I disagree. It probably means you're hitting hard, but it doesn't necessarily mean you're hitting too hard, or doing anything wrong. Wood sticks aren't meant to last forever, and different playing styles will get different mileage from sticks. Most professional drummers (at least in the rock genre) break sticks fairly regularly, even players with great technique.
I don't break sticks much anymore, one maybe every other month or so. But that's also because I am playing Ahead sticks. There really is no need to check them before buying, because they are all the same every time. When I used wood sticks I would always roll them first and check the butt-end. The more lines on the butt-end of a stick the lighter it is. I try to pick out the heavy ones. Also, if one stick is warped in a pair, set the whole pair aside, don't just take the good one. Sticks are matched at the factory, and you are messing up the weights if you just take the bad ones out, you need to go through them and find a matched pair that is good.
Just thought I would share this:
About 1.5 months ago i ordered a pair of the mike Johnson maple sticks. They ended up being back-ordered and finally just received them last week. I sat down, did a quick little paradiddle groove, went to hit my inverted splash and CRACK!! Nailed the wingnut on my stand and snapped the stick in two! 1.5 months and $8.99 for maybe 15 seconds of playing. Lovely.
To be fair, the sticks felt great.
Well, maple sticks will be substantially weaker than hickory... You may have gotten a bad pair on top of that.
I tend to find that rather than breaking the stick itself (i.e. snap the shaft/shoulder), that I will splinter the tip, which makes for an uneven surface and so uneven sounds. Winds me up no end, have 95% of the stick being perfectly servicable, but the business end is dead.
I play Vater LA 5A.
I guess the word "often" needs to be defined. I agree that a rock or funk drummer playing rim-shots all night will probably go through a pair of sticks or two in one evening depending upon how long the set is. However, breaking sticks on cymbals is just silly to me. You reach a point of diminishing returns with how hard you hit something. It's only going to get so loud. Also, depending upon technique, I can hit harder without moving my arm than with using a full arm stroke. If you use a dual-pivot with the first fulcrum being between your finger and the stick, and the second fulcrum being your wrist, you can hit pretty hard without thrashing about. You'll be more accurate too, wear yourself out less, and be less likely to break sticks, cymbals, heads, hardware, bones, etc.
At first I misread this, to be "the more lines, the tighter the stick", which would be right.
But you are saying the LIGHTER the stick. I would think the more lines, or grain, the denser the wood would be which should make them stronger. I will have to do some research.
I like them both but I've found the Zildjian's break slightly faster in the neck than the Vic's.
Here are some uses for those finely engineered pieces of wood! Wall clips made by 3D printers!
https://www.shapeways.com/shops/SometimesIDesignThings
Here are some uses for those finely engineered pieces of wood! Wall clips made by 3D printers!
https://www.shapeways.com/shops/SometimesIDesignThings