Choose Drumsticks
If you want to drum, you need drumsticks. But which kind? There are a variety of factors that go into choosing a good set of drumsticks. Consider the following when you're shopping.
Steps
- Choose the right wood. Drumsticks are usually made of either maple, hickory, or a Japanese white oak. Laminated birch has also recently regained popularity. Each has a slightly different feel. The feel has to do with how the stick transmits or absorbs vibration and how much it flexes.
- Hickory is a common, well rounded wood for drumsticks. Hickory is favored for its flexibility and impact resistance.
- Maple is much lighter than hickory, allowing for a larger diameter feel without the weight. Maple is softer and stiffer than maple, which negative impacts the sticks durability. Maple sounds sweeter and brighter on drums and cymbals.
- Oak is dense and heavy, but transmits vibrations more. It tends to be more durable, but will split with little warning. The increased weight gives drums a bigger, darker sound and yields a very big, but brash cymbal sound.
- Laminated Birch is made from a high quality birch plywood. These sticks are very heavy and durable. They generate very deep sounds from drums and cymbals.
- There are smaller companies specializing in exotic woods and Vic Firth is currently making a carbon fiber stick. Also, companies like Ahead make sticks out of nylon.
- Pick the right material. Tips come in wood, nylon, or delrin. Nylon tips sound brighter on cymbals and hold up longer without chipping or developing soft spots. They don't typically change the sound of the drums, though the lighter tip weight can create a fast rebound, allowing the drum to speak easier. Delrin is used by some companies in place or nylon since it is supposedly more durable.
- Wooden tips have a darker contact sound and a less articulate sound on cymbals.
- Choose the shape. Tips come in a wide variety of shapes, each with its on sound. Common tip shapes are barrel, acorn, ball, and oval. Each shape has a particular sound. Each shape also comes in multiple sizes. Smaller creates a more articulate sound while larger tips create bigger and deeper sounds. Some companies shape their nylon tips like wood tips; others do not.
- Barrel tips have a wide, flat contact surface. This creates a dark, but strong contact sound.
- Acorn tips have the largest contact surface. This dampens the contact sound significantly, creating a full, but dark cymbal sound.
- Ball tips have a very small contact surface, creating a very bright contact sound.
- Oval tips are between barrel and ball tips.
- Choose the thickness. The thickness also changes the sound. There are two ways to know the thickness of a stick. The first is by model number. A's are thinner than B's, which are thinner than S's. Higher numbers represent thinner sticks. So, a 7A is thinner than a 5A, which is in turn smaller than a 5B. This system has become unreliable with the wide range of manufacturers each with a large catalog of sticks.
- The other way to know the thickness of a stick is to find its diameter. This is usually measured in inches and displayed as a three digit decimal. .500 is a half inch thick, for example.
- 7As are thinner and lighter. These will sound sweeter on drums and cymbals and are best for lower volume playing.
- 5As are slightly thicker than the 7A. These are generally considered to be the most generic and versatile stick.
- 5Bs are thicker, more intense drumsticks and are often used by rock and metal drummers due to their weight.
- There are many other models and each company has its own idiosyncrasies. For example, Promark has a thinner 5A than most. Vic Firth's 7A is shorter than most while their 8D is more like everyone's 7A.
- Check the varnish or lacquer coating on the drumsticks.
- Hold the stick as you would while playing. Let it slide through your fingers.
- Different manufacturers use different coatings that affect grip. Vic Firth favors a thin lacquer while Regal Tip favors a heavy lacquer, making their sticks a bit slicker and more resistant to skin oils and moisture. Promark favors a special finish that becomes tacky as your hands heat it up. Promark also offers many sticks finished only by sanding. Zildjian and Vic Firth also offer many sticks with a rubber coating offer the butt end of the stick.
- The only way to know what you like is to play with the sticks.
- Choose your preferred brand. There are many brands of good drumsticks to compare, maybe you could think about your favorite artist's preference in sticks when choosing your own. Here are the top brands with some of their endorsers.
- Ahead (Lars Ulrich, Rick Allen) - Ahead is favored by metal drummers due to the durability and weight of their sticks. However, many complain that the sticks hurt their hands.
