Stick Preferences and why

Re: Your stick preferences and why.

Have you tried both, Ant? Comparison?.

have not tried the Zildjian model.....only his 3 Vic models and I find the Ride Stick most desirable

did not even know he ever played Zil sticks
 
Re: Your stick preferences and why.

I play Vic Firth 5A sticks. They work for me in any style of music. I just like the feel and balance of Vic Firth sticks, in any size.
 
Re: Your stick preferences and why.

have not tried the Zildjian model.....only his 3 Vic models and I find the Ride Stick most desirable

did not even know he ever played Zil sticks

Sorry Ant, might have screwed up. The name's worn off. Might be Denis Chambers. Apologies to Pete E, if misrepresented.
 
Re: Your stick preferences and why.

Also i have never understood why drummers switch sticks all through gigs.

I take it you're not a golfer. My stick bag has a lot of different brands, sizes, and types of sticks. (5A, 7A, signature, nylon tip, wood tip, timpani, Zildjian, Vic Firth, Vater to name a few). I use them to get different sounds I like for different songs. I would not try to get out of the rough with a 3 iron, and I wouldn't play a hard rocking song with 7A nylon tips. Unlike my golf bag, I am not limited to 14 sticks.
 
Re: Your stick preferences and why.

I have been on a long, strange journey over the last 25 years... to find a stick I really, truly, 100% like. I think I am just about there.

I need a stick about 5B diameter but with a medium taper, and preferably a stretch stick. I like the Vic Firth X5B for this. If I am playing a wood tip, I prefer it to be blended into the stick, like the Buddy or Gavin sticks, which seem to chip less quickly than do normal sticks. Otherwise, I stick with nylon for durability. I like something grippy (like Vic Grip or Pro-Mark's Pro-Grip), because otherwise my hands tire out from deathgripping the stick; but the Zildjian Dip gives me horrible blisters.

I have played Vic, Pro-Mark, Regal Tip, Zildjian, Ludwig, Slingerland, Hot Sticks, Vater, RimShot, and a few other brands not mentioned here. In terms of build and consistency I have been happiest with Vic Firth.

If Vic Firth made a Buddy Rich type stick with Vic Grip on it, I'd be 100% happy. As it is, I like my X5ANVGs.

I also enjoy a well-made maple stick. I like the SD1s pretty well - a big, light stick. There used to be a company called HeadHunters that made great maple sticks with grip grooves. They went underground/out of business many moons ago. Quite sad... I really dug their sticks. At one point I had two stick bags full of them!
 
Re: Your stick preferences and why.

I've been having the problem lately of changing between a lot of my sticks (different sizes). 7A Vaters, 5A Pro Marks, Bill Bruford Sigs, Mike Portnoy Sigs, 5B size sticks.

It's been messing up my sense of fulcrum so I really need to find one size that suits best now. Probably between 7A and 5A. I like the MP Signature stick. Light but has a bit of chubbiness not on 7A sticks.

Love the Brufords, great rebound for accents. However, their extremely small size poses a problem with grip I find, in my hands.
 
Re: Your stick preferences and why.

Vic Firth Classic American ( metal version)
It's 17" long which is exactly the length from my elbow to the tip of my fingers.
It was an enlightening experience to play for the first time with these sticks.
I'm a tall guy with long arms and here for the first time i could wield the kind of stroke and dynamic that had previously been not that easy and i can sit back from the kit, and play far more relaxed.
Simon
 
Re: Your stick preferences and why.

Also i have never understood why drummers switch sticks all through gigs.

The main reasons I do is to get a fresh dry stick in my hands. Another reason is to fit the type of music I play and a third reason is to give my 60 year old hands the ability to hold and play different weight and configured sticks, it's sort of a revitalization process for my hands when sitting behind a kit for three, four or more hours.

DSC_0151-1-1.jpg


Dennis
 
Re: Your stick preferences and why.

I've never been happy with a pair of sticks. Not completely. In my ideal World, I'd make them myself and experiment.

Right now I'm playing Vic Firth Maples of some kind. I can't even remember what they are! I like the size and lightness that maple sticks give me - now most hickory sticks just feel too heavy. I don't have big hands but my hands do get fatigued when I play sticks that are too thin so something just shy of a 5A is about right.

Years ago, I found a pair of Vic Firth 7As that were just perfect. It was just the one pair that I really liked. Sadly, I've never found another pair like it.
 
Re: Your stick preferences and why.

Over the years I've played with many different type of sticks made of oak, hickory and maple.

I went through many brands too, Pro-Mark, Vic Firth, Regal Tip, Vater, Zildjian, Tama...

The sticks I've used for a considerable length of time are:

Pro-Mark 707 (oak)
Pro-Mark 3A (oak)
Tama 5B (oak)
Zildjian 3A (hickory)
Vater Fusion (maple)
Vic Firth Peter Erskine Signature (small round tip) (hickory)
Vic Firth 5A (hickory)
Vic Firth SD1 General (maple), a great practice stick.
Vic Firth SD2 Bolero (maple)
Vic Firth SD9 Driver (maple)

Currently using the SD2 and SD9 depending on the style

I would like to try the Vic Firth SD5 Echo (maple)
 
Re: Your stick preferences and why.

