Light Sticks for Rock

What are the lightest drumsticks you've used on a rock gig?? This may sound crazy but I just bought a pair of Vic Firth 7A Maples and I'm thinking about trying them. I like the idea because I'm a hard hitter and they're physically not possible to play too loud with or they will break. I'm tired of playing loud, my band is tired of playing loud, and I'm seeing that the crowds in small bars dont want the music too loud. I also don't like needing to use earplugs or IEMs. What do ya think?

I use PRO MARK shirakashi japan oak, 5a, they are pretty neat, you can play soft, or if needed, hard. alternative is to buy rods.

oak is actually a heavy, dense wood. I was asking about thin maple sticks.

The thing about rods is I was chewing through those before I used to even damage normal sticks.

I play with Pro-Quality 5B classic - maple with nylon tips, maple wood is lighter than hickory.

For heavy pounding, I use Vic Firth 5B classic - hickory with wooden tips.

hey i picked up some vic firth maple sticks their called AH5B american heritage, thier pretty sweet, and suprisingly light as well. For me their like a happy medium between 5a and 5b you should check em out.

I like the Vic Firth SD4 made from Rock Maple. Nice intermediate size
between 5A and 7A. They work great for me since they have a nice
squared tip instead of the typical taper on the A series.

I play Vic Firth SD2 Boleros and they are SWEET man..

Vic Firth SD4 combo, maple.
Barrel tip.
I don't play a lot of rock but when I do these do fine.

maple 7a's?

i hope you play thin cymbals, or you may have trouble opening them up...

I'm in the same situation as the op, I'm looking to get some maple sticks to minimise volume. I usually use Promark Hickory 7a's and they are nice and light for hickory sticks but I want to get something even lighter, if thats possible? I'm looking at Promark Maple 721's, anyone here tried them?

I'm having trouble finding decent quality maple sticks here in the UK though. A lot of online UK retailers online seem to stock hickory sticks.

If you want to play quieter, learn how to play quieter. I use 5As in rooms where every drum needs to be miked, and I use 5A's in every room that is so annoying and echo-filled that no mic needs to get near the drums.

You can use 7As for rock if you want. Heck, I once grabbed the stick bag that I use for musicals on my way to a gig with my rock band, and spent the evening rocking out with Vic Firth AJ4s (which are jazz sticks that I believe are even smaller than 7As).

But, in the end, the only way to truly sound good quietly is to learn how to play in a controlled, quiet fashion. If you don't, you will just end up sounding weak, as opposed to sounding powerful, even quietly.

Moktie said:

I like the Vic Firth SD4 made from Rock Maple. Nice intermediate size
between 5A and 7A. They work great for me since they have a nice
squared tip instead of the typical taper on the A series.

Click to expand...

I was under the impression that the SD4's and the 5A's were the same stick. Only difference being the tip, SD4's have a barrel tip and the 5A's have a tear drop tip.
A student of mine uses 5A's, I put them side by side with the sd4's and length, weight felt the same diameter looked to be the same except for the tip.

Vater piccolos are very light but big in size and have a very good tone. They do break easily though.

veggo32 said:

I was under the impression that the SD4's and the 5A's were the same stick. Only difference being the tip, SD4's have a barrel tip and the 5A's have a tear drop tip.
A student of mine uses 5A's, I put them side by side with the sd4's and length, weight felt the same diameter looked to be the same except for the tip.

Click to expand...

You would probably need a pair of calipers to notice the size difference.

Regal Tip Quantam 1000 WOOD TIP sticks are real nice, lighter sticks with great feel and balance. They are great for playing rock because of the slightly larger tip which gives you the beef in the sound, but you also get the lighter feel so you don't feel bogged down by a larger stick.

http://www.regaltip.com/phpshop/htd...92&PHPSESSID=9556accad41c61a536a6a0830d42fe20

Actually I'd suggest trying the Vic Firth Steve Gadd models. They are hickory, but very light. They are the length of 7A but the have the barrel tip (slightly larger) of the SD4. Personally, I like something longer, or I would use these myself. Another great option is the Peter Erskine RIDE stick (not the original model, but the 'ride' model). The bottom feels like 5B, but it tapers to a smaller tip producing a defined, softer sound. I like these for jazz, but it's harder to play louder although you can use more of the shoulder of the stick for that too. The American Jazz 1 is a very similar stick too (5B bottom, small tip with long taper yielding a very light stick that you can still hold on to and can't overplay with).
If Promark is your thing try the "Jazz" model (it's a 16" 7A) or the 727s a bit thicker. Promark's 7A is a lot thinner than VF .512 compared to .535ish. Personally I would say something like the Gadd sticks, maple 5As, or the Erskine sticks would suit you better though. The biggest thing though is simply play softer regardless of the stick.