I put a P-86 on my Acrolite and it has worked well and looks nice on the snare in my opinion. The Acrolite was a basket case. The P-83 on the snare was broken and a new in packaging P-86 was part of the deal so throwing the P-86 on was a no brainer. Had the Acrolite been all original and had the P-86 not come as part of the package, I probably would not have spent the $50 on the P-86 and would have repaired the P-83.

Wes

I've switched out a couple of P85s for P86s and I do prefer the P86. Not sure on the butts as I've left them alone.

Thanks for the replies guys. I was thinking of replacing the P-32 butt with the new P-33 die cast version, but i've read on some older forum threads on other sites, including this one, that says the screw holes don't line up with the die cast butt plate, but certain drum shops claim that it fits both modern and vintage drum butts. Seems strange to that there'd be this much contradiction, but then again, it is a Ludwig product, and they have been known to have anomalies over the decades. Yes Sir.

I think most of us vintage guys greatly prefer the older style butt to the die-cast version. The less mass bolted to the shell the better, and the original style works just fine.

I bought (3) p86'S new, from a forum member, put a couple on snares, looked good and worked well, after a few months one got sloppy, I checked it out to find one of the allen screws had fallen out, I checked the other 3 strainers and found most of the screws were loose. now these screws have a spacer under them that allows the strainer to move freely. when you loose one its pretty much toast. I have applied lock-tite to all my screws. so far so good.

The P-33 is not a direct replacement for the P-32, I know this from experience, I had to drill to get mine to fit.

Thanks for the info.. I guess what i can do is keep the original butt and try to find some drum key bolts that fit the original. There's a used drum shop in my area that has buckets full of spare small drum parts, and maybe i can find something there. I will eventually just switch out the original P-85 for the new one that has no string holes. I wouldn't want to spend $70 on the P-86 and have it fall apart on me like burgundy mentioned. That would be the straw that broke the camel's back for me to officially retire my snares from live performance to studio use only. Lol.. ;)

I love the P86 Millennium strainer. My son and I have them on three non-vintage Ludwig snares., a 6.5" Black Beauty with Imperial lugs, a 5" hammered bronze with tube lugs and a 6.5 inch custom wood snare. The only Ludwig snare I haven't put one on is our '61/'62 WMP Jazz Festival which still sports its original P83 to keep it "pure". If you are playing these drums, I would install the P86 on both of them and hold onto the original parts for some future time when you sell them. They are great throw offs. Simple in design but quite well made with a sort of a "vintage look" although they are clearly not. And, they are terrific to use!

Here's the video you were referring to regarding putting the P86 on an Acrolite snare.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ol6bV9H9a28"]Ludwig P-85 to P-86 Snare Strainer Conversion - Acrolite. - YouTube[/ame]

Hi Mark,

Thanks for your input, i appreciate it..I may or may not got the P-86, simply because the newer version of the P-85 is still a decent upgrade, and a lot cheaper. But you're right. Very nice looking throw-off, and makes the snare drum look classy .I may just have to pick at least one upYes Sir.

Cheers,

Rob