How To Choose Drum Sicks
By Tim Bragg
Drumsticks come in many sizes - from light and thin to thick and heavy.
Which ones do you choose? These are the things to consider:
The quality of the wood
Hickory is taken to be the best wood for drumsticks - lighter wood is more likely to break. You need to feel the sticks in your hand - even if you play jazz you don't want too light a stick as the ability to control rolls etc is harder. Maple is another type of wood used that allows drummers to have the thickness of stick wanted but are lighter in weight. Promark use oak (a very hard and durable wood!).
The size of the sticks
Again by holding the sticks you should feel if they are too large for you. A young person's hands don't need huge sticks (even for Metal). Look at the shaft and the neck of the stick (where the shaft tapers to the tip) - how does that feel? Do you want a large acorn (tip) or a smaller size - do you want a thick or thin neck?
The type of music you play
If you're playing heavy music then certainly a larger pair of sticks is called for BUT a too large pair (or too thin pair for other music) makes rolling (press or "mamma-dadda") more difficult.
A wooden acorn (tip) gives a "warmer" sound but they wear out quicker than plastic tips (I prefer the sound of plastic tips even for jazz). Take the sticks, weigh them; play one of them against a ride cymbal and pair of hi-hats (or against a handy surface) - how do they feel? They might feel too heavy or not balanced in the way you want (try a different thickness of neck) - they might feel too light and weedy. Roll them on a flat surface and watch to see if they roll perfectly. If the roll isn't smooth but concentric (egg-shaped) it means the sticks haven't been turned well enough. You can roll them on any flat surface (shop counter) and watch from eye-level.
If you play jazz you'll need sticks that aren't too heavy or large but still with enough weight to execute rolls and rudiments. If you play heavier music you want sticks that will create a louder sound but still have control. Remember - the closer to the skin of a drum you hit the quieter it will be and the lighter the sticks the quieter too.
Tip: Before gigs or as a (gentle) practice warm up start with a heavier pair of sticks. Even after choosing your ideal size and weight of sticks have a range of spare pairs to practice with - this will give you flexibility and help towards eventual expert control.
Other things
You can buy sticks made of plastic (these tend not to have the flexibility of wooden sticks but are more durable); there are other sticks for different jobs - "brushes" for jazz; felt beaters for timpani type rolls and crescendos on cymbals and for interesting tom-tom sounds and patterns. There are sticks made of bundles of tiny sticks bound together (Hot Rods/ Rute sticks) - these give a light sound when needed but rolls are harder to execute (a good back-up if the drummer is "too loud"!).
Summing up
There are three parts to a stick; tip, neck and shaft. These combine to give the stick its characteristic weight and feel. The tip can be wooden or plastic covered and the wood used can vary in quality. As the stick is the instrument that translates the ideas in your brain (through technique) to the skin of the drum and the metal of the cymbal it is VERY IMPORTANT to have a good quality stick that fits the size of your hand and that feels good as you strike and/or bounce. (Your grip/pivotal point is about a third of the way up the stick.)
Generally speaking the lighter the music the lighter the stick - but this "lightness" should not be because of inferior wood but because of the circumference of the stick's shaft Go into the shop and TRY OUT different sizes - you'll soon see and feel the difference. Don't economise by buying cheap sticks - they break easier and are therefore a false economy. When playing live - have a few sticks handy to grab should a sweaty palm drop one. Have a towel ready to wipe hands and sticks between numbers. (Some sticks have been manufactured with special "grips" on the shaft to combat loss of grip. These tend - in my experience - to be imbalanced.)
Buying from the internet
If you buy sticks from the web then make sure you know what length stick you want, what size (bearing in mind there are different methods of sizing drumsticks). Look for a good quality wood and don't (as mentioned previously) get fooled into buying a cheap pair (necessarily) if they're only a giant sized pair of matchsticks!
Any questions please send in an e-mail.
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