Anyone do a permanent "mod" to their sticks (not just tape)?

vyacheslav

Senior Member
Anyone do something a little more "permanent" than just taping their sticks?

In the past I have used a gloss polyurethane on regular sticks (to make them like the Regal Tip glossy finish). I also put clear nail polish on the tips of wood tip sticks to help them last longer (mixed results.......it honestly doesn't really work).

I also know a vintage stick enthusiast who puts clear nail polish over the logo and model so it doesn't get worn away. I will sometimes sand my sticks with 220 grit at the neck/shoulder/tip area if they are chewed up but otherwise in good shape (ie no chunks missing or cracked tips) to smooth them out.

On vintage or discontinued sticks that I really like, I will fill in cracks and gouges with wood filler, sand them down and then put satin finish polyurethane over the wood filler to seal and strengthen it. I'm normally not that cheap and would just toss them for a new pair, but I will follow this procedure if they are vintage or are discontinued. It works very well..............until the next crack...............

Anyone do anything like this that is more permanent than taping? I don't really consider grip tape a permanent mod, because you can always take it off.
 
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If my local GC doesnt have any VF HD4s available, I'll buy the VF Steve Jordan signature stick and cut them to the length of the HD4s. The diameter and taper are almost identical. The tip is close enough. It's just too long so I cut it.
 
I soak the tips with super glue. it wears off the outside pretty quickly but does help slow splintering. The thinner the super glue the better, no gel stuff.
Also, I sand the butts round if the model has a sharper cut or bevel.
 
Anyone rough up the grip area? Some days sticks are slippery (I think your skin goes smooth and shiny in some weathers)
Anyone mark off the rim click sweetspot?
Or is that just for hopeless beginners like me? (I mark it with permanent marker. It's permanent for about 1 hr!)
 
Anyone rough up the grip area? Some days sticks are slippery (I think your skin goes smooth and shiny in some weathers)
Anyone mark off the rim click sweetspot?
Or is that just for hopeless beginners like me? (I mark it with permanent marker. It's permanent for about 1 hr!)

I don't like my sticks rough. I want them to rotate in my hands as I play. If they don't, I'm squeezing too tightly. My hands must be clean and dry, nothing else or I'll just go wash them again.

I don't mark the stick, but I know exactly where the balance point is in relation to the logo from looking at my hands so much. Not with the cut down Steve Jordan's though. The logo is in a different spot so I have to find the balance point.

It's not hopeless, marking your stick gives you a return to 0, so to speak. It allows you to repeat something over and over, and that's how this instrument works. Every part of it. If marking your sticks makes this easier, by all means do it. Consider it a memory lock for your stick.
 
I guess I was just lucky to like the sticks I buy. I buy them, use them, then replace them. You’re already spending, what, close to $10 a pair these days. I’m not gonna work harder to make myself like them.

I agree, only difference for me is that my preferred stick is the Vater Manhattan 7a to which the Sound Percussion 7a feels the same and has the same dimensions (pretty sure they are factory seconds) and I get a brick of 4 pairs for under $20. I don't break sticks or heads, just wear them out, so a single pair would last me easily (pre-quarantine) a month or two if not more of 1-2 gigs and 5-10 rehearsals.

Only thing I do is whenever I pull out a fresh pair I roll them together in my hands like an American does chopsticks for a good 10-20 seconds. Don't know why, always have and always will.
 
I always used Regal tip sticks, but availability and inconsistency had me looking elsewhere. I settled on Vater 5B's and I love them, but miss the grip of the Regals. So, I just buy a can of Treehouse acrylic coating and spray a couple coats on the lower half of the stick. As your hands warm up, the grip increases without getting tacky. It works great, same grip feel as the Regals and is quick, cheap and simple to do.
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Never in my case, not even over the many years I played with hickory sticks. I now use AHEAD 5B Light Rock sticks for everything. The only modification I make is the addition of white grip tape. One pair lasts me a very long time, even when I'm playing up to six days a week. My technique is extremely clean. I've never been hard on sticks.
 
Two of my favorite sticks have a factory grip coating. Love the sticks, hate coating. Cut cut cut.

Pete
 
That's why I like Promarks they have a nice grip. If I use Vic's then one wrap of electrical tape.
I've tried sanding them but it smoothes out after a while
 
I don't mod my sticks. Like many of you I like the thicker finish on Regal Tip's, hence me using their sticks. I do have a friend who takes a box cutter and does a spiral cut down the stick from about the middle to the butt-end. I get what the idea is, gives some texture to hand onto, but I never tried it myself. I always felt that it would be too sharp and rough.
 
I’ve put various grips on many of my sticks over the years, especially timpani mallets. I like the Drum-Eze grips. I’ve also made a lot of pairs of mallets, and a few sets of snare drum sticks.
 
I also like the Regal Tip finish. I've recently tried a couple coats of Bullseye shellac, (I read about it on another forum), on my non Regal Tip sticks. It works pretty well, but it doesn't feel as nice as the RT's.
 
I’d love to do what Danny Carey did on his signature Vic Firth stick (a groove the handle so it doesn’t slip out of your hahd).

but to a smaller stick
 
Grunter'sDad has suggested Plasti-Dip. I bought some and never put the work into trying it. I wonder if it's still good.
 
Grunter'sDad has suggested Plasti-Dip. I bought some and never put the work into trying it. I wonder if it's still good.
I tried them on a pair of pliers.

Unless they improved their formula, it sucked when I used it.

Peeled off within days. Maybe if you sand the sticks first.
 
Anyone do something a little more "permanent" than just taping their sticks?

In the past I have used a gloss polyurethane on regular sticks (to make them like the Regal Tip glossy finish). I also put clear nail polish on the tips of wood tip sticks to help them last longer (mixed results.......it honestly doesn't really work).

I also know a vintage stick enthusiast who puts clear nail polish over the logo and model so it doesn't get worn away. I will sometimes sand my sticks with 220 grit at the neck/shoulder/tip area if they are chewed up but otherwise in good shape (ie no chunks missing or cracked tips) to smooth them out.

On vintage or discontinued sticks that I really like, I will fill in cracks and gouges with wood filler, sand them down and then put satin finish polyurethane over the wood filler to seal and strengthen it. I'm normally not that cheap and would just toss them for a new pair, but I will follow this procedure if they are vintage or are discontinued. It works very well..............until the next crack...............

Anyone do anything like this that is more permanent than taping? I don't really consider grip tape a permanent mod, because you can always take it off.

I used to sand down the Keith Carlock's when they first came out becuase I really dug the feel but the Heavy Lacquer finish would always get sticky in my hands - but not long after I started working with Pro Marks have been playing the Michael Carvin's which have a much more pleasant feeling finish on them and doesn't slip.

Past that - I echo the sentiment that there are so many sticks out there that I shouldn't have to modify one - and doing that for a case of sticks before a tour is an absolute waste of time haha.
 
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