The drum that started my little collecting hobby two years ago was a 1968 Ludwig Acrolite.  It’s basically a gateway drum – cheap, plentiful, sounds great – and it set me on the road of learning about the last 100 years of drum making and building a collection of essential snare drums.

And as I’ve previously written, Ludwig’s Standard line has also been praised by many drummers for offering great value, and being somewhat overlooked in favour of Ludwig’s higher-end offerings from the period.  So when a 1969 Ludwig Standard popped up recently for around $100, it was impossible to resist.

This one has the same Ludalloy shell used by Ludwig for Acrolites and Supraphonics, but without the center bead.  In fact, the 1969 Ludwig catalogue refers to this as an “Acrolite Finish” (model S-102 for keeners).  It comes with 8 lugs, the reliable P-83 strainer (still my favourite Ludwig strainer) and a tone control.

If you’re curious about how these drums sound, here’s a nice video Reverb posted comparing a Supra, Acrolite and Standard.

There’s not much more to say than this is a great little drum.  It’s in excellent condition, and after about an hour of cleaning and polishing, it looks pretty much the same as it did 47 years ago.  I highly recommend picking one of these up, especially if you can find one for under $150.

Cousins – 1968 Acrolite on top, 1969 Standard below.