Ahead alloy drum sticks

You can also put the tips on with super glue....they will come off with pliars when you need to replace the sleeves.
 
Never tried that.
I'll check into it though.

iv all ready tried it
i tried with 2 types of super glue and twice it has come off. i'll admit though did take longer than them just being screwed on
I'm opting for a more softer glue. i think super glue drys to hard and cracks off or something like that. heres hoping a softer glue will absorb the impact more. its worked so far
:p
 
Yes I agree woith Wolfmoon and RazorX... There are more than a few threads already here about these sticks. And that they arent for everyone. I ve saved a LOAD of $ in the last few years with these. I ve found that you really dont need to cross-stick your bell with these. They can take full on tip-shots to a bell and you dont have to worry about that crappy little nylon,glued-on bead splittin off to the sunset.
Rebound is less, power is amplified...i.e.: moeller technique. Balance and straightness is equal. I use the 5A Rocks. When I switch back to my Oak 747s', its like playing with chopsticks. So they have drawbacks+ advantages.
Search the threads for "Ahead Sticks", alot more there.
 
I'm ready for the flame attacks, but here's my simple response to this thread.

Why would any serious drummer seriously consider playing drums with metal sticks?
 
I'm ready for the flame attacks, but here's my simple response to this thread.

Why would any serious drummer seriously consider playing drums with metal sticks?

Not gonna flame ya... but thats not a very valid inquiry. ;P , Thats like asking why wouldnt you try a new type of cymbal...Its all about personal preference, along with many more things that make playing interesting and personal.

Why would any "serious" drummer play hip-hop?(Tony Royster Jr)...Again, No definite answer there cuz...
 
crdirtRider856 said:
Not gonna flame ya... but thats not a very valid inquiry. ;P ,

Thanks for the gentle treatment. I appreciate it.
cool.gif


Oh, my inquiry is as valid as anyone else's. You might not agree with it, but it's entirely valid, I assure you.

I have no problem with personal preference, so, my question was really a rhetorical one.

Drums are organic, mostly made of wood, the same material from which drumsticks have been made for a long, long time.

I tend to be someone who appreciates and supports that which has brought us here, musically, so have a far greater interest in and appreciation for wood drum sticks, that's all.

And, it was beyond amusing to read some of the following comments/questions on this thread:

• has anyone else had problems with heads of ahead sticks coming off

• Off course you can play rishots with them, but they will bend and/or break. When thin aluminium meets steel at high velocity, it's simple physics.

• I have been getting the loudest rim shots ever.. in the 8 years that I hae been using them.

• The price of sticks, the cost of re-sleeving and re-tipping them, and the added headache of calling in warranty after warranty actually made them more expensive than wood sticks. They also have a weaker rebound, terrible shoulder-on-ride-bell sound and next to no cross stick sound.

• has anyone else had problems with heads of ahead sticks coming off
the threads in mine keep breaking and just like 10mins ago i almost broke a perfectly good snare skin when the end came off and i hit the skin with the metal inside
how can i stop this happening?

• Just make sure that they are screwed on tight before you use them

• You can also put the tips on with super glue....they will come off with pliars when you need to replace the sleeves.

No Thanks!

I'll stick with my Vic Firth SD2 Bolero sticks and enjoy the organic feel and sound, occasional splinters, and eventually ... firewood.
 
Cool then... I see your point of view, but after too many yrs of playing, I switched to the Aheads for 1 reason- durability.

They ve done me good for a while now, and while I still use wooden sticks, I like my "metal bashers" just as much. I ve never had any problems with the tips, or the shafts. But Maybe I m just lucky, LOL!!!!!(i m really not) To each his own, as the saying goes... I have saved a LOT of money though.
 
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Yep, to each their own, indeed.

However, after playing for a bit over 50 years ... mostly jazz, but also country swing, rock, blues and funk, I remain a wood stick man.

I love the sound of SD2s on my drums, cymbals, cross-sticking, etc.


Since I'm not a "basher" I don't break many sticks. They don't even wear out very quickly, so ...
 
Yep, to each their own, indeed.
Since I'm not a "basher" I don't break many sticks. They don't even wear out very quickly, so ...


