How important is the proper selection of drumsticks?
The drumstick is the connecting place between your thoughts and your music
people can hear. If you pick sticks too big, you actions might be slower,
sluggish, or too loud. A stick too small and your actions could be
uncontrollable, with danger of stick breaking much faster.
What are the common woods used to make drumsticks?
The most common woods used for drumstick are Maple,
Hickory, and Oak.
Which is the best wood for drumsticks?
Hickory it has the highest shatter point of the other woods, which
translates to more durable drumstick, with feel. Hickory more importantly has
twice the shock absorbing ability over Oak, and significantly over Maple.
What is the benefit of Oak drumsticks?
Oak is very heavy for it’s size. Oak sticks have a heavy feel, so feel good
in smaller diameters. Oak absorbs much less shock than Hickory, which means it
passes the shock on to your hands, therefore Oak should be played on softer
surfaces (i.e. snare drums not turned too high, rack and floor toms, and
thinner cymbals) and at lower volume levels.
What is the benefit of Maple drumsticks?
Maple is lighter feel than the other two woods, so you can have a much
larger diameter stick in your hand without a heavy or slow and sluggish feel.
Maple sticks are great for orchestral or Symphonic playing. Maple, like oak,
has a lower shatter point, so when Maple sticks are taken to a drumset,
rimshots with lead to quick failure on the sticks, unless playing low volume
applications like soft jazz.
What is the benefit of Hickory drumsticks?
The benefits range from very durable wood with a high shatter point,
meaning it can take a get deal of abuse before breaking. Hickory sticks tend
to chip away as they are played on cymbals or rimshots, as opposed to Maple
and Oak, that can merely snap in half when the much lower shatter point is
reached. The most important benefit is how Hickory sticks absorb more than
twice the about of shock as the other woods. This means more of the vibration
that stick occurs due to contact with a rim as in rimshots, or cymbals, is
keep within the stick as opposed to transferred on to your hands, wrists,
forearms, and elbows.
What is the difference in design between wood and nylon
tip sticks?
Wood tip sticks offers a warmer and quieter sound, thus they tend to have
thicker necks. Nylon tip sticks due to the louder projection of the nylon tip
tend to have thinner necks, and offer a very consistent sound during the
lifetime of the stick.
It's a matter of what you prefer for a particular situation. Some players prefer plastic simply because the beads tend to last longer than wooden ones. So, there's an economic factor to consider, especially if you're a student with very limited finances.
Acorn-shaped plastic beads have a tendency to increase stick definition by bringing out the highs in a cymbal. A lower-pitched, washy cymbal might sound more articulate with a plastic bead. Plastic beads have a different feel. They tend to have more bounce, or rebound. Plastic produces a harder or sharper attack on the drums and the cymbals; wood, a softer, warmer one by comparison. Experiment and find out what works best in your particular situation.
What are the three basic types of tips for sticks?
Round, acorn, and arrow are the most common shapes for drumsticks. There
are probably 20 or more variations on these 3 main shapes due to slight
preference drummers will have for their performing situations or styles. Most
of these variations can be seen on each drumstick Manufacturers’ Endorser
Signature lines of sticks.
The acorn bead offers the great versatility as opposed to the round bead which
offers the least versatility. The round bead offers a cleared articulate less
warm sound than an acorn bead, and more uniform sound since despite the angle
striking a round bead to a surface it will be the same. An acorn bead offers 3
clear positions of shape of the bead for different sounds. The arrow bead
offers the warmest sound when properly played on the flat or large surface of
the bead, but requires more advanced training to play acorn beads correctly
and consistently.
What do the markings ‘A’, ‘B’. or ‘S’ on sticks such as 5A,
5B, or 3S mean?
A stands for orchestral, or symphonic style of music, therefore narrower
necks and small beads for quieter style of playing. B stands for Band,
therefore needing more neck and bead size to perform within a louder and
larger performing group. S stand for street, or marching band style of
performing, therefore a thick diameter stick for projection and volume needs.
Drumstick Selection Guide
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