Why are my drumsticks getting chewed so fast

moamkee

New Member
After a couple days of a new cymbal and drumsticks my drumsticks are extremely chewed and my cymbals have a bunch of marks from the sticks

cymbal is a rock crash 16" and i use vic firth american classic 5as
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Sticks get chewed up faster from hitting the edge of the cymbal. I try to set up my cymbals low and slightly angled towards me so that I can swat them across the bow a little bit up from the edge, which chews them up less. Same with my hi-hats: I try to play on top of them rather than into the edges.

At the end of the day though, you're still hitting a very hard surface with a much softer wooden object. One is going to show more wear than the other.
 
Based on how far down the stick the biggest marks are I'd suggest you are hitting the cymbal too far from the tip and you're catching too much of the edge of the cymbal.

About 95% of the cymbal-related marks on my sticks are on the first 2" below the tip.
 
Whoa!...it looks as if you took an axe made for G.I. Joe and he hacked on your 5A's. I'm trying in my mind to imagine how your hitting your crash. It as if your cymbal is a bit tight on the stand and your hitting it as you are making your upward motion. Mine are finer..more um..saw dusty after awhile?. Young man...i hate to say it but after examination....were gonna need a video for further analysis.
 
The cymbal marks look normal to me. I get cymbal marks and also chewed up sticks. I admit the stick chew is usually from the hi-hat edge.
Edge hi-hat playing and edge cymbal crashing is a different sound to tip or top playing. Both are valid, neither is wrong.
I play hi-hats and crash cymbals with the top third of my stick. I play my rides with the tip usually, and also hi-hat with the tip quite often.
Chewing through sticks is just a cost of the job or hobby. It all depends on the sound that is required for the music. Light playing using the tip of the sticks is great for some genres and obviously results in much less stick wear.
In the end, sticks are what is know as consumables (like drum heads).
 
Hard to tell. Everything might be alright but since this is a new thing, here are some ideas:
- loosen the top felt of the cymbals and the hi hat if they are stiff (the crash looks alright in the video)
- angle the bottom hi hat cymbal slightly
- experiment with how much pressure you need in your fulcrum (not dropping sticks vs. being relaxed)
- crash with a slight arc in your motion, so that not all of the energy goes into the cymbal and stick
- check the angle of your stick when playing the hi hat
- as @Winston_Wolf said, the marks are far down the stick - could it be from rim shots on the snare?
 
Like stated before, to as well it looks like the angle of the cymbal. Last time i saw that on my sticks was when i still had a 17" Paiste Rude Crash/Ride and my poor maple sticks just weren't up to the task haha
 
After a couple days of a new cymbal and drumsticks my drumsticks are extremely chewed and my cymbals have a bunch of marks from the sticks

cymbal is a rock crash 16" and i use vic firth american classic 5as
View attachment 105919View attachment 105920
tbh sticks can get chewed , due to the stick hitting the edge of the cymbal , or if you use excessive force in rimshots. I havent broken a stick i n6 months , and i play death metal. So it is mostly due to poor angling .
 
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