cellophanenick
Member
I know these have been out a few years, but I had no clue they were so expensive. the 5x14 is $430 new. that seems crazy to me. are people actually buying these?
Considering the price of the Supraphonic, then the Black Beauties, the Acrolites are priced accordingly. Not sure if people are buying them, but if the price hasn't changed in a year, people must be buying them. Ludwig would've dropped the price if they weren't selling, no?
All of the USA-made Ludwig snares have been steadily rising in price. Even prior to the reissue version the Blackrolites had risen in price quite a bit. But I also think that's pro-level snares in general. Looking at comparable snares I think the new Acrolite is priced competitively.
But all of that has had a noticeable effect on the used market too. Vintage Acrolites are nowhere near the bargains they once used to be, and from what I've seen I'd say the average selling price on them has just about doubled over the last five years.
I still see Acrolites for ~$60 at goodwill. Am I missing something?
Example:
Ludwig Medium Snare Drum W/rolling Case & Stand | ShopGoodwill.com
www.shopgoodwill.com
Granted, I paid $51 for mine in 2014.....
NDD - Acrolite
My first Acrolite arrived today. Best $51 I ever spent. Came with the Ludwig UFO case, stand, and Ludwig branded tuner. Original early-80's batter, almost completely unplayed and loose on the rim. Reso side was completely barren. Serial 3100526 puts it after 79. Black face P85...www.drummerworld.com
I purchased the 10-lug 6.5x14 three years ago and I love it!
I'm using Coated Ambassador top with Ambassador hazy snare side.
Snares attached with 5/8" grosgrain ribbon.
One of my faves!
Tune Bot settings: Top C# 277.1 Bottom G 392
I still see Acrolites for ~$60 at goodwill. Am I missing something?
Example:
Ludwig Medium Snare Drum W/rolling Case & Stand | ShopGoodwill.com
www.shopgoodwill.com
(This is regarding non-reissue Acros).
Yes- you're not considering that the $67 currently shown is just a bid and not "the price." The bidding frenzy on Goodwill usually ups the price to over $100 if the Acro is in decent shape.
I tried the Goodwill bidding route a few times 3 years ago on several Acros- they started at a low price but by the time it ended, the winning bid was around $120-$130. Tack on the $25 shipping fee for the total.
I ended up buying an incredibly beautiful 70s Acro from Guitar Center's used gear inventory for around the same price ($120) but was able to get around their shipping fees through a GC contact that arranged it as a store to store transfer.
Ebay also turned out to be a high priced venue for an Acrolite, just check it out and you'll see beat up Acros for over $100 and more with bids going up. Reverb has some decent Acros usually in the $150+ price range (up to $200).
Yes- you're not considering that the $67 currently shown is just a bid and not "the price."
I am indeed considering "the price" that several dozen board members have paid to goodwill over the last five years. All. you need to do is set a $75 max bid and re-visit once a week. Just last Sept/October I had an acquaintance do this and unintentionally end up with two, one for $61 and one for $71 (+~$25 S&H).
A common problem that shoppers have when looking for an Acrolite is that they search for "Acrolite". Any seller that knows that they have an "Acrolite" will know to charge $150 for it. What you want to find is the seller of the "Ludwig Rockers drum" (refers to the OEM head on the Acro) or "Ludwig student drum". These are the people that found Pop's old highschool drum in the closet when cleaning out the old house and don't know what they have.
I think those days are over. I bought two at shopgoodwill.com for less than $100 a few years back but nowadays they get bid up pretty quickly.Man, I've been looking for an Acrolite on my local CL and FB for two years and haven't seen one for less than $125. (Which is a reasonable price, of course, but when you keep reading stories about people finding them for $75, or even $15, at a thrift shop...)