Great video! i own a Supralite, the 14*8 model, and I love it. Really dense, present tone, easy to tune, sounds cool open, a tiny bit of tape/gel cleans up the overtones and makes is super punchy.
Yes sir ya do !!! I got mine around 5 years ago, 14x8 brand new in the box for £130 , I run it with an Evans heavyweight over a hazy emperor with 42 strand wires , it sounds great thro every tuning but both sides cranked up table top tight with those heads and wires it's the most fun you can legally have !!! 😉👍
Thank you for making this video. I understand many RU-vidrs always recommend the second hand Acrolite but for whom living outside the US. The shipping cost diminished its best budget snare drum. Even local store would sold Acro for double the price of a brand new Supralite.
they all sound great , just orderd a supralite .. 14x6 version i believe . Really a great sound for its price point .. wow. I do love the dry crack of the original Acrolite . I'm going to look around for one of those as well .
I‘ve got a Supralite in 14x8“ and it‘s really cool. It‘s a special feel to play a deep snare - very punchy and strong. But the Supralite is sensitive too and I‘m sure this will become a modern classic snare drum. If you have the money - buy it! 👍🏻🥁 P.S. I have a new Acrolite (aluminium shell) in 14x6,5“ too. Maybe it‘s a bit more sensitive and got less overtones than the Supra - but I love them both ❤️ I never were a big fan of Ludwig, but they put some magic in their snares. I‘ve owned a Gretsch Solid Aluminium snare which costs 750 € & I don‘t lie when I‘m saying I prefer the two Ludwig models! (I sold the Gretsch - wasn‘t a bad drum, but not as good as the Ls 😉)
I guess I was expecting to be stoked to hear the deep shell on the Supra compared to the Acro but it never happened for me. I am sure, as you mentioned, the difference between steel & aluminum is influential. With that being said...I will have to stick with the Vintage Acrolite for all intent purposes. I think it is really just a better snare drum all the way around.
@@Eurodrummer666 it’s more wet and has more ring but less snare sensitivity. But I agree, it’s just a matter of taste and hence I probably that’s why I like the Supralite more
@@GolddenWaffles i own the Pearl Ian Paice signature steel snare and it looks pretty similar to the supra. I always wanted to try a brass snare so I was wondering about the bb.
Cole - That was a nice comparison between the Supralite and the Acrolite. I gotta wonder if, in the future, the Supralite won't be seen and talked about in the same way we talk about the Acrolite today. ...btw, your Blackrolite dates between the mid 90's and the early 2000's, not the 1970's.
Thanks for comparing snares! Supralites are very affordable and great sounding, depending on what sound your looking for. I think they are a well-rounded snare drum for many genres of music.
Cole " Do not (ever) say goodbye to your classic Galaxy Acrolite, that drum clearly sounded best in the particular comparison! TY S.R.PURDY 🥁 God Bless 🙏
I might be alone. But, of five new issue Ludwig snares (Supralite, Acrolite, Supraphonic, Black Beauty), my order of preference is: 1=Supraphonic 2. Black Beauty (very close second, or tie even), 3. Universal Brass. 4. Supralite, 5. Acrolite. The new Acrolite has a pingy resonant ringy body resonance, that rubs me up the wrong way (though with a wallet/damping, it does sound good. And your vintage Acrolite sounds great, better than the Supralite. The Acrolite is the only one I would pass on, the other four I would use plenty. I think for a player coming up, makes sense to start with the great value Supralite, then fill snare collection out with a Universal Brass, then a Supraphonic, then a Black Beauty (in a different size to the Universal, or just sell or the Universal for the BB at that point).
You're right they can't be duplicated. I've got a late 60s unfinished aluminum and an 80s black Galaxy and they're both just a joy to play. I've had them for years I think I paid $50 for the aluminum finish and $60 for the black Galaxy and it came with a hard shell case LOL
I have a Supralite and a Supraphonic, both 6.5“, same heads (CS) same snares (PS Custom Pro). All lugs are tuned at appr. 280 Hz. I guarantee, you wouldn’t hear the difference when the are freshly tuned. One big difference though: once the Supralite detunes slightly it starts to sound a bit unpleasant whereas when the Supraphonic detunes it starts to sound even better. Might be the steel vs aluminum I don’t know
Great insight! I'd imagine that could have somtehing to do with the difference between the steel and aluminum shell, aluminum being a little more dull and forgiving so when it detunes you get more fatness rather than overtones.
I bought a 13x6 supralite yesterday. Ive had and used an actolite for years and i love it. But i really wanted a high dry drum with a cutting rimshot but also articulate under the lighter touches for ghost notes and rolls. Kind of comparable to a lot of funk and ska but i dont want it too ringy. I was going to get either a piccolo or a side snare at guitar center but this caught my eye. I wanted something smaller in depth for sure i was going to get something a lot smaller. But after playing them all a bit this one seemed to have the sound im looking for especially with a moongel. I bought its and was asked if i wanted the protection plan, i asked back, its ludwig? Its steel? Yes and yes so i said thats insurance enouph. I love it, it cuts like no other.
The supralite is better than the acrolite or maybe supraphonic. Everytime I get my supraphonic out for a gig I compare it to the supralite, I got to go with the supralite. It just sounds more solid and sensitive. 🤷
I recently purchased a 14× 5.5 Supralite. Yes, the $ is cheaper due to the manufacturing location, but you're splitting hairs when it comes to sound. I look forward to many years of playing.
Acrolites are ridiculous right now. Can barely touch one for under $200. Aluminum snares in general are super hot rn. Which makes sense because short of bell bronze/brass, nothing comes close to the qualities you get from them. And, I actually prefer the lighter dryer sound of aluminum to bronze by just a tiny margin.
I literally don’t own one drum yet, and I’m already like, “Well, clearly, the answer is to get an Acrolite AND a Supralite 🤷🏼♂️” lol/smh Money’s stupid 😝😂🤦🏼♂️
Hi Markus - thanks for the comment. For your first concern you'll be pleased to know that you can click around the little red/grey bar at the bottom of the video and jump to whichever part of the video you're interested in. For some that's the commentary and for others the demos. As for compression, this is actually a fairly conservative mix. It's a tough balance to strike because everyone wants to hear the snare in a different way. If I use only room mics people want to hear close mics, if I use only close mics people want to hear the room. If I don't use EQ the drum doesn't sound accurate to how it did in the room. This is why I include a demo of the Acrolite as reference. You can use that as a known quantity to compare against. Hope that helps!
Yes. Pretty sad, but we’re in so deep now with Chinese “trade deals”. Thanks Kissinger, lobbyist scum, and our spineless government for that. The deficit we experience must be huge. Actually I just looked it up quickly: America experiences the largest trade deficits of any country, $500 BILLION to China alone. All we can afford are $199 snares!!!! FFS. That 8” sounds great, I love steel drums, most of them sound good, or can be made to sound good.