I see... My problem was that I use the bell on my ride about 90% of the time, so those little nylon tips were breaking off after about 2 weeks of heavy use...so I needed something stronger, and it was getting expensive, so they ve worked for me!

Problem is...alot of people buy them thinking that they re the answer to their problems, and dont pay attention to the fact that they are maintainable, and actually require some attention. But thats their fault. Haha, paya attention noobs!
 


Thanks for the gentle treatment. I appreciate it.
cool.gif


Oh, my inquiry is as valid as anyone else's. You might not agree with it, but it's entirely valid, I assure you.

I have no problem with personal preference, so, my question was really a rhetorical one.

Drums are organic, mostly made of wood, the same material from which drumsticks have been made for a long, long time.

I tend to be someone who appreciates and supports that which has brought us here, musically, so have a far greater interest in and appreciation for wood drum sticks, that's all.

And, it was beyond amusing to read some of the following comments/questions on this thread:

• has anyone else had problems with heads of ahead sticks coming off

• Off course you can play rishots with them, but they will bend and/or break. When thin aluminium meets steel at high velocity, it's simple physics.

• I have been getting the loudest rim shots ever.. in the 8 years that I hae been using them.

• The price of sticks, the cost of re-sleeving and re-tipping them, and the added headache of calling in warranty after warranty actually made them more expensive than wood sticks. They also have a weaker rebound, terrible shoulder-on-ride-bell sound and next to no cross stick sound.

• has anyone else had problems with heads of ahead sticks coming off
the threads in mine keep breaking and just like 10mins ago i almost broke a perfectly good snare skin when the end came off and i hit the skin with the metal inside
how can i stop this happening?

• Just make sure that they are screwed on tight before you use them

• You can also put the tips on with super glue....they will come off with pliars when you need to replace the sleeves.

No Thanks!

I'll stick with my Vic Firth SD2 Bolero sticks and enjoy the organic feel and sound, occasional splinters, and eventually ... firewood.

I assume you play on authentic hide drum heads? Because if you play on plastic drumheads, you have little grounds to look down (so it seems to me) on people who play with aluminum sticks.

Now, I think I'll go play my solid-shell drum set - plywood is beneath me and it's beyond amusing you would play glued veneers (that is sarcasm, intended to show that it's easy to be a snob).

I embrace diversity and innovation. Drum shells have changed little in 150 years of Western trap set evolution. Metal, plastic, hybrid and oldfangled methods like stave are great things, I think.

After reading this, I'm seriously going to look at some Aheads for myself.
 
Thanks DMC...I was sensing a little bit of condescendence, I just wasnt sure. I mean, Hey "I play a 'First Act' kit, but I put Evans heads on it and added a Bosphorous ride! And its the "perfect" kit...so long as I use sticks ground from the big Oak tree from the woods of Canada! Thats what its all about, right? ......hee hee





I m just kidding btw : P
 
Thanks DMC...I was sensing a little bit of condescendence, I just wasnt sure. I mean, Hey "I play a 'First Act' kit, but I put Evans heads on it and added a Bosphorous ride! And its the "perfect" kit...so long as I use sticks ground from the big Oak tree from the woods of Canada! Thats what its all about, right? ......hee hee





I m just kidding btw : P

HAHA! That would be freaky, to pimp out a First Act kit with Bosphoruses, Evans heads, DW hardware, etc.
 
Yeah I'll post a few pics soon, its a great idea I got from my imagination's 4 year old brother's best friend... It sounds pretty good though, like a set of 8", 10" and 14" timbales backed with a top "o" the line ride....with all Gibralter hardware and an Axis longboard double pedal...Add your choice of snare and you have a trick set!

