New 6.5 Acrolite

KarlCrafton

Platinum Member
Well, I went and did it.....I finally got a 6.5 Acrolite.
It's been on my "list" for quite a while.

After playing with it a while, it's exceeded my expectations.
It's very sensitive edge to center, and it's able to get louder that I originally thought too (why I thought it wouldn't get real loud, I don't know).
The sound is very pleasing to me, and I'm sure I'll be using it a LOT in the near future (giving the BB's a rest).

It also came with the 100th Anniversary badge, which looks great & was a very cool surprise.
The only thing I changed was I put a P-86 Millennium strainer on it, because I like it better than the P-85 (and it looks cooler too).
....It also looks pretty dang sweet with my extra sparkly Silver Sparkle kit because of the sparkly Black Galaxy finish (that's a lot of 'sparkly').

AcroFront.jpg


AcroMillennium.jpg


AcroSilverSparkle.jpg


BackAcroFts.jpg


I'm surprised this snare isn't more popular because it sounds great and it's at a nice price.

It's a bit darker on the bite than a smooth 402--similar to the Hammered Chrome Supra I have, & it has around the same amount of shell ring as my HC.

Playing around with different tunings, I was able to get it to sound pretty similar to one of my Black Beauties that has the exact same heads/wires I put on the Acro--Coated Emp, Remo no collar Ambassador snare side, regular 'ol generic 42's, PureSound blue snare wire-string.

The Acro had more shell ring, and it was a little less 'solid' than the BB (similar to how a 402 is less 'solid' next to a BB). This is with NO muffling, and by less 'solid' I mean that with my tuning and heads, the BB has less shell ring creating a shorter sound--sounding more solid.

Comparing the Acro to a drum costing 300 bucks plus more isn't really fair, but the Acro held its own easily, and just sounds different...and best of all it sounds great.

This drum would be a great 'workhorse' for someone that digs 6.5's, and can't/doesn't want to spend the extra $$ for a 402, BB, Black Magic, etc...

I think it'd probably work really well in the studio as well.

IMO, the 6.5 Acrolite is a 5 star snare drum for it's sound & performance (and price).
 
Karl - sweet Acro, man! And, the 100th. Anni. badge...too cool! I've been wanting to see one of these up-close - any chance you could post a closer pic of just the badge?

Great looking kit, too.
 
SWEET, the Acrolite looks GREAT Karl...
Thanks for the comparison too!

"What snare is next on your list..LOL"
 
Vinny, trust me, it's a beauty!! I saw it the other day!! VERY NICE!!!
 
Thanks guys.
I'll try and get a close up of the badge.

It seems that the badges on snares is Gold, and on toms/bass drums it's silver (?)
Why it's that way I don't know, but that's how it is on the kits/snares I have seen in the shop.

It really is a cool drum, and it's 'comfortable' to play...I don't know if that sounds odd or not, but it just seems like a drum that you've had for a long time when you lay into it.
Ghost notes are real cool sounding on this shell too, kinda buttery and fat sounding.

Really nice sensitivity on this drum rim to center (just like all the other Ludwig snares I have).

Other snares on the 'list'...6.5 Hammered Bronze with tubes, Gold Sparkle wood 6.5 with tubes and straight hoops, probably another 6.5 Acro...yeah, I got it all planned out ("planned" being the operative word, we all know how it usually works out haha!)

I'd also like to get a Black Sparkle kit (in the Small Classic lugs this time, & the same sizes I have on the SS & RS kits).

Funny thing is, I can see getting a whole kit sooner than a snare because I always put off "just a snare" haha!
And with BB's, you kinda don't need anything else really becaus ethe cover.
But I have wanted the Acro for about 5 years and just never did it. Glad I did because I really dig it and I know I'll use it a lot.

How much I paid...
Well, I do Graphic Design, and I do stuff for the music studio all the time and we do trade.
I'll tell them how much the cost was for whatever it was I did, then we add up what I want and go from there.
I just did a quick job for them and I ended up paying for the shipping on the Acro, a whole $13 out of pocket.
Otherwise, the Acro would have been about $245-ish plus tax. Still a GREAT price for this snare even if I had to "pay" for it--I still did work for it, just not out of pocket cash.
It works out great for everyone, and it's a pretty sweet situation.

Thanks again guys!
 
Well, I spend all my dough on drums and I don't have a dig vid camera just now, so I can't put anyting up. I was looking into buying one of those H2 Zoom recorders, but another drum got in the way....

Sorry, I'm a "don't really care about tech stuff" kind of guy....but if you want some hardware part modified haha!

I could maybe get my guitar player to record it and get a file up. He has all that sort of stuff where we rehearse.

I'll see what I can do.
 
Cool... if you can. Would be great to hear a decent recording of it 'cause I'm considering picking one up along with a 14x5 Worldmax Black Dawg. About the same price for both as just one real Black Beauty. I'm pretty much sold on the Worldmax snare, but I may consider getting the 6.5 Acrolite as well, if it's as nice as you say.

thanks!
 
Sounds like a good plan bakerboy.

I have the 5" WM "Vintage" model.
It has tubes and straight hoops (the reason for calling it "vintage" I suppose).

Anyhow, I had straight hoops on my Brass BB's (w/tubes) for a long time, and the sound I got with the WM had about the same character as the BB (since both are brass shells)--& mainly only a shorter sound since it's a 5, vs a 6.5.

World Max:

wmsnare.jpg


BB with straight hoops:

snarebass-1.jpg


Shell for shell, drums are going to sound a little different anyway, & the average listener wouldn't hear any difference, but the player might (or might not) care about the differences between a WM and a BB.

On speculation only, since my WM has the straight hoops, I'd say there'd be more difference in actual sound with the straight hoops (and the generic quality of the generic clips--that I switched out with nicer Pearl clips) than with flanged hoops.

Die Cast hoops on the Ludwig Black Magic snare sound fantastic, so since the WM is the same shell, I'd say the WM would sound great with die cast hoops too if you like DC hoops.

I can say the 6.5 (powder coated finished) Acrolite sounds very much like my Hammered 6.5 snare, which is a little drier than a standard smooth 402.

The shell to start with on the Acro and the chrome 402 is identical, the difference is the finish which affects the sound some (as does hammering).

The lugs on the Acro are just as high quality as the Imperial lug, hoops are the same, P-85's are the same.....
 
Thanks, Bram.

That's a Ludwig hoop mount stick holder.

You can still get them (I got one last year for my son).

Part number is L-13245-H Hoop Mount stick Holder.

It works really nice, and saves the finish on your bass drum too (from the sticks sitting directly on the shell).

It cost me about $15 (USD).

Thanks again!
 
I just picked up the 5 x14. I got it for 100 bucks w/case. I love the sound of aluminum. Dry...
 
Nice stuff. Camera flash really brings out the sparkle lol. I was messing with tunings on my 5" blackro today, it's got a great tone. I unscrew the muffler and the let the thing sing. What a great sound.
 
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