How good of a deal is this?

oldmetalhead

Junior Member
A female friend of mine has a Ludwig blackrolite black galaxy finish snare drum for sale for $175. It includes drum, stand, case, stick and sheet music. Is this a good deal? I believe the model number is the LM-404. It is 5" X 14" and it was her sons who only used it for a year or so and didnt like his drum teacher and it has been sitting around for 5 years unused.
 
Looks like a very good deal to me, if the drum is in good shape. The stand and case makes it a great deal, IMO.
 
I have seen it once and it was very unused. I thank you for your reply and I am going to give it a workout this weekend with my other snare. Metal snare drums have more pop than wood correct?
 
I think it's a good deal. It's an even better deal if the drum truly has seen little use and is in excellent condition. If it's not been taken care of, then it's only a fair deal since used acrolites are plentiful, with many coming in well below $175. I would check it out in person before committing. For me, the extras included would not make a difference but if you are buying this for a kid just starting out, it would be nice getting the stand, case, and sticks.
 
Well my son is 39 and lives on the other coast. My grand children are even too old or not involved in music so this would be for me. This is a galaxy black snare so it looks really neat.
 
I have seen it once and it was very unused. I thank you for your reply and I am going to give it a workout this weekend with my other snare. Metal snare drums have more pop than wood correct?

I would say that "pop" is a good descriptor of an acrolite's sound. It's an aluminum snare, which tends to be less bright than brass or steel. I've heard many describe the acrolite as having a "woody" tone because it's not as harsh as some metal snares. Give what you've reported, I would buy it. You could easily get your money back if it's in great condition and you eventually decide it's not for you.
 
If it is affordable to you, has the look and sound that is pleasing , and with the extras, I would say go for it.
 
Well....you could buy a brand new LM404 from Amazon for $399 without the accessories....lol.

The Black Galaxy kits on eBay are listing on average around $200. Some a bit lower-BUT you have to pay shipping...up to $40.

So sounds like a decent deal between friends. Depending on who is more needy you could go up $10 or she could go down $10 and still feel good about it.

They are great sounding snare drums imo. I have an older '68 model I just fixed up with new heads. Sounds real good....

Don't get me started on Ludwig snare strainers though! I was spoiled by Rogers strainers and for the life of me cannot understand what the heck Ludwig were thinking when they came up theirs...lol.
 
Hey guys thank you for your feedback. I have often wondered about going with wide snares instead of the standard width. Any suggestions on this? What would one gain from wide snares vs standard?
 
 
Hey guys thank you for your feedback. I have often wondered about going with wide snares instead of the standard width. Any suggestions on this? What would one gain from wide snares vs standard?
Keep the standard snares or similar replacements. My own experimenting with snares with more wires has been disappointing, with the wider snares tending to "choke" the resonant head with certain tunings. Regular old 16 strand snare wires have never disappointed me.

GeeDeeEmm
 
Hey guys thank you for your feedback. I have often wondered about going with wide snares instead of the standard width. Any suggestions on this? What would one gain from wide snares vs standard?
I have a late 70s Acrolite that came with 12 wires. I upgraded to PureSound 20-wire snares and it sounds great. Not sure I'd go much higher than that.....no telling if the snare bed is wide enough to handle 30 or 42 strands.
 
Excellent deal if shows little use and looks newish. Check out the heads. If original and lightly played then certainly has not had much use. Make sure snare throw works well. I just paid $175 for a mint 1980's Black Galaxy. It is truly mint. I'm still looking for a 1968 in good shape, as that was the first snare I ever owned. My dad got it for me new when I was 12 years old. I've heard the old one's like that and newer ones, and the Black Galaxy's. They sound different. The older one's I think have lighter rims. They ring a bit more and are not as "tight". The Black Galaxy one's I actually prefer. I think they have a wider tuning range and sound better across all tunings. The coating I think dampens them a bit. A great recording and gigging snare. If it's in excellent shape then buy it!
 
Well everyone I bought it. I got it with a case, basic stand, practice pad and sticks for $150.
 

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They are great sounding snare drums imo. I have an older '68 model I just fixed up with new heads. Sounds real good....

I have a '68 Acrolite as well, and I love it! Much like the OP, I got mine as part of a complete student snare kit with a case, stand, drum key, practice pad, etc., for $100. The practice pad was even in the original cardboard box- it's a time capsule, for sure! The best part about the snare stand is that it's tall enough to play the drum standing up (concert style), but it's short enough that you can use it to play drum set while sitting down! It's also very light weight and surprisingly sturdy. Ludwig's design team really did a good job on this one! It amazes me that after 51 years, this equipment functions perfectly and I can use it on the majority of my gigs.
 
If you're in the US and want an inexpensive Acrolite....


Type "Ludwig Drum" into the search field.
Wow, you weren't kidding! Where I am (central Canada) CDN$200 is a fair price for an Acrolite (I might be saying that only because that's what I paid for mine).

Hey OP, I hope you enjoy that snare!
 
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