Nylon vs Wood Tips (durability)

I know this topic has probably been beaten to death, but what do you guys use? I think i like the sound of wood tips more, but after a short session (several minutes at most) of spirited playing, soft spots on a pair of my vic firth buddy rich sticks appeared. so if i turn the sticks to one side, i get a really dull, almost mallet-like sound. and if i turn it a little more, it'll still get the ping on cymbals and such.

so what do you guys prefer?
Sound-wise, how many guys prefer nylon tips and why? And if you guys prefer wooden tips, how many of you mostly play with nylon tips because it'd be too expensive to play with wooden ones?
 
Personally speaking? Wood. Hands down.

Hate nylon....hate the sound on a cymbal....hate the sound on a drum head and hate the fact that, despite how I continually read that they are way more durable than a wooden tip, nylon still manage to crack and fly off. One flew off and took my eye out years ago......nylon and I pretty much parted company right then and there.....banished, never to be seen in my bag again. :)

For me personally, you'll sell me on the easter bunny and the tooth fairy a hell of a lot quicker than you'll ever sell me on the merits of a nylon tip.
 
Nylon tips crack and fly off, wood tips crack and chip. I prefer wood, though it really bugs me when I have a perfectly good stick with a chipped or broken tip. They're unusable and must be disposed of.
 
Personally speaking? Wood. Hands down.

Hate nylon....hate the sound on a cymbal....hate the sound on a drum head.

Same here, especially in the loungey music I'm playing these days. Plastic tips would scare the horses. Especially like the warmth when the bead is worn in a bit.

When I played rock I switched to nylon tips for a while for extra volume. At some gigs when the amps were cranked to 11 it didn't even much matter if I used the butt end of both sticks (which I had to do at times) let alone worrying about the tip material.
 
Nylon tips crack and fly off, wood tips crack and chip. I prefer wood, though it really bugs me when I have a perfectly good stick with a chipped or broken tip. They're unusable and must be disposed of.

Do you use pro-marks? I love the sticks, but the tip is always literally the first thing to go.
 
Nylon for me. They are so much more durable and I love the crisp sound on the hats and the big difference in sound when changing between the shoulder and tip plus when riding the bow or bell of cymbals the extra ping really cuts thru in a live setting. Also love the extra attack you get on the drum heads. Since changing to Vic Firth 12+ years ago have only lost one tip on a set of sticks that was almost worn out and they still replaced the set as per their unconditional nylon tip warranty.
 
Vic Firths mostly. I've tried other brands but it doesn't seem to matter. Wood tips chip.

Interesting. I also use Vater and Firth sometimes, I've always broken those further down. It just seems to be the tips on my pro-marks, which are of course my favorite for the feel and sound.
 
I use both, and many different sizes and tip shapes. Variety is the spice of life. I have never had a Regal Tip nylon tip come off. I have been using Vater, Fusion sticks lately and just bought a few pair of nylon tipped ones. I like the round tips. Time will tell if they last.
 
I use both, and many different sizes and tip shapes. Variety is the spice of life. I have never had a Regal Tip nylon tip come off. I have been using Vater, Fusion sticks lately and just bought a few pair of nylon tipped ones. I like the round tips. Time will tell if they last.
+1
And I just happen to also pick up a few pairs of Vater Fusion Maple w/ the nylon tip. I've been using the Vater Fusion Maple wood tip for a while now but the tips were flattening out from so much cymbal work before the stick was chewed up. That's just my style I guess.

W/ these sticks, the sound from wood to nylon isn't all that different when you're playing w/ a few other instruments - almost can't really hear the difference.

I also have a 2 pairs of Gadd sticks, on wood tip the other nylon tip, and you can't hear the difference.

And to the durability question; I'm not a heavy hitter, I've never busted or lost a nylon tip - luck? So I figure for me the nylon tip will last way longer, maybe 4 times longer - easily.
 
It's been years since I've used a nylon tipped stick. I use to enjoy using Hornet 5A sticks, but their wooden tips would chip if you looked at them the wrong way. I don't know if they're still in business. I have a variety of favorite wooden tip sticks from Vic Firth, Zildjian, Vater and Pro Mark.

Dennis
 
I use wood on my acoustic kit and nylon on my electronic kit. I dont like the sound of nylon on the ride.
 
If I played in a rock band, and back when I did, nylon tipped sticks were OK. Now, I really do not like how they sound on the ride cymbal or how they feel. Nylon tips are more durable and economical than wood, but I gotta go with what sounds and feels better. Peace, goodwill, and blues.
 
Been using wood for years, ever since i left playing metal. But now that Im getting back into a metal band, I may be getting myself a few pairs of em again. I love the punch they give on the skins, but I hate how they make any good ride sound.
 
I used to use nylon for the durability excuse, as wooden tips were the first thing to wear out for me. After I started playing a lot more rimshots I went back to wood tips as the stick was a thrower before the tip even started to crack.
 
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