Re: Breaking sticks left and right...
I wouldn't worry about breaking new sticks. Buy a brick of some nice hickory sticks (5A or 5B) and you'll be all set. When I first got my Tama set, I spent $6,000 customizing with 3 mounted toms, 3 floor toms, a snare, 2 bass drums, and 4 octobans, all remo heads on both sides(except the octobans), a tama drum rack, and 10 Sabian AA, AAX, and HHX cymbals, a mic for every drum, 1 mic for every 2 cymbals, and 4 amps, I went balliz-tic on my drums. I made sure I got what I paid for, and I have had so much fun.
I buy 1 brick of drums stick every month, for 3 months, then wait until most of the pairs are broken, then continue the cycle.
Wondering how a 16 year old paid for a $6,000 drum kit? Here's the answer. I have a job that pays $12.00 per hour. I saved up every month, and each month, I bought a new item. First I spent, about 2,000 on a kit with 1 bass, a 2 mounted toms, and two floor toms, and a snare and 4 cymbals on a drum rack. Then, i would buy either a new cymbal and stand, or a new drum each month. I make about $300 a week, so at the end of a month, I would have made about $1200, but about $600 to spend (the price one drum with a mount or a small cymbal pack and new cymbal stands). I took me almost two years, but I accomplished it. Also, eBay helps a lot.