When Drumsticks Break

Doesn't. matter what stick company with any stick the straighter & finer the grain is the best way too get the strongest stick....basic physics.

Bonzolead
 
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 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.
 
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.


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.
 
Back in the mists of time, I played timpani. Ever since those dark & distant days, I've used extra long sticks. Even worse (I can hear the technique focussed guys screaming already), I hold them right at the butt end, sometimes, even to the point were the butt is sitting within my palm. Why is this relevant, well, because I get a real whip stroke thing going on, & that stroke speed on backbeats is a stick killer. Add to that, almost constant rimshot backbeats on cast hoops & flat cymbals, the poor buggers don't stand a chance, lol!

I use VF X5A's. Great stick, but they're not that durable. Kenny Howard introduced me to Silver Fox sticks. They even have my ideal stick size, in the form of 16 3/4" long 1A's, so I took a brick to try. Only used them for a couple of practices to date. They seem to dent easily, but, unlike the VF's, they don't splinter. Haven't broken one yet, & that's already an improvement on the VF's. I'd normally break at least one per practice. The SF's hickory are lighter than the VF's, & with hardly any visible grain. Normally the kind of thing I'd avoid, but they do seem to be holding up very well. Quite a few gigs coming up, so I'll be able to come back with better info soon.
 
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.
 
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.
 
Well, maple sticks will be substantially weaker than hickory... You may have gotten a bad pair on top of that.


I'm not questioning the quality of the sticks as I've never had any problems with Vater before. I think it was just how I hit and what you stated, the strength (or lack there of) of the wood. But either way, it's possible.
 
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 actually have the very first pair of sticks I ever owned. It is a pair of Ludwig 7A Nylon Tip. Since they were only used on a snare drum for a couple of years, they did not get beaten up by cymbals. By the time my parents bought more drums, along with cymbals, I had different sticks.

By the way, the sticks are 45 years old.
 
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.

Happens to me too although I have broken some were it splits down the grain all the way down. Those sticks with the grain like that are always in the 4pks at guitar center so now I buy single pairs as of last night and try to get the pack price. If I cant get that price, oh well its only like 5 dollars. Also I use nylon tips for practice now because they last A LOT longer than wood tips. I have those saved for gigs.
 
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.

And also just a time factor. When you practice 3 or 4 hours a day you are obviously going to break more sticks than someone who practices a half an hour a day.
 
I've been using Vic Firth American Classic 2B's wood tip since 89' and as a rock drummer playing 5-6 nights a week on the road, i'd go through at least 2 sticks a night but if the stage was really dead with crappy monitors more like 5 or 6.. Lots of rim shots and ride bell snaps..lol Alot of them were splits and not completely broke in half..lol I've noticed here within the last year or so that the tips seem to be weaker and split at ease.Bummed so I switched to Pro Mark 747B Super Rock's. I like them so far they are a little longer but narrower and seem to be close to the VF 2B's in weight. I don't think they hold up as good as the VF's though.. I recently did some session work for an 11 song Rock album and went through 4 1/2 sticks but the tips were still ok. lol
 
I use Zildjian and Vic Firth sticks, 5B - hickory - wooden and nylon tips.

I like them both but I've found the Zildjian's break slightly faster in the neck than the Vic's.
 
I like them both but I've found the Zildjian's break slightly faster in the neck than the Vic's.

I find it the other way about. I bought a pair of Zildjian 6A's and a pair of Vic Firth 5A's at the same time and half an our playing with the Vic Firths they snapped and my Zildjian 6A's lasted a good 2 months before breaking.
I usually find this with Vic Firth though. I got Extreme 5B's at one point and a pair of Zildjian Super 5B's and the Extreme 5B's took a little longer to break. About a month and a half but the Zildjians I bought recently are yet to break, I'll tell you how long it is before they break :)
 
I do not remember the last time I broke a drumstick. Since my wife retired, our finaces are less than they used to be, so I went to nylon-tipped sticks but really did not like them. Then I found Pulse drumsticks at Musician's Friend. Vater rejects all sticks with any sort of difference of grain, color, etc. The Pulse sticks are Vater rejects. I bought six pairs of 5A's for $20, and so far so good. I am on the second pair, and the first pair lasted the same as any other wood-tipped stick I have ever used. So now I can use wood-tipped sticks again. Whahooo!
 
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