I m makin' myself jealous though, so I ll quit now.It would be a cool little set to see though, right? : D
 
I have a very personal experience with aheads. I share my practice studio with one of my buddy's bands but there is only room for one kit in there. We both use my kit, a ddrum dios bubinga kit. The one stipulation for him to be able to use the kit though is that he must use wooden sticks and not the aheads lars ulrich's (he's a die hard lars fan, even copies all of his cheesey moves on stage). The reason for this is that i keep "loaning" him my "extra" cymbals and he keeps breaking them because the fiberglass or plastic sleeves get shredded or offer no protection whatsoever. I've been playing for 29 years and have only ever cracked 1 cymbal (a wuhan 16" china, SURPRISE bet you would have never thought that!!!). Anyways, he's been playing for about 6 years and he's cracked my sabian aa china, my paiste formula 16" crash, a zildjian amir crash, and about 4 or 5 cheap or off-brand cymbals. Now i only "loan" him disposable stuff. And wouldn't you know it, the other day i went in and found black plastic "shavings" all over the kit. I've got some expensive brass on there now, some a customs, some aax'es, a k constantinople, etc. There wil be a cracked skull to match any cracked cymbals.

Other than that, i've tried them and they actually have amazing balance and feel. Hope that helps.
 
I have a very personal experience with aheads. I share my practice studio with one of my buddy's bands but there is only room for one kit in there. We both use my kit, a ddrum dios bubinga kit. The one stipulation for him to be able to use the kit though is that he must use wooden sticks and not the aheads lars ulrich's (he's a die hard lars fan, even copies all of his cheesey moves on stage). The reason for this is that i keep "loaning" him my "extra" cymbals and he keeps breaking them because the fiberglass or plastic sleeves get shredded or offer no protection whatsoever. I've been playing for 29 years and have only ever cracked 1 cymbal (a wuhan 16" china, SURPRISE bet you would have never thought that!!!). Anyways, he's been playing for about 6 years and he's cracked my sabian aa china, my paiste formula 16" crash, a zildjian amir crash, and about 4 or 5 cheap or off-brand cymbals. Now i only "loan" him disposable stuff. And wouldn't you know it, the other day i went in and found black plastic "shavings" all over the kit. I've got some expensive brass on there now, some a customs, some aax'es, a k constantinople, etc. There wil be a cracked skull to match any cracked cymbals.

Other than that, i've tried them and they actually have amazing balance and feel. Hope that helps.

After the first cracked cymbal, I'd have him bring his own pies.
 
I have a very personal experience with aheads. I share my practice studio with one of my buddy's bands but there is only room for one kit in there. We both use my kit, a ddrum dios bubinga kit. The one stipulation for him to be able to use the kit though is that he must use wooden sticks and not the aheads lars ulrich's (he's a die hard lars fan, even copies all of his cheesey moves on stage). The reason for this is that i keep "loaning" him my "extra" cymbals and he keeps breaking them because the fiberglass or plastic sleeves get shredded or offer no protection whatsoever. I've been playing for 29 years and have only ever cracked 1 cymbal (a wuhan 16" china, SURPRISE bet you would have never thought that!!!). Anyways, he's been playing for about 6 years and he's cracked my sabian aa china, my paiste formula 16" crash, a zildjian amir crash, and about 4 or 5 cheap or off-brand cymbals. Now i only "loan" him disposable stuff. And wouldn't you know it, the other day i went in and found black plastic "shavings" all over the kit. I've got some expensive brass on there now, some a customs, some aax'es, a k constantinople, etc. There wil be a cracked skull to match any cracked cymbals.

Other than that, i've tried them and they actually have amazing balance and feel. Hope that helps.

First off, why loan your gear to anyone? Second and most important, broken cymbals are not the sticks fault. It's players lack of care that are breaking "your" cymbals. If you simply take a few seconds to check the covers over before playing and replace them when they are getting worn out, this wouldn't happen. If you don't do that or can't be bothered to do it then it's the players own fault. Simple as that. These sticks get a bad rap because people can't be bothered to take a few seconds to look at them.

I have been using them for 8 years and have not once bent, chipped or cracked a cymbal. This is with playing metal and even playing out live where you put a lot of energy into your playing. I'm not a pro or a know it all. I'm just someone that cares for and respects my equipment and the money I put into every single piece. If your finding plastic shavings all over the place it's because your friend is chopping at things instead of playing. I'd say stop loaning him your stuff. That Paiste Sound Formula is no longer made BTW. Someone needs to show him what he's doing wrong and let him be responsible for damaging his own gear. Maybe when he starts to pay for it on his own he will get it.
 
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