Breaking sticks

I had found a pair of sticks that I reeeealllyyy like, the length, weight, and feel all really worked for me. They are Vic Firth X5A's. Unfortunately, I feel like Vic Firth's quality has SERIOUSLY declined lately. I used to use pairs of sticks for a very long time, months at least. I have gone through 4 brand new pairs of these since the first week in January. At about $8-10 a piece it's not worth it for me to keep buying these. I've heard the HD9's stand up pretty well and are just a bit fatter than the X5A's so I'll give those a go. For now, I've been using the Neil Peart signature ProMarks. They have held up quite well, but they feel tip-heavy and the tips themselves are also too large for my liking...
Anyways, just my 2 cents!
 
Broken sticks are a result of playing too hard. That's it. Why does anything ever break? Too much pressure on it, right? Stop putting so much pressure on how hard you hit and save your sticks. Now, are you playing in arenas that seat 10,000 people? If so, you need to hit hard. If not, pull back a little and add some sensitivity to your playing.
 
dRummmmmmm said:
I had Pro-Mark 5A Hickorys. I wasnt happy at all because they were very heavy sticks and I thought that they wouldnt break for a long time but yeh, they broke within a week. Now I use Regal Tip 5B Hickorys and Im happy with them. They havent broke for now and they are very light sticks.
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Hello,
I am glad you found a stick you are comfortable with but I wanted to address the breaking of the ProMark 5A's. Can I ask where the sticks broke and how long ago it was?
 
Los Angeles or Fusion - Vater

Vater sticks lasts sooooo long for me.
 
I need so much help with this. Ive claimed 3 pairs in the last two practices, i love 5A's and i feel most natural playing with them. but i cannot stop destroying them. does anyone know of a strong 5A that isnt a cymbal smashing Ahead or a SIlver Fox cos they dont agree with me either.
 
JoeLackey said:
Broken sticks are a result of playing too hard. That's it. Why does anything ever break? Too much pressure on it, right? Stop putting so much pressure on how hard you hit and save your sticks.
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Nah, I wouldn't say it works that way. Sticks do break, no matter how you play.
If someone needs new tires on his car after having driven every day for 30 years, would you dismiss that as him driving "too hard"?

If a guitarist snaps a string after gigging with the string every day for 5 years, would that be caused by the guitarist's inability to be careful?

Anyways, I know there are many people out there who actually hit too hard, and smashes a lot of sticks in their way.
But sticks are always gonna break for everyone - no matter how you play.

Just my input.
Cheers
 
I believe that when you're hitting a stationary object with a piece of wood, there's always a chance that that piece of wood can break, even if you don't apply too much pressure. It's just the nature of the thing.
I think it's totally possible to have a bad batch of sticks. I've seen 'em and played 'em. Normally, before I start a tour, for example, I take a pair of sticks for every gig. 27 shows, 27 pair. Some days I'll break 3, some days not. On the last tour I went 19 shows in before breaking a stick, then broke sticks in the 3 following shows. The tour before that I ran out and had to buy more.
Those are Vic Classic 5AN.
I've had a pair of 7AN's for 4 years now.
I have a 10 year-old pair of Hardimans.

Everybody will find what is comfortable for them. We all have different conditions in which we play, so absolutes don't really work here, I believe. A guy in his jazz combo is not going to play like the guy at the metal gig, or the kid still working on his basic skills. Since everyone's different, everyone's results will be different.
While some techniques can break sticks more than others, sticks will just break.
 
Vater sticks are super durable...I've never had a problem with them breaking in two like some of the other brands, but for any stick the tips go fast...unless you use nylon of course.

Also you can hit hard without applying a lot of pressure to the sticks. The tighter you hold them, the more you're choking the vibrations, and the pressure has to be released somehow. The looser my grip has become, the more power I've gotten, and I break less sticks...
 
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Got my sticks for 5 months now (even before I got my kit) and they're still just fine. I practice everyday for 1-3 hours.
 
RE ; "" Now, are you playing in arenas that seat 10,000 people? If so, you need to hit hard." it would seem to me that any band playing in that kind of venue would have a decent sound system,,,,,
 
iplaypearldrumsfl said:
RE ; "" Now, are you playing in arenas that seat 10,000 people? If so, you need to hit hard." it would seem to me that any band playing in that kind of venue would have a decent sound system,,,,,
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I think what he means is when you have a live audience in a large venue and you are a rock or metal band, you need to exert your own energy a lot more than in practice in order to receive the same amount of positive energy from the crowd.
 
I've used tons of different Vic Firth's. Zildjian's, and Vater's before until I switched to Promark last summer. I've broken sticks from all of these brands including Promark but they are definitely my favorite stick brand now. Sure they're pretty expensive, and I still can break them in half, but they seem to be more durable than any of the others I've tried and they just have a great feel to them. I use Promark Japanese Oak 5B Nylon tips and sometimes the same kind in 747's and I don't think I could bring myself to buy sticks from another brand anymore.
 
Just broke a pair of Vic Firth 8DN's that I've played with every day for six months. Now that's the spirit, sticks!
 
I use vicfirth Metal-N sticks ( they look like giant matches) I go through a pair every 3 weeks. Though I have to say that my floor tom destroys sticks. something about my low tuning cracks them! I can't complain with the performance the extra length and thickness provide exactly what I look for in a stick.
 
I'm pretty much in a dead heat between Promark and Vic Firth... to me durability is out the same between their hickory sticks. Of course the Promark Oak take a really long time to break. I tend to break sticks at bout the same rate from all of the brands, so for me it is all about the feel of the stick and tip, and how easy it is to use my technique with the sticks. I am also in love with the Vater West side model as well as the Los Angeles 5A and 5A Specials.
 
I had to cry myself to sleep the other night.. I sat down behind a kit in a studio for the first time in many many many months.. bought a brand new pair of sticks from the venue, and the head of my vic just went flying within the first 30 seconds... I couldn't believe it!

It must have just been a rotten apple though, because evne though i was hitting quite hard, it's just as hard as i normal play, and i've had to retire many pairs of vics because they're splinter so much from rimshots, but would NOT break!!

they've still got my faith and devotion though!
 
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