Straight Drumsticks.

cobamnator

Senior Member
I was wondering how much "Straight" or "True" Drumsticks makes a difference.

I got a couple sets here that if you roll them down on a flat surface, they roll "wobbly".

Will this effect playing technique in anyway?

I don’t want to acquire Faulty technique / muscle memory because of crappy drumsticks.
 
Wobbly doesn't work for me. The music stores hate me because I'll come in and take all of their 5A's (for instance), and take 'em out of the Vic Firth boxes and roll 'em all on a table. I keep the straight ones and then I go through all of those to make sure they all weigh more or less the same. All the light and warped ones go back in the bin!

I say if you're spending a fair amount of money on your sticks, they might as well be what they should be.
 
I also check my sticks before I buy them using the roll test. My dad taught me this many, many years ago and I still do it to this day. I doubt if it will promote faulty technique, but you pay good money for your sticks, so they should be straight. I also don't buy bundles because of this particular reason.

Dennis
 
I often order sticks in bulk, so I get an occasional warped one. Other than aesthetics, it doesn't bother me at all. I could probably play with a banana if it was thin and stiff enough.

That said, if I'm buying sticks at a store, I roll them. I prefer them straight, but I can live with it if they are a bit warped. FWIW
 
All big companies (Vic Firth, Vater, Pro-Mark,...) proclaim that all sticks they sell are perfectly straight. Unfortunately it's not the case. So for the ten dollars I spend, I allow myself to roll the sticks on the store counter.

Almost all sticks (three pairs) which I received by special delivery have a little "bend" in it. I was a little angry about that but during playing I don't really feel the difference.

But I am wondering if on a drum corps snare, with so many rolls used to be played, the warped sticks would be an issue ?
 
As long as it is not too bad, it does not bother me. Peace and goodwill.
 
I buy the vater 4pks from guitar center, but I usually look at each pack to make sure they are all pretty straight and the grain is how I like it. I usually just hold the end up to my eye and look down it to make sure, just like you would with a 2x4 or something else
 
I often order sticks in bulk, so I get an occasional warped one. Other than aesthetics, it doesn't bother me at all. I could probably play with a banana if it was thin and stiff enough.

That said, if I'm buying sticks at a store, I roll them. I prefer them straight, but I can live with it if they are a bit warped. FWIW

Same here.

For the occasional pair I pick up at a store, I'll roll them, tap them, etc.

However, no local stores stock my "regular" sticks so I just order them and play them when they arrive. I've never really had a bad one shipped to me...so far.
 
I like rolling too. Can't say I've ever seen a warped VF. I must be lucky, they must be out there. It really shouldn't make too much of a difference, a slightly warped stick. What are we talking about, a couple 3 millimeters? Think about playing brushes. They bend all over the place. But I still roll the sticks. I like to think it makes me look like I know what I'm doing lol.
 
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