After decades, It finally occurred to me...

New Tricks

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After decades, It finally occurred to me how to get more life from my sticks.

They always seem to break in the same fashion and last week was no exception.

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I did a field repair and it occurred to me that, if I wrapped the sticks when they were new, I may get more life from them. I have used this stick for a few days since the repair and it functions perfectly.

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I believe the trick would be to use quality tape and stretch it really tight (to the breaking point) as you wrap.

If you are the type that doesn't like the look, this won't be an option. If you are a value oriented person, give it a try.


Also, if this is a common practice...never mind :)

It also just occurred to me that, if you were able to hold the stick in the "right" direction, (think baseball bat) you would extend the life. If the manufacturer put a label in the right position (think baseball bat) it would help.....but they wouldn't sell as many sticks.
 
I used to do this as a kid when I didn't have any money to buy sticks and my parents made sure to tell me to "make this pair last longer that the others...."
 
I do this occasionally. I just don't like how it sounds when I hit the neck of the stick on the bell of the ride. I did not wrap it as tightly as you did though.
 
I do the same with my Promark Hot Rods - some venues even a 7A is too loud so I play the HR's all night and between crashing and hi hat, it chews up the top parts over time. Just got to be mindful of hitting the bell with the taped part, it doesn't sound the same.
 
I recently began doing that a few months ago but have since then abandoned the practice because my cymbals were accumulating sticky pieces of tape and residue all around. Not cool...

I do still wrap 1 stick in the center to absorb some of the blow from all the rimshots I do. The die cast hoops on my OC snare eat through my sticks so fast. Even the pro-mark Japanese white oak sticks!

But the break that you have shown seems to happen more on the ride cymbal, for me anyway. The tape will definitely help, just beware of the mess it can make.
 
It also just occurred to me that, if you were able to hold the stick in the "right" direction, (think baseball bat) you would extend the life. If the manufacturer put a label in the right position (think baseball bat) it would help.....but they wouldn't sell as many sticks.

Don't your sticks spin around while you're playing? Even if I tried to hold sticks "right" they would be "wrong" after 1-2 hits...
 
Thinking out loud here but I bet you could glue that split stick and it would last a long time if the tip is still good. The same tape trick would be a great clamp overnight.

A glue joint is actually stronger than the wood grain was originally...
 
not a fan of this at all

it changes the balance of the stick and defeats the purpose of buying the sticks I love

I used to do it as a kid when I was a basher and it didn't matter

but for a touch player this will greatly affect your sound and technique
 
It seems like if you're breaking sticks like this, you're probably doing lots of loud rimshots and crashing cymbals hard with the shoulder of the stick. I would imagine this fix would start leaving bits of sticky residue on your rims and cymbals after a short while. Just my thought. Perhaps wood glue would work better?
 
Did that as a kid back in the '60s, although electrical tape was as much a luxury as buying new sticks. I used masking tape. When I got some money, I graduated to electrical tape, sometimes in colors. Eventually, I could afford new sticks. :)

Bermuda
 
not a fan of this at all

it changes the balance of the stick and defeats the purpose of buying the sticks I love

I used to do it as a kid when I was a basher and it didn't matter

but for a touch player this will greatly affect your sound and technique

This is basically how I feel too. It makes a difference on the sound of the cymbals and hats. I still do tape up the promark "cool rods" I sometimes use in small spaces just because they are relatively fragile compared to regular sticks.

The splitting down the middle thing doesn't happen to me very much anymore as well, so I don't really worry about it. It may sound silly, but I check my sticks, each pair, before I buy them. I couldn't really put a finger on exactly what I'm looking for, but I'm careful when choosing between stick pairs. Each one is different, because no two trees are the same. I look for pairs that don't seem "dry" and hit them together to hear if they sound "hallow" or more solid in terms of density.
 
It seems like if you're breaking sticks like this, you're probably doing lots of loud rimshots and crashing cymbals hard with the shoulder of the stick. I would imagine this fix would start leaving bits of sticky residue on your rims and cymbals after a short while. Just my thought. Perhaps wood glue would work better?

This here.
It does indeed get sticky residue over your gear. As mentioned it also changes the balance. It also (for me) killed the definitive ping on my ride cymbal's bell when struck with the shoulder of the stick. Just something to think about.
 
Don't your sticks spin around while you're playing? Even if I tried to hold sticks "right" they would be "wrong" after 1-2 hits...

Well...yeah. That occurred to me as well. :)





not a fan of this at all
it changes the balance of the stick and defeats the purpose of buying the sticks I love


Basher here :) I presume that a touch player probably wouldn't break many sticks.
 
Don't your sticks spin around while you're playing? Even if I tried to hold sticks "right" they would be "wrong" after 1-2 hits...

This doesn't make sense to me... You switch between using the tip and butt of the sticks every few hits?
 
Um...yeah I guess I'm a millionaire then because I throw away a stick when the tip gets chipped and flattened out.
As others have said , all that tape just changes the feel, response and touch. Plus the sticky residue..ugh.

I used to play very hard, break multiple sticks every night, busting heads, cracking cymbals etc etc. I rarely ever break anything anymore.
But if you're looking for longer life sticks - try some large diameter maple sticks (like VF SD1) - they won't break like that, and maple doesn't chip like hickory.
 
I use to glue my sticks when they had a clean break like in the pic. I took the tape off after the glue had dried though. Some times they lasted a long time after they were glued. That was in the late 70s. I don't break sticks anymore. They just get whittled down till they are flimsy and not much good.
 
Um...yeah I guess I'm a millionaire then because I throw away a stick when the tip gets chipped and flattened out.

I do the same

when the bead dulls out and no longer gets that nice woody response off the ride cymbal it is dead to me.

sometimes I use a stick for months and don't even really realize it is dead until I pick up a freshy and feel that amazing response

I should donate the pile of sticks to my left
 
Did that in the 60's when bashing on rock gigs, but not since.
These days I lightly sand the beads on the sticks if they require it for eveness. I haven't
broken a stick since my rock days.
 
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