Quiet drumming: Flix Sticks vs Lidwish Ultra-Tones vs 7As

Mini Metallica!!

My youngest endorsed drummer, Charlie Emmons, from the UK is the drummer on a viral video, (about 500,000 hits in 4 days) on a Metallica cover of Enter Sandman. Since he practices with the Ultra Tones, I couldn't be prouder so I just wanted to share the link of these 8 - 10 year old kids with mad skillz from the Newbury School of Rock. News coverage around the world. You gotta love the supportive parents and the teachers. What these kids are doing at 8 - 10 years old? Wait a few more years. The future is bright. Oh, wait...now it's 1,301,000 you tube hits in six (6 days)

http://youtu.be/6CPHnZV0K-k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n73tyGPBnqI

I hope this explains a bit more...

i have the ultra tone 2.0 sticks and the kick beater... these are a good product and perform as advertised... great for quiet practise and would work well playing along with an acoustic guitar or piano.

mikeo said:

i have the ultra tone 2.0 sticks and the kick beater... these are a good product and perform as advertised... great for quiet practise and would work well playing along with an acoustic guitar or piano.

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Cool! Thanks so much for using the ultra tones and sharing your experience.

Aloha!

Lazaro

I have the same issue as Metorn, and I can sympathize.

I am a 'weekend warrior' drummer, playing for my own entertainment, often after our three young children have gone to bed, so I have always needed a quiet stick, before I was introduced to the Flix sticks I was using the conventional 'hot rod' style of stick and breaking them at a frustratingly rapid rate, literally leaving a trail of sawdust and broken rods, and making the local drum store very happy!

The Flix sticks are so much more robust, they have a plastic/resin construction that makes them so much more resistant to cracking and snapping.

I also recently had an issue where one of the tone rings fell off, and I tore it putting it back on, and thought I'd have to trash the stick, but found that I could get replacement tone rings (I have recently posted about this, so won't bore everyone with a re-post).

I have been very happy with the Flix sticks, I use the orange set, and they have enough weight and heft that they 'feel' like regular sticks, let me do the same as regular stick, at a much reduced volume level.

That's why we offer replacement tips. If the tip breaks - replace it and continue drum play. I think there are a number of differences in the products, but at least we can anticipate problems like having a need for a quick fix for an expensive item. Not as expensive as drum shields or pads or soundproofing rooms - but expensive compared to a many hard wood sticks.

I just ordered the "classic" Ultra-Tones along with the beater. I hope they provide a satisfying experience.

Just got the sticks and bass drum beater in the mail today. Will try them out tonight and post more later.

The Lidwishes with the rest of my arsenal.

The Lidwishes on the kit.....sorry about the bad photo



The Bass Drum Beater



Ok.....so I played these for about 1.5 hours last night and so far with a few caveats I am impressed. The sticks do seem to allow one to vary the dynamic range while keeping the volume low.....The combination of the hard plastic tubing with the thinner flexible tips allows some variability in the way the drums and especially the cymbals are struck......without ever having the volume of my usual 7As. They get more dynamic range than the jstix I also use for low volume playing. These get a better response out of the cymbals, especially the hi-hats, without being super loud.

The bass drum beater gets a really nice low volume thump. I was worried about how this might sound and if I would get any volume at all but I am pleasantly surprised by this beater. I think I like it best about this system.

What I don't like as much:

The sticks are really thin and lightweight.....obviously they need to be to lower the volume but I would really like a handle that would be as thick as the handle of my 7A sticks.....I think that part is more important to me than the weight. A second concern that I have is durability. After 1.5 hours of playing one of the flexible plastic tips has cracked. I am not a particularly hard hitter.

Anyone who's used both Flix Sticks and Lidwish care to revisit this please? I currently use Thunder Rods for quieter drumming, but they break too easily.

orange flix sticks are my favorite. every drummer (except a few medal dudes) who has ever used them on my set, loves them too.
i think the only reason you don't see them everywhere is that guitar center doesnt sell them? they sell bundle wood rod ones and those awful metal ones that tear up your heads. i don't understand it. my guess is that it is a wonderful patented tool from a small company that is growing slow and not selling out to large company... i think you will probably see them more now since they finally sell them on amazon!

no I do not work for them... but I bet if the word gets out, they may lower the price - they hold up for quite a while but like anything you beat against things, they do wear out eventually... the do last way longer than the crappy bundle of stick kinds plus they are easier on your heads.

i was looking for a good brush sound many years ago and saw drummer for David gray using them in a music video and had to order my first pair from them directly since i could not find them anywhere else close (i am in austin texas). I saw a quote from that David gray drummer on the front page of their site ha! so they are not that popular.... yet... to me, they sound like they should be very popular. They are the BEST BRUSH I have ever used... works on snare and cymbals great... sounds way better than a traditional brush unless you are going to do really light jazzy stuff... then i'd just get their "classic" fiber brush instead of their "flix stick"

Metorn said:

The drums are loud, sometimes are much too loud. You can't hear the music to play along, you damage your ears , your family and neighbours are unhappy.

Neighbours problems can be fixed by extensive and expensive sound proofing of the room.
What I couldn't find are any good topics or reviews on the subject of the the "quiet" sticks or playing techniques to keep it well under 100Db.

So far these two companies are claiming that they have solved the problem:
Flix Sticks: http://www.flixproducts.com/
Ultra Tones: http://lidwishsoulutions.com/

Has anyone tried them yet, separate or side by side and can share his thoughts?

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Total rip-off!! Cheaply made product and HORRIBLE customer service. Mr Quilon, owner of Lidwish solutions, does absolutely NOTHING to resolve customer complaints. I ordered the classic silent sticks and beater. It took forever to finally get them. I had called Mr Quilon to find out wether they had been shipped or not. We talked for awhile and he told me that you have to be gentle with the sticks. Ok, no problem since I’m always gentle anyway due to having neighbors. Well, when they finally did arrive, in nothing more then a Manila envelope, my first thought was how cheaply made they looked. The very first time I used them, literally 15 minutes in, one of the tips snapped. When I asked Mr Quilon about it he said I was playing too hard. I know how softly I was playing yet Mr Quilon, who lived in HI and me in AR, thinks he knows better then me just exactly how hard or soft I was playing. He did agree to send me some extra tips and also said he’d send me a pair of the Adoro sticks. That was December 31st, still haven’t received the tips or sticks. Lidwish solutions is nothing more than a one man circus show. His “business” consist of nothing more the him and his girlfriend. I guess that helps explain the slow shipping and horrible customer service. I DO NOT recommend the Lidwish silent sticks. Maybe they’re called silent sticks, because due to poor quality, they don’t last long enough to make any sound ??‍