Acrolite throw-off

Mastiff

Senior Member
This is a newb kind of question. I just received a used acrolite I bought on Reverb. I like it okay, but I'm finding that the throw off doesn't seem to have enough range, as in, I can't make it loose enough so that it fully disengages the wires and have it anywhere near normal tuning/tightness when engaged. Any idea what might be going on? It's hard to see how I could adjust the wires to change this, but I know next to nothing about setting up snares. Perhaps the throw-off itself is malfunctioning and won't open as far as it should? The handle is at maybe 45 degrees to the head surface when open, not even with it.
 
This is a newb kind of question. I just received a used acrolite I bought on Reverb. I like it okay, but I'm finding that the throw off doesn't seem to have enough range, as in, I can't make it loose enough so that it fully disengages the wires and have it anywhere near normal tuning/tightness when engaged. Any idea what might be going on? It's hard to see how I could adjust the wires to change this, but I know next to nothing about setting up snares. Perhaps the throw-off itself is malfunctioning and won't open as far as it should? The handle is at maybe 45 degrees to the head surface when open, not even with it.
Please check out the video below...



And perhaps this...

 
Turn the snare upside down. Loosen the screws/nuts on the butt and throw off that hold the snare cord (or plastic strip). Keep the throw off engaged. Set the tension knob at half way. With the snares just sitting on the head, reset the cord/plastic in the butt and throw off and retighten the screws. Don't pull on the snares when you do this, let them just sit there making sure they are equidistant from each side and centered. Flip the drum over and tighten the knob to your desired tension (the throwoff is still in the on position). Once tensioned, it's good. It should now engage/disengage the snare with no issues.
 
Check this picture out:

88326

That's as far down as it can go. It appears to me that it should be able to go down further, since there's a little round detent kind of thing there. As it is though, the knob is kind of hitting. The whole thing is a bit tweaked too (they called it "mint" on Reverb). Do you guys think this is right?
 
Check this picture out:

View attachment 88326

That's as far down as it can go. It appears to me that it should be able to go down further, since there's a little round detent kind of thing there. As it is though, the knob is kind of hitting. The whole thing is a bit tweaked too (they called it "mint" on Reverb). Do you guys think this is right?
Just checked my two P-85's on my Supras, and when disengaged, both rest at roughly the same position as yours in the photo. But that's not a barometer of whether or not the snares are properly adjusted. Start by watching the video. I personally like having the adjustment screw three quarters of the way loosened with the lever in the on position to start. Center the snares as depicted in the video, and adjust the strainer knob from there. As previously stated by the "Insane One."
 
The knob appears to be all the way loose. If it is, and the snare is disengaged but the wires still touch, you won't be able to engage the throwoff. Just follow the instructions above and you should be fine.

If you think there is something actually wrong with the throwoff, you can disassemble it by turning the knob all the way loose until it unthreads itself. IIRC, the front of the throwoff should now just slide off, exposing the lever assembly. You need to remove the snare plastic from the throwoff to slide it off. If the lever is binding you will be able to see where.
 
Two opposite possibilities IMHO:
  1. Your wires are too tight: did you try to loosen them?
  2. Your wires are too loose: looking at the picture you posted, I have the impression that the plastic strip cannot slide correctly towards the internal part of the rim because the strainer goes far too low => you should try too tighten the wires by turning the knob.
Just my 2 cents ...
 
The strap is not installed properly. It looks as though it may be pushing the snares into the reso head.
 
Thanks for the help. The picture may be misleading since I took it after I loosened stuff up to begin adjusting things. But after thinking about it, I was coming to the same conclusion as you guys are (I think). It's not that it isn't coming loose, it's just that the plastic is pushing the wires up into the head no matter how loose the throw off is. I'm not quite sure what to do about it though, it seems like the plastic part is just bent and a little stiff, causing that to happen. Maybe if I take the strap out and turn it over?
 
You can always replace the strap with a cord. It works just as well.
 
The strap looks like it's routed the wrong way through the strainer. I would not leave it the way it is. Re-install the strap how it's supposed to go if it is in fact not properly installed. I'm pretty sure that the end of the strap should be oriented upward towards the batter head, not downward through the strainer pointing at the reso.
 
The strap looks like it's routed the wrong way through the strainer. I would not leave it the way it is. Re-install the strap how it's supposed to go if it is in fact not properly installed. I'm pretty sure that the end of the strap should be oriented upward towards the batter head, not downward through the strainer pointing at the reso.

Yeah, it came weirdly doubled back like that, but I don't really see how that would affect how it lays against the bottom head. Do you think it would?
 
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