Brushes or rute stiscks..

[Beginer]

Ok, Im sorry if its a dumb question, but what are the main differences between rute sticks and brushes??

[goughy]

Personally, I'm not a fan of multi rods or rute sticks. I used to use them once. I picked a model that I could use in lower volume situations. But I never liked the sound of them. They generally seem to be made of timber dowels, often in different sizes and combinations.

Brushes are generally plastic/nylon or my favourite, wire. Obviously brushes are going to be a jazz favourite. You can swish, swirl, drag, the sky's the limit with sounds. But I love them for rock in softer situations. You can get a rubber band and strap it around the brushes and then adjust it up and down to vary the spread. You can get the end almost like a stick but still softer.

I now use regal tip jeff hamilton brushes which have some notches in the retractor handle which allow me to have 3 easy selectable levels of spread.

And if you wanna try some soft drumming try using some chop sticks! Looks wacked out!

[Kennyg]

I am also not fan of multi-rods. I did the same thing and bought a variety of wood dowel bundle sizes for smaller venues, but I have moved away from them too. I don't care from the sound they have on the snare when doing backbeats and I could not get a nice distinct rim shot. In order to get close to the sound I wanted I had to go with the largest dowel size bundle stick and at that point I might as well be using a small stick with ball wood end.

I agree that a nice set of wire brushes are much more versitile and this what I am also using now. I use regal tip brushes also. You may want to check out www.drumbum.com- they have some free basic brush technique lessons. I found brushes to be a lot of fun and very dynamic!

[Beginer]

Hey thanks you both.. I watched some videos, and it really seems to me, that theres lots of ways to use brushes.. Now I really want to pick it up..

[Deathmetalconga]

I like using brushes and rutes. There are some products that blur the line. I have some plastic brushes that have a ring to adjust the spread and if you put it near the tip, the brushes act more like a floppy rute. Putting a rubber band on wire brushes, like Goughy does, makes the brushes sound more like a rute as well. My main beef with rutes is how quickly they fall apart. I would like to see someone make some carbon-fiber ones.

I still often play with chop sticks - don't laugh! I use ones made for wok cooking, so they're about 16 inches long and with a gradual taper and small point, so you get good rebound. If you chop off the last inch of the tip, you get a fatter sound. They are very agile and fast but have some limitations. The main attraction is that you can play with normal technique but very quietly.

I often have people ask me to play more quieter, but I've never had anyone ask me to play louder. Everyone I have ever played with and for prefers the chopsticks because they are quieter.

[Kennyg]

I like using brushes and rutes. There are some products that blur the line. I have some plastic brushes that have a ring to adjust the spread and if you put it near the tip, the brushes act more like a floppy rute. Putting a rubber band on wire brushes, like Goughy does, makes the brushes sound more like a rute as well. My main beef with rutes is how quickly they fall apart. I would like to see someone make some carbon-fiber ones.

I still often play with chop sticks - don't laugh! I use ones made for wok cooking, so they're about 16 inches long and with a gradual taper and small point, so you get good rebound. If you chop off the last inch of the tip, you get a fatter sound. They are very agile and fast but have some limitations. The main attraction is that you can play with normal technique but very quietly.

I often have people ask me to play more quieter, but I've never had anyone ask me to play louder. Everyone I have ever played with and for prefers the chopsticks because they are quieter.

I do have a set of plastic brushes that I use too, but I will have to try out the chop sticks.