I've got a vintage Ludwig 400 and have owned a black beauty (modern one though!). The 400 is the clear winner for me. It's a standard 14x5, but it's so versatile. You can crank it pretty high and doesn't choke too much and lose all it's sound, whilst in lower tunings, it's even better. A full sound, but still with so much character. You can't really go wrong with Ludwig, but I suppose this is the most recorded snare in history for a reason! I love it, and in fact I've been recording on it this very day - it didn't let me down! Internal dampner to boot - yahoo! (Some of the guys on here know everything about the pro's and cons of all the Ludwigs, but this is just my experience! Good luck, there's always a few on e-bay!

What is the Ludwig 400?

The Ludwig 400 is the Supraphonic.D' Drummer

Nobody else? Opinions?

Yeah sorry about that, should have clarified!

I like the Acrolite and The Supra equally. The Acrolite is a nice drum for funky club gigs. The Acrolite sounds a lot like a Supra to my ears. The Supra is a little nicer-looking drum...In fact, I think the Supra is a BEAUTIFUL drum with it's art deco "Imperial" lugs, center bead and seamless shell.

For gigging, I'd say the Supraphonic, because it's so darn pretty.

For studio (or gigging), I'd say a 60's Acrolite. Because it has 2 less lugs, it stays in tune longer. It's also literally impossible to make one sound bad...I know because I've heard hundreds of beginning drummers try!

If I had to have one snare drum for all of my gigs and recording, it would be a Keystone badge Acrolite.

Thanks, thats what I wanted to hear!

Speaking of Keystone Acros... Today is your "lucky" day

http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-1965-LUDWIG-ACROLITE-SNARE-DRUM-KEYSTONE-BADGE_W0QQitemZ310031845416QQihZ021QQcategoryZ64434QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Seems like a fair price, no? I have a 70's B/O that I love and paid nearly $100 after shipping, with a case and stand.