YOU HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD! Sooner or later the Supra ends up being most drummers go-to snare. You can spend a full day experimenting with the Supra (different head combinations/wires/hoops/tuning techniques) and achieve some interesting sounds.

If you are after a Bonham-esque (sp?) sounding snare - and can't afford something vintage, you might want to consider getting an new [or used] (6.5) Supralite......the video(s) that show how they sound do a wonderful job to show how great these snare drums sound with different tunings. The look is cool too - love the tube lugs! If I were in the market for a snare.........

I haven't had the opportunity to try the Superlite....,.YET..........and you're correct about the tube lugs making this drum appealing...... MAN, you got my curiosity up now.

I've had about 5-6 70s 402s as well as a modern COB Supra..all 6.5s. Playing the COB really turned me onto brass and I can't look back. Supras, to me at least, sound too dry. There's not enough "fatness" you get out of a good brass snare. That's just me though. Thousands of other drummers will tell you otherwise.

I think this is all subjective.. I've had my '76 , 5x14 Supraphonic Ludalloy snare drum for 13 years, and have used it in studio and live, and just like johnnyringo said, it sounds great and delivers in any place, in any situation..Tuning range is superb.. I also have a '71 Acrolite, and although slightly more complex sounding,(i think because of it being an 8 lug) sounds just as great, only drier and darker.. Whenever i hear my Supra recorded, i can't get over the crack and tone that emanates from that drum.. It's the perfect, all around, go-to snare drum, and i'm willing to bet that EVERY major recording studio world wide has one in it's arsenal. We have no solid proof of it being "the most recorded snare drum in history", but what we do know is that it's on a vast majority of hit records since Ludwig began making them.. I suggest you pick one up, play it and hear it for yourself. You may never look back.. ;)

I wouldn't pick up a supralite simply because of my own experience with a 4x14 drum that i purchased a year ago.. Right from the get go, it was a piece of crap, not sound wise, but build wise.. I've been playing drums for 30 years, have been doing restoration as a hobby for about 10 years, and i personally think that it isn't well built..

Why is that, you may ask ? Simple.. Made overseas.. Cheap materials.. The butt plate and throw off system is flimsy and never tightens properly, making the snare bed rattle even when the snares are "off"..When i changed heads and began tuning and adjusting the snare bed to the sensitivity that i wanted , one of the drum key bolts snapped in half, and i didn't even over tighten, as i never over tighten a screw or bolt on any drum. I brought that drum back to the store and told my buddy who works there and whom i've known for over 15 years to quote- "take this piece of China made Ludwig garbage back and give me my store credit".. It was a shame because the snare drum looked really classy and actually sounded great.. I just think that the whole strainer, throw-off and butt plate are one of those things that Ludwig missed the mark on, so to speak. If they put a P-85 and slightly jack up the price, they'd have a decent seller in their snare drum arsenal.. This is just my experience, and others may differ. This is just my opinion.. ;)

As a consumer you are probably right. If a part isn't functioning properly then you must get your money back.

But as a musician you said it was a great sounding snare. I would imagine the price point was low in the first place, why not do your own upgrades? You must of looked at this drum in the shop for some time and summed up your feelings to buying it. Your 30 years experience should of helped you see just what you were buying into.

I have all three of these snares. My favorite of them is the Acrolite, and yes, it does sound different from the Supraphonic. The Supra sounds "harder" and drier and louder to me. Kind of overpowering. I use mine when playing outdoors. I chalk the tonal difference between it and the Acrolite up to the heavier and more numerous lugs.

The COS Slingerland Festival is another animal entirely. Mine was an early purchase just because I saw one on Craig's List for $60 and thought "a Slingerland snare for such a low price?"

Didn't care for the sound very much so I kept shopping for snares.

Having owned it for a couple of years, when I try the Festival now, I like it for its piercing crack. It's the brightest snare in my collection. It doesn't spend much time in the current daily player spot, but I have no plans to dump it, either.

I had a 4160 for a while. Although it is COB like my power tone, I preferred the latter and sold the Gretsch to Mike, the bass player from Phish.

I have played a lot of Al supras. Our jr and sr high schools both were all Ludwig back then. Very easy to tune and tolerant to inept tuning, which was pretty much the rule.

I tent to prefer 8 lug snares so the shell (whatever it is) can contribute to the overall sound. I think only my DW has ten lugs...

The Al shell of the supra and acro both tend to be drier than steel or brass. I suspect t that's why they get recorded so much- easy for the engineer...

All of this was very helpful, thanks. I've tried almost every metal snare of that era (60s) and each had pros and cons for me but that's only because all of them can be found for under $200 and the Supra rarely goes that cheap (never seen a complete Keystone so pitted that it dropped into my price range). The good thing about them is they hold value, so I may just buy one and if it doesn't pan out it's an easy resell.

I guess we all have that curious phase where we want to apply every snare and realize some of them are less frequently used for a reason. My main concern is versatility and how it sounds under mics for 60s/70s funk stuff.

Looking for a deal on a Supra now, thanks!