On drums...

I particulary like when the tip falls off/breaks in the middle of a song and you punch through a drumhead with the little pointed end of the stick, no they havent been for me for about 20 years as well. Sticks wear out, you either throw them out or use them to prob up windows and things in the garden when their useful drumming life is over.

Welcome back, Tim.

Sounds like a very quick 1-2 sequence.

True story. I have more Vic Firth paint stirrers and plant stakes than a person should.

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Cliff

River City Trio

What if we did all have the same opinions?

I love making my own Cowbell beaters...

I have one DeJohnette model - thanks to my customs office who managed to damage a pair while checking the package for valuable stuff...

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Goki - short from Goran

Let the good drums roll!!!

[color=#008040]When I first started playing they had not developed nylon tip sticks. Some time in the 50's Ludwig came out with a white plastic stick that had small brass plugs that were supposed to balance the sticks equally. They were placed in the stick at the shoulder. They seemed to be a little heavier than what I was accustom to compared to a wooden stick. The first time I used a nylon stick was when I attended Berklee School of Music and at that time I was using a 5A nylon by Regal. I found it to be too heavy for small group work so I only used it when I played with Rock bands. My jazz playing was always done with 7A regal. They worked well with piano trio and acoustic playing also. For me the main problem with any kind of stick is getting a thin, cutting sound on a cymbal. If that seems to be a problem for anyone, the answer should be the size of the cymbal. I have found that an 18 inch cymbal gives the best cutting sound for ride cymbal playing. In some cases a 20 inch A is good also. Hence, the smaller the cymbal the thinner the sound. I like to think of the sound I am looking for is like White noise. The more white noise the more cutting the ride will be. I hope this helps anyone that is looking for a clean sound. The wooden tip stick wears down much faster than nylon so the cutting sound is lost. If you are playing heavy music it stands to reason that nylon tips are not for your style. Considering that most of your best drumsticks are made using Hickory because it is resiliant and bounces back nicely. It is used for hammers to absorb the shock. Of course you need to consider what you like in so far as the over-all sound you are looking for do not forget Wood produces one sound and Nylon produces another. Wood has a very dry soft sound. Nylon produces a thin cutting sound. There are so many variables involved with playing criteria. Just remember what you like is important. No one has the right answer. There are only suggestions. Just keep smiling.

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Cliff

River City Trio

What if we did all have the same opinions?

Excellent suggestion; everyone else will stay much happier.

Welcome, Jack. Any friend of Cliff's is highly suspect... which is why we're all hanging out here.

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Gregory

Welcome to the forum Jack - You'll find this place very pleasing...


Greetings from the K Custom new owner...

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Goki - short from Goran

Let the good drums roll!!!

Hello Jack and welcome.

In my younger day I rented a "band room". Huge room I stayed in for 8 years. Became the "local music scene" buts thats another post.
I had covered the one front wall that the PA was facing completely in styrofoam to help absorb some of the bounce. Stuff was about 4 inches thick. Back then I was playing 7 days a weeks and back then I broke sticks regularly. Started to become a habit to stick the broken stick into the styrofoam wall. My buddy, also a drummer, rented the room next to me and started bringing his broken sticks over. After 8 years, it was an amazing site. Everyone told me to take pics of it. Neatest looking thing. We were all too young for a camera though.
I think since those years, I might have broke two sticks.

Some of what you are reading might be repetition because in my haste I did not realize my last short epic was already read. Hope you do not mind. This is my first time ever chatting with drummers on line so please bear with me. Nylon versus Wood. I have seen the evolution of drumsticks from about 1948 until now. The first time I saw an innovative drumstick was when Ludwig produced a laminated oak stick which was combined with what might have been a cherry or a walnut layered combination. It was not good at all. The laminations would loosen. The next new stick, that was quite expensive, was a plastic stick that was supposed to be indestructible with brass wedges that were placed at the shoulder to balance the weight of the sticks. They did not feel right at all. I kept using a Gene Krupa model and once in a while a Buddy Rich model. They seemed to work well. The only problem with both was that the wooden tips would split and as the stick rolled in your grip it would constantly change the sound on a cymbal. When the Nylon tip was first produced by Regal I immediatley tried a pair of 5a and they were much to my liking. The hickory and nylon combination felt excellent and the tips did not split. Yes I do remember losing a few tips but I always kept several pairs on the gig so that was not a problem. Most of the playing that is done in heavy rock and commercial music is playing a ride on the hi-hat and the shoulder of the stick is used more than the tip. This seems to be contradictive to the lack of the sound we might be looking for with a nylon or wood tip. If you are bouncing back and forth between Jazz gigs and Rock gigs your choice of stick should be changing. Some drummers are not using a stick with a bead made integral to the stick or a nylon tip. If you are playing Jazz you need to have a well defined ride that cuts through. As an older musician I started out with wooden tip sticks and changed because the wood was not giving me a constant ping all night long. Half way through a gig the wooden stick became dull and sometimes split in two. There is no doubt in my mind that hickory is better than any other wood for a drumstick. It absorbs the shock when you strike either a drum head or a cymbal. The first time I decide to use a ProMark stick I was unsure about the type of wood that this company was using. It did not look like hickory. It had too much grain showing.

There sure is alot to say about types of sticks that we use. Preference sure plays an important part. Debating is fun but preference always wins out in the end. I have been using a 7A Regal since 1965 when I was playing with John Mehegan in his trio. It worked fine then and it works fine now.

By the way Cliff was one of my best students. He always made me happy when he came for a lesson because he always had it together. Yes Cliff, I still use an 18 inch ride. At one time I used a 20 inch on the right side of my set and an 18 on the left. I usually would switch when the solos alternated between horns and keyboard. For Bass solos I would either lay out or play pianissimo on the Hi-Hat. Most of the time I would lay out completely. I became very intense with cymbal sound. After studying some Theory I began to use tuned cymbals. My 20 was closely pitched to a C, the 18 pitched to an A and the hats were matched to a G. I had a friend of mine that new most of the people at the Zildjian factory and they were able to do this for special requests. When I say pitched, I mean that the most prevalent tone was the ones I mentioned. Just be for drummer Tony Williams went with Miles Davis I walked him to the Bus station and we talked about tuning drums. We both agreed that drums need to be tuned to themselves and that would go with cymbals also.

I really enjoy sharing thougts about my escapades with drumming and I hope all of you enjoy my ranting.
I am going to Drum Clinic in Newington, Connecticut with plans for a meeting with my ex-student (Rich Redmond).
Rich is working presently with Jason Aldean CMA award winner. This was much to my surprise. We should have a great time. Keep using the Stone Book it is your bible.

See ya,

I've lost my responses twice, now, and that's the limit. No matter how brilliant and entertaining, no matter how sensitive and personally revealing, I'm not saying any of it again, except this:

I'm using Bopworks sticks, hickory, out of Austin, Tx, I believe. . http://bopworks.net/

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Gregory