Which drum sticks? Nylon or wood tip for V drum mesh heads.

lawacker

Member
It seems to me that nylon tip would not be as hash on the mesh V drum heads as wood would be. I know that they say to use the plastic side bass beater on the mesh bass drum head as the felt wears it down faster. ???? Any ideas???
 
I would be in agreement with you. Smoother nylon tips seems like it would get the longest life from your mesh heads. But I am just guessing, no experience with the mesh heads.
 
My wood tips are pretty damaged but no traces on the mesh heads (Roland), I think they're pretty strong and you won't tear them up unless you really want to. But to exclude the risk I guess nylon tips are an even safer choice.
 
Use nylon. If your wood tips get splinters, they'll eventually tear up the heads.
Never in my life have I heard that one (wait, you were joking right)?
To the OP- it's absolutely true about having to use plastic beaters on mesh bass drum heads but I've used wood tips on my mesh heads for years without a trace of damage (as long as your mesh is 2-ply or greater you should be fine).
 
Never in my life have I heard that one (wait, you were joking right)?
.....


No, I wasn't joking. But I wasn't speaking from firsthand experience either. Just repeating what I've heard.
I've got a couple sets of multi-pads, rubber pads, and mesh heads. And while problems might not result from using wood sticks, I wouldn't take the chance with them.
That's just because I've heard people on forums say it's happened to them.
Might not be true - I don't know.
 
No, I wasn't joking. But I wasn't speaking from firsthand experience either. Just repeating what I've heard.
I've got a couple sets of multi-pads, rubber pads, and mesh heads. And while problems might not result from using wood sticks, I wouldn't take the chance with them.
That's just because I've heard people on forums say it's happened to them.
Might not be true - I don't know.

If you use E-drums exclusively I can't really see how your wood tips would develop splinters (I only use 5A sticks and am not a heavy hitter so maybe that's why I've never had any issues).
However, for someone who switches between A and E kits (and uses the same sticks for both) I guess it's possible for the rough edges created by hitting the hi-hat/ cymbals (on the A kit) over time could cause a problem for your mesh heads.
 
If you are using a dedicated pair of sticks for only E-drum use, it doesn't matter.

I would suggest doing that.
 
I have used wood tip 5A's on my mesh head e-kit for about 4 years. No splinters, no damage to heads or any other part of the kit. The sticks have very little sign of damage despite my playing the kit pretty much every day of those 4 years.

I do keep the same two pairs with the e-kit rather than mixing sticks across kits. That was originally just because the kits are in different places, but I guess it has avoided any wear on the sticks.

The mesh heads are really pretty durable. I would just suggest you use the same sticks as you normally use, and keep one or two pairs dedicated to the e-kit.
 
For the past three years, I've only played the e-sticks Vick Firth. Highly recommend them, if you like a balanced stick (also somewhere between 5a and 5b I suppose). The drums are the TD-12 Rolands I bought in 2007. Never changed a head, cleaned anything and the drums still play like new. At least five thousand hours of practicing or whatever. Just individual experience, the e-sticks are awesome. And of course the Roland drums aren't bad either. :D
 
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