

[jptrickster]

Agreed MSG, most of us have good ears and are ocd as hell about our sound.
I have done the side by side with the 60's Keystone badge Acro vs the 70's Blue/olive badge (5" shells)
and there was a noticable sonic difference most likely due to different coating on the shell. It could also be due to different alloy content of the shell, hoops and other parts.

The mid 60's Acro's have a clear coat over raw alloy (seems to be some kind of a powder coating technique, tough as nails)
The 70's and later versions have a gray colored finish(of varying shades) and to my ears sound a tad drier than it's predesessors. This has been the general collective sense from what I've heard on different forums. The Blacro's or Black galaxy finish as told by others sounds even drier yet. The Keystone badge version seems to be the popular Acro of choice and commands the most $.

[LoveElvin]

When you look at the two snares, you can tell that the newer drum has slightly smaller diameter. This is one of the reasons why none of the current supra's can sound as good as the vintage drums.

This should ring bells. Not mine.

Probably a distant second but I wonder how close they really are.