- ProMark (Joey Jordison, Mike Portnoy, Glenn Kotche, Benny Greb) - Promark lacks diversity in tip shapes, but offers some great finish options.
- Vater (Chad Smith, David Silvera) - Vater is creates a product much like Vic Firths, but with different shapes.
- Vic Firth (John Dolmayan, Vinnie Paul, Mark Guiliana) - Vic Firth offers probably the widest selection of sticks. They favor a light lacquer finish and many of their sticks are painted. [Image:Choose Drumsticks Step 4Bullet4.jpg|center]]
- Zildjian (Dave Grohl, Travis Barker)
- Try out the drumsticks. Especially if you're choosing a new kind of drumstick or a brand or size you haven't used before, ask if you can try them. Try them gently on a practice pad so that if you choose something else, the store can still sell them, but try them enough to get a feel for their weight, springiness, and balance.
Tips
- Don't limit yourself to just wood. If you are a power player and break sticks frequently, first check your playing style to make sure your form is correct, then go check out graphite sticks. They aren't for everyone and they also have a different sound.
- Always have some spare sticks to hand. Most companies that sell drumsticks will also provide handy storage devices that clip to most hardware. Get a few to fit on different parts of your kit, so you can keep sticks within arm's reach at all times.
- You may want to use different sizes or types for different styles of playing.
- If you play Drum the Metal Way, you might want to get the 5Bs.
- Try out new innovations from time to time. Zildjian now offers a shock-absorbing rubber core, for instance.
- Also, start out with a really fat pair of sticks (2a or larger) to build up wrist strength then drop down to a lighter pair when doing a gig. Eventually you can do away with the heavy pair.
- Once you know what you want, buy a big pack of drumsticks. It really pays for itself.
- If you're in a band or about to be, ask your instructor, director, or section leader if there is a certain size or type of sticks you should have to be consistent with others in your group.
- If you want to give your drumming a more orchestral or "epic" sound, you may try wrapping hockey tape around the part of the stick used to crash the cymbal. This gives the cymbal less attack, but more or less the same amount of sustain resulting in a crescendo-like sound. The difference in how you affect the envelope (that is, the attack and sustain), depends on how much you tape it up.
- Chances are you'll go through multiple pairs of sticks as you play. If you're on the fence about which kind you want, try a few different kinds along the way. You'll discover what's right for you.
- When playing an intimate acoustic gig, you may want to try rods make from bundles of birch dowel or bamboo cane. They project better than brushes without being overwhelmingly loud. Though they come in various thicknesses for this reason, don't play too hard with them or they'll splinter & eventually become unusable.
- As always when playing drums, wear protection such as ear plugs. Snares in particular were designed to be extremely loud (to carry across entire battlefields), but are played very near YOUR head and ears. You want still to be able to hear music and conversations when you are 80! Many drummers start noticing hearing loss in their 50s and belatedly start wearing protection then. Don't let this happen to you!
- If you're wondering how some jazz drummers get that swishy sound on the snare drum and ride cymbal, you'll want to buy a pair of brushes. Brushes have retractable thin metal wires that are mainly used to provide a quiet backbeat, and sound completely different from a stick.
- Beware than when playing heavy music that the sticks will callus & blister your hands. Buy some special non-stick tape from your chosen brand that reduces the shock vibrations, & you can play for much longer without injury.
Warnings
- Be sure you place your set in a way that if the worst should happen (a stick breaks) that the tip won't fly off and hit someone in the audience. They can do damage! Your band members, on the other hand, will have to fend for themselves.
- Have a play on a pad or your legs, switching sticks to see if they weigh the same. If one feels heavier, then get some new ones.
- Watch your form! Sticks breaking frequently typically is a sign that you are doing something wrong. Many drummers develop wrist problems by not using good form.
- Uneven sticks don't have a good sound, so make sure the sticks you buy are even. To detect uneven sticks, roll the sticks on the floor and look at the top. If the top goes up and down, they must be uneven.
- Don't let drumstick splinters get everywhere if (when) they break!
