BishopMar 3, 2023

Been a bit quiet lately, but finally some progress in life! A well-timed tax return has let me catch up on some overdue purchases for overdue projects, including:

  • The last parts I need to restore my early 80s #Ludwig #Acrolite (what’s the age range before something can be considered “#vintage”? Over 50 years?)
  • Low-volume #drumheads and #cymbals so I can FINALLY get the kind of #drums practice I need done,
  • New phones for wifey and I (went back to the #Android gang with a #Pixel7, enjoying the setup and speed so far, compared to my old #iPhone 11,
  • Fretboard rendering software to complete the #guitar lesson video and document I’ve been working on for a year and a half,
  • A new domain that I can use for tech-testing, once I have time after playing with the rest of my buys!
Akkoma

BishopDec 22, 2022
So when I started playing #drums a few years ago, my friend gave me his old #Ludwig #Acrolite snare as something to mess around with. At the time, I gave it an hour of noodling and chucked it back into storage when I moved back into an apartment.


Two years later, I'm getting back into drums, I pull the thing off the shelf, and the nerd itch goes off: "Find out everything you can possibly know about this drum, with nothing but the serial number."


2+ hours of forum trolling and Google nerding later (my favorite ways to waste time!), I now know that it was made in ~1982 because of 4 reasons:

- The rounded B/O serial plate, introduced after 1978;

- The anodized finish, replaced by powder-coated in 1984;

- The black 12-hole version of the P-85 throw arm was used after 1982;

- The snare-side head was a Remo "Weather King Ambassador Snare," with a unique logo that I dated to the early 1980s, which means THE ORIGINAL SNARE HEAD WAS STILL ON IT FROM 40+ YEARS AGO!! (And it shows!)


Does knowing it was made in 1982 make it sound better? Maybe! Either way, I'm gonna enjoy putting some new heads and wires on this once I have the funds. Being a nerd is great fun!
Akkoma