Back with some stories

[k3ng]

Hello drummerworld forum people or whatever we are called nowadays.

It's been a while since I frequented these forums. I've been rather busy and all with teaching, gigs and a whole bunch of other stuff.

It's been a great experience gigging with a simple 3 piece jazz band and I've learned a ton of stuff. My playing has improved greatly over these months and I'm looking forward to expanding my horizons even more.

I just wanted to share a little experience I encountered the other day while performing and a small club. It was jazz night and they invited my 3 piece to perform. I loaded my kit into my car (it's still the darn swingstar. Hey with proper skins and tuning it sounds great to me) and promptly forgot to bring my sticks. I'm so used to my light weight sticks (read:Steve Gadd signatures) but when I got to the place and asked if they had a pair for me, all they had were some regular pro mark 5B's. What the heck. A drummer's gotta use what he has to the fullest.

After the gig, a couple of jazz enthusiasts came up to me and said 'hey, you're using 5B's! I can't believe you're performing a jazz gig with such heavy sticks!'

I thought to myself, what's the deal? It's nothing amazing. But then thinking about it, I realized that most people I've heard from don't ever use 5B's for performing gigs. Is it really that strange using a 5B for regular performing? I dunno. Maybe it's because alot of times we associate heavy sticks with heavy hitters, but I got along fine playing jazz on those. It was a little hard. My ride started ringing like mad and I had to force my hand to go light on it.

Well, how many of you guys actually use 5B's to gig regularly? Or if not, how many of you guys have been forced into a situation using heavier sticks than you would normally?

Cheers guys. I'll be around a bit with a couple more interesting experiences.

[TitanSound]

If it feels good for you...who cares what stick you use for whatever style of playing?

I get a lot of comments about using 2B's all the time. I play mostly rock and funk in my band. Just because I use heavy sticks does not mean I know nothing about dynamic playing. I have tried using other sizes but they just do not feel right.

[Drummer Karl]

First of all...great that you make those great experiences!!
Yeah, I had a similar situation with sticks.

If you wanna read the whole story, here it is:
http://www.drummerworld.com/forums/s...ad.php?t=36354

Alors, to sum up the important stick part: I forgot to bring my sticks to a Jazz workshop I attended last week. I use Vic Firth Maple 7A!! 15 1/2" long, .540" in diameter. Light, light!
So I used the sticks of the drummer leading that workshop...some hickory things. Definitly heavier than mine, longer and thicker. It worked very very well.

I noticed that the only things which are really important for me when doing a Jazz gig are the cymbals and the tip of the stick. If the sticks aren`t that thick or heavy it`s okay. But at least I personally feel the need of cymbals which feel and sound good to me as well as the tip of the stick. You`ll be able to play soft with a heavier stick, too.

It has to feel okay for you and if you are able to control the stick (in Jazz especially on the ride cymbal) it doesn`t really matter what kind of stick you use.

Karl

[k3ng]

Cheers mates

Thank goodness the sticks I used didn't have dull heads. And thankfully they weren't nylon either. I don't like nylon heads on my ride.

Love that experience you had there Karl. Must've been great to have a close up workshop with a real pro! I'm jealous already!

(i know I shouldn't bump such an old thread, but these days I'm a little busy to be visiting here everyday)

[Aquamaroon]

I'm at the other end of the scale now, playing rock with a jazz kit and 7As. I think it shocks the soundmen more than anyone. They aren't used to someone playing a kit under 100dbs.

[k3ng]

Heh nice one aquamaroon.

I had a somewhat related to that experience. It was after a really soft lounge jazz gig and the restaurant was closing. A couple of young kids wanted to jam with me and my bassist. So they picked up the electric guitar and starting some rock tunes (not too loudly to avoid the management's fury) and I kept quiet. When they asked why I wasn't playing I held up my only pair of tools that day - my brushes.

[joshuacreamer97]

I like jazz sticks when playing thin cymbals.