The main reasons I do is to get a fresh dry stick in my hands. Another reason is to fit the type of music I play and a third reason is to give my 60 year old hands the ability to hold and play different weight and configured sticks, it's sort of a revitalization process for my hands when sitting behind a kit for three, four or more hours.

Dennis, your level of organisation is inspirational!
 
Re: Your stick preferences and why.

I agree with the one stick philosphy, to a certain degree.

The Vinnie stick is my main drumset stick. I can also use it for marching no problem.

It's not always right in an orchestra, though. There I need choices for the best results.

It's also not the best choice for certain low volume situations.

Now offcourse I don't just play with regular sticks. There are tons of other things in my bag.
 
Re: Your stick preferences and why.

Many years ago I tried a pair of Regal nylon-tip sticks, and I absolutely loved them, they were like the Rolls-Royce of sticks for me.
However, they were expensive, and so I carried on with cheaper stuff, until some time ago when I figured, I'm fed up of sticks breaking and wearing out quick, I'll try those Regals again. Well, I also tried others like Vick Firth and Vater, and they're good sticks, but I stuck with the Regal! They were just like I remembered, they just feel right, and I drop them a lot less than other sticks!
I tried the Jazz, (like a 7a), and the Rock, but the one was too light, the other a little tiring to the hands. Finally, I found the "JC" model on their website, which is just right!! (no. I'm not Goldilocks.) Only trouble is, the shops don't stock them so I have to order a bunch.
I pretty much use them for most things (except when you need beaters or hot rods etc), altho I do have a pair of Aquarian black sticks for the odd "heavy" song, but they're hard on the hands!!
- Terry
 
Re: Your stick preferences and why.

VF Weckl Evolutions or regular 5A if I can't find them. I've tried changing sticks before over the years and always come back to this.
 
Re: Your stick preferences and why.

I need a stick about 5B diameter but with a medium taper, and preferably a stretch stick. I like the Vic Firth X5B for this.

If Vic Firth made a Buddy Rich type stick with Vic Grip on it, I'd be 100% happy. As it is, I like my X5ANVGs.

You mean the X5BNVGs, don't you? Because I play the X5AN w/o the VG. Just today I bought a pair of 55As and used them for my gig this evening. They were wood tip and they were an excellent stick. The diameter of the stick is .580; right betwen a 5A and 5B diameter. The length is standard, but that's alright because my new kit has power toms and I have to angle them a little more. I think I may make this stick my main players. They just felt right!
 
Re: Your stick preferences and why.

I used to play with big sticks.. Now using vater recording. Much easier to play faster, quieter and if I need the volume I can just hit harder and hold them closer to the butt..
 
Re: Your stick preferences and why.

I think I've settled on the stick size I like. I used to use 2B's after about my first year of playing where I found my size however, I went to music college and the drum teacher who was an old jazz guy hated the fact I used slightly thicker sticks and forced me to use smaller ones and that my playing would be better for it.
I spent the next 11-12 years or so trying every kind of smaller stick out there and I admit I found some I quite liked but, never thought I found 'my' stick.

I went into the drum centre on day not too long ago and they didn't have my sticks in so I thought 'ah what the hell' and got some 2B's for a laugh and guess what? They were perfect!

They just fit my hands nicely, I can feel them, I don't really have trouble playing quietly at all with them.
It annoys me that I was so influenced by someone else just out of respect and now I have the confidence and experience to say these are the sticks for me, don't tell me I'm wrong.

How can someone else tell you what works best for your body? We have completely different builds let alone styles...

So yeah, Vater 2B's nylon tips for me at the moment but I will try other 2B's and wood types etc.


Anyone else had an experience like this?
 
Re: Your stick preferences and why.

I've had a few favorite sticks over the years.

I've gone from 5A to 7A to 8D to quite a few signature sticks in between those sizes.

It took me a while to figure out that I don't have to work as hard with a fatter stick. Right now, I'm using the VF Peter Erskine Big Band Stick. It has a pretty beefy shaft and a long taper. They have an excellent response; I can actually play with much less effort compared to other sticks I've tried.

My other favorite, my #2 stick is the VF AJ6. Slightly bigger than a 7A; it has a very tiny tip that sounds just beautiful on cymbals. I actually use this stick primarily in jazz but when I need to bring up the volume I switch to the Big Band sticks. Nothing sounds quite like those AJ6's.
 
Re: Your stick preferences and why.

You mean the X5BNVGs, don't you? Because I play the X5AN w/o the VG. Just today I bought a pair of 55As and used them for my gig this evening. They were wood tip and they were an excellent stick. The diameter of the stick is .580; right betwen a 5A and 5B diameter. The length is standard, but that's alright because my new kit has power toms and I have to angle them a little more. I think I may make this stick my main players. They just felt right!

Yep, you're right, typo.

Recently I've been using the Aaron Spears sticks, a little slimmer, no grip of course, but they feel great.

Now when I go back to a "regular length" stick the balance feels terribly off and the reach feels stunted, like I'm playing with a pencil or something.
 
Re: Your stick preferences and why.

If I could only choose two, I'd use the VF American Jazz AJ5 and the VF Peter Erskine Ride.

Occasionally, I'll use the Zildjian Heavy Jazz stick - laminated and HEAVY, though very tough and sound like a nylon tip or maybe even harder.
 
Back
Top