Drum Gloves

Yeah Bruce - I'm going to try a pair of the Nike golf gloves like Copeland wears. I'm using Akira Jimbo signature sticks these days, which have a non-slip surface that works really well, but I'd like to see how gloves feel.

As for looking "gay"...I guess the concern hadn't crossed my mind, since I'm secure enough with my masculinity for that not to be an issue.

Unless...by "gay" you mean happy. I like to look happy!
 
I do have to agree with the gayness of them! Which contradicts the players that use them, all the metal fellows, for that's where you stereotypically see them because generally speaking you need more grip if you're going to hit hard. That picture of Vinnie Paul says it to a T. It's just an image which I don't look upon.

If you get calluses or you're losing grip perhaps technique is the problem, not covering it up. But then again, getting a sweat on during a hectic gig could help sticks from flying out of the drummers hand.
 
It's interesting that this has turned to 'Gloves? Yey or Ney... or Gay?!' Strange...

I think gloves look pretty cool, and remind me more of cool, aggressive, heavy drummers rather than male strippers...

Anyways if sticks slipping out of your hands is a problem but you don't want to wear gloves, you could always try the zildjian sticks that are dipped in purple rubber for grip (I want to call them 'dipsticks' but surely that can't be their name?). But still its gloves for me. Nobody else seems to mentioning the promark gloves. They have a nice thin leather grip which is perfect for me.
 
Ive been playing alot more latley and ive been getting alot of blisters. I definitley need gloves.
 
Class A Drummer said:
Ive been playing alot more latley and ive been getting alot of blisters. I definitley need gloves.
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This would indicate too tight of a grip, which can lead to injury.

As for gloves being a cover-up for bad technique - that's not entirely true. Carter Beauford has beautiful technique, which is evident in his incredible playing...just as one example.

Like others have said, playing hard and fast for several hours is physically demanding regardless of technique. I played w/ a hardcore punk bassist last night for almost 3 hrs, most of which was spent whacking the crap out of the drums (very uncharacteristic of me). I'm entirely without pain or blisters today (as usual) and feel great . I take that as an indication that my technique isn't all that bad.

However, after a while I was sweating profusely...and the sticks got slippery. I think I might have been even more relaxed and comfortable w/ gloves.
 
zambizzi said:
This would indicate too tight of a grip, which can lead to injury.

As for gloves being a cover-up for bad technique - that's not entirely true. Carter Beauford has beautiful technique, which is evident in his incredible playing...just as one example.

Like others have said, playing hard and fast for several hours is physically demanding regardless of technique. I played w/ a hardcore punk bassist last night for almost 3 hrs, most of which was spent whacking the crap out of the drums (very uncharacteristic of me). I'm entirely without pain or blisters today (as usual) and feel great . I take that as an indication that my technique isn't all that bad.

However, after a while I was sweating profusely...and the sticks got slippery. I think I might have been even more relaxed and comfortable w/ gloves.
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nah dude, its an indication of playing too loud for too long lol. Im pretty sure my technqiue is fine. I just never played with the intensity that i have been doing recently.
 
Class A Drummer said:
nah dude, its an indication of playing too loud for too long lol. Im pretty sure my technqiue is fine. I just never played with the intensity that i have been doing recently.
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Playing too loud and too long with the wrong technique.

I know this one. I played in a metal band for quite a while - I did something in the region of forty gigs with them last year ranging from twenty minute sets to three-quarters of an hour. Punishing on my hands, but only because I was gripping far, far too tight. I took to correcting this after I realised what was going on and then the problems stopped. If your technique is anything like it was in your older videos, it does need work and to just deny it as a problem is an issue. It might not be your technique - who knows? Maybe you have particularly soft hands - but I suspect that is not the case and that you need to re-assess. How do you think Dave Lombardo manages? He plays about as hard and as long as anybody - even Jojo Mayer plays loud, hard and long sometimes and I doubt his hands are anything if not well looked after.

Re-assess your technique. I'm not saying gloves are a 'good thing' or a 'bad thing' and personally, I've never used them - but it might be in your interest to look at your technique before buying a pair because all they're going to do is compound the problem; which may end up manifesting itself as RSI and carpal tunnel.
 
Class A Drummer said:
nah dude, its an indication of playing too loud for too long lol. Im pretty sure my technqiue is fine. I just never played with the intensity that i have been doing recently.
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What's funny to me is the Chapin quote as your sig. If Chapin heard what you said here he would slap you silly.
 
I can't stand wearing gloves; I need to feel the sticks for some reason. I've never really had a problem with calluses or blisters - when that happens you're usually doing something wrong with your grip, IMHO. My hands are pretty soft and I don't mean "for a drummer" either. I don't know if its right or wrong but I basically hold my sticks with just my thumb and big finger; the other fingers are wrapped around but not really gripping. Changing from wood sticks to aluminum (Ahead) has also helped a whole lot.
 
I would say Ney. I have been playing for 15 years and have never used gloves. At the moment i play every day and have built up pretty nice calluses on my hands which i think are better than gloves because you still have all the feeling for the stick. However, i went through a rough spill a couple years back and didn’t play for a few months and when i came back, blisters galore. But then i just threw some tape on the blisters and before you know it, blister becomes callus again.
 
This whole thing about gloves and things in general looking "gay". What? I mean, you don't say stuff looks "p---" or "n-----" do you? So why the hell do people use the word "gay" in such a derrogatory manner as if there is something wrong with people feeling things that they have no control over (and unlike sexual harrasment/paedophilia which is not a sexuality, doesn't actually hurt anybody else apart from perhaps you because you can't stand the thought of 2 blokes getting off with each other?) I'd have taken you for being a bit more mature as well DMC.
 
eddiehimself said:
I mean, you don't say stuff looks "p---" or "n-----" do you?
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I agree with your comment, it's a stupid way to use that word (especially considering the original meaning of the word is "happy" or "cheerful").

That being said, I have no idea what words you're trying to refer to with "p---" and "n-----" (and I suppose that might be just as well? :)
 
...."looks gay" ..... ??? What does "gay" look like?

This kind of talk is nothing more than lack of maturity. Sorry DMC...but ....it's ridiculous.

Gloves: When I play outside, and it's humid ....that's the only time....I have Zildjian gloves, and they do the trick.

Gloves do NOT = bad technique. There can be many reasons for wearing them....
 
Part of me loves the feel of a stick in my bare hand, but when I get to playing I need the glove....

I have been playing with Ahead gloves for years. I love that thick wrist band on them!
ahead-gloves.jpg
 
I have nothing against people using gloves at all lol, why would I mock what I don't understand :D
All I know is that I like the stick in the naked hand, and my only problem is sometimes sweat... so I always have a towel by my side, so that problem is solved. =]
Yes, that was a bit of an innuendo wasn't it, oh hahaha @ the person saying gloves look gay. In my opinion, drummers gloves look quite biker.. and look more masculine and thus less gay =] which is a shame.
 
I am not trying to be funny but one of the drummer techs at my local music store suggested using condoms on the sticks! At first I kind of cringed but then realized that they would fit on pretty well and would make for a good grip, depending that you bought the right kind. You could cut them to size length ways. I have not tried it yet but will give it a go and let you know. No jokes are necessary, please.
 
Bruce M. Thomson said:
I am not trying to be funny but one of the drummer techs at my local music store suggested using condoms on the sticks! At first I kind of cringed but then realized that they would fit on pretty well and would make for a good grip, depending that you bought the right kind. You could cut them to size length ways. I have not tried it yet but will give it a go and let you know. No jokes are necessary, please.
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Ahem, seriously, if your condoms would fit a drumstick, you wouldn't want to be advertising that.

Maybe cut the fingers off of latex gloves. They won't last long but it would do a lot for the grip.
 
eddiehimself said:
This whole thing about gloves and things in general looking "gay". What? I mean, you don't say stuff looks "p---" or "n-----" do you? So why the hell do people use the word "gay" in such a derrogatory manner as if there is something wrong with people feeling things that they have no control over (and unlike sexual harrasment/paedophilia which is not a sexuality, doesn't actually hurt anybody else apart from perhaps you because you can't stand the thought of 2 blokes getting off with each other?) I'd have taken you for being a bit more mature as well DMC.
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Holy cow, some people are on a hair-trigger around here. "Gay" is perfectly acceptable to use in that context. As Wikipedia notes, it has a non-sexual derisive meaning, which even the BBC affirms, that means "rubbish" or "stupid." Sexuality has nothing to do with the use of the word in this context. Yes, I realize there are perfectly valid reasons for wearing them. But the OP asked for opinions and I think they look extremely goofy.

"The term later began to be used in reference to homosexuality, in particular, from the early 20th century, a usage that may have dated prior to the 19th century. In modern English, gay has come to be used as an adjective, and occasionally as a noun, that refers to the people, practices, and culture associated with homosexuality. By the end of the 20th century the word gay was recommended by major style guides to describe people attracted to members of the same sex. At about the same time, a new, pejorative use was visible in some parts of the world. In the UK, U.S. and Australia, this connotation, among younger generations of speakers has a non-sexual derisive meaning equivalent to rubbish or stupid (as in "That's so gay.")."

OK, here is the PC version: "In my highly subjective personal value system, based on the biases of the social milieu in which I was raised, I tend to believe, but not so strongly as to offend anyone, that drumming gloves, as I see them, may possibly appear to be unfashionable in the eyes of some, and I associate their use with untoward images of foppishness and dandyism, yet I do not denigrate those, or the opinions of those, who may believe differently than I, nor do I seek to deny others the basic human right, if they choose, or perhaps not choose, to seek out a lifestyle in which drumming gloves of any color or variety may or may not be appropriate, given the values that may or may not exist within the socio-demographic group to which the drummer may possible identify, except leather gloves, which are of course based on the cruelty of animal suffering."
 
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