OK Drummers..... who knows sticks well to help me find what I'm looking for?

[FortyEight]

So my trip to guitar center recently added me a roc n soc that I plan to use dual purpose. Sitting playing bass for gigs and drumming at home..... That thing is COMFY. Way more than I wanted to spend. But I just played a little bit on my kit and I laughed out loud. Felt like I was riding in a Cadilac while playing. Wow.

Anyways..... The drummer in my country band was kind enough to give me some well used sticks of a few various sizes that he wasn't using.

I was using 5Bs but I started to want to tame my cymbal sound more when recording. Part of that is learning how to not beat the crap out of them, but also, some of the sticks he gave me were of a smaller size and I started to like them. Anytime I used 7A's in the past I was like Blaaaaaa, way too small. I have yet to actually buy a pair of 5A's and I think that might be a good size. BUT, he gave me this size called SD4 Combos and they feel really good to me. I've used them a couple of times on songs and I'm digging them. HOWEVER, I think if I could find this size in Hickory or something heavier (they are Maple), it would be even better. They are spec'd at 15.88 length I think it is and that shorter length seems to gel well. I'm not very tall. And when I do two handed 16th notes it actually is sounding consistent. Still working on that. But anyways....

I think when I was at Guitar Center they said there was something called an HD, but there were none in that cubby. And the dude didn't seem to know his sizes all that well cuz I told him what I was specifically looking for and he kept pulling things out that weren't even in the ballpark. So I dint know if that HD size was what I was looking for. He did find something that was close and I'm digging them too. 8D's. I like them. I'm not sure I love the shorter taper but I feel like when I lay or am playing soft, they kind of do a lot of the work and I'm along for the ride. Which kind of works. But the SD4 combos feel better when I wanna be more aggressive. And they do keep my cymbal levels down. But they feel like they need just a BIT more juice. Which that exact stick in hickory would probably be juuuuust right. Maybe.

Is there such a thing? SD4 Combo (Vic Firth) in hickory.

Are any of you part of an online drumming site that might be good. I would like a place that is not super fru fru about if you have all the best gear in order for anyone to care. If there is such a thing. I mean I have a ludwig kit (korean made Accent Custom), but it's obviously not high end. LOL. Sounds decent to me though. My favorite snare right now is the 12" thing from this First Act kid's kit I bought just cuz I wanted something to get back into it for 50 bucks a few years back.

 

[tele_savales]

Drumsticks aren't 100% standardized in terms of size, ie what one company calls a 6A might be nothing like another company's.

Maple sticks are super light. Good for light playing. Wouldn't expect them to hold up in a rock band. Hickory is kind of the standard, lots of shock resistance and durability, oak is the heaviest, loudest, and transmits more shock to your joints.
I'm not a huge fan of Vic Firth anymore, I used Sd9's for years and bought them by the brick until I had 4 or 5 sticks explode on me during an audition.
Vater makes really really good sticks but they tend to explode also, but might be a good match for you if youre not hitting hard.

If you want to tame your cymbal sound do not use nylon tips. If a 5B is too beefy try a 5A. There's a significant difference. I've tried some 6A's that I've like also for low volume gigs but I couldn't tell you who made them. If you find something you like, find out the spec online and see who else makes a similar stick and try that also.

Also...Try to find a drumshop. GC is the worst place to shop for drum essentials.

 

[whoanelly15]

Drumsticks aren't 100% standardized in terms of size, ie what one company calls a 6A might be nothing like another company's.

Maple sticks are super light. Good for light playing. Wouldn't expect them to hold up in a rock band. Hickory is kind of the standard, lots of shock resistance and durability, oak is the heaviest, loudest, and transmits more shock to your joints.
I'm not a huge fan of Vic Firth anymore, I used Sd9's for years and bought them by the brick until I had 4 or 5 sticks explode on me during an audition.
Vater makes really really good sticks but they tend to explode also, but might be a good match for you if youre not hitting hard.

If you want to tame your cymbal sound do not use nylon tips. If a 5B is too beefy try a 5A. There's a significant difference. I've tried some 6A's that I've like also for low volume gigs but I couldn't tell you who made them. If you find something you like, find out the spec online and see who else makes a similar stick and try that also.

Also...Try to find a drumshop. GC is the worst place to shop for drum essentials.

Good advice here. I’ve used all kinds of stuff and used to inherit a bunch of gently used sticks. After trying a bunch, the only thing I buy for myself is Vic Firth 5A wood tips. If you haven’t tried them, I‘d highly recommend.

 

[brookdalebill]

Maybe some Blast-tiks or Hot Rods.
They’re make of small bundled rods, for a softer attack.
I’m not a drummer, but I play with them all the time.

 

[FortyEight]

Ive got some of the bundle sticks. they do work for taming volume but they dont record well. well so far i feel like theres not enough attack.

5a's are bigger than what im looking for. i think the part i like about the sd4s are that they are a hair shorter than 16" and they are .545 width. feels like a sweet spot. those 8ds are close to thr right feel. on vic firths site they showed hd4 as similar. the site claims its the same design as sd4 combo but in hickory. yet the width is only .530. i dont think i wanna go much thinner than .54, but i will to try them.

i dont know if im man enough to explode a stick. i mean sometimes i play hard. but im in the mode of learning to olay softer. im not playing hard rock. more funk.... pop ish. light rock.... lol. ive been watching some bands or music i like live and the drummers have a light touch.

 

[tele_savales]

i dont know if im man enough to explode a stick

Don't sell yourself short. Wait until you crack your first super pricey cymbal! Basically you're hitting things with other things- eventually something will fail. Sticks and heads are disposable items, and sticks, being wood, no matter how consistent, will have defects that are unseen and can fail long before they "should". The main reason I switched to Promark was the fact that I essentially stopped breaking sticks.

The dowel sticks are really good for church gigs and the like but they sound terrible on cymbals. I think the stick I was remembering was a Zildjian 6A but they seem unavailable on their website.

Yes, playing softly is a major skill and very hard to master, so I know where you're coming from. It'll open up a lot of doors for you if you can lay down a super solid groove at coffee house volume...

This guy is pretty sick:

 

[FortyEight]

sd9s are big. yowza. i had also been playing a set of vater fusions. i think fir me there is a sweet spot of just a bit less than 16 maybe moreso than width. but the thinner stuff helpe me with accuracy for doing extra hi hat stuff.

6a's might be a good option. im trying to figure out what the difference is between those and the 8ds though. the 8ds feel good too, but there again i think theyd feel juuuuust right if they were 1/8" shorter. lol.

 

[Happy Enchilada]

I asked my friend Bono, and he said he still hasn't found what he's lookin' for.
Seriously - there's a business in my town called Bono Paint and Restoration.
I told my wife we could have had our house painted by a Bono-fide celebrity.
She looked at me like ... well, like you're looking at this post. Fergit it.

 

[FortyEight]

LOL . A bit off topic, but funny. LOL.

 

[FortyEight]

Don't sell yourself short. Wait until you crack your first super pricey cymbal! Basically you're hitting things with other things- eventually something will fail. Sticks and heads are disposable items, and sticks, being wood, no matter how consistent, will have defects that are unseen and can fail long before they "should". The main reason I switched to Promark was the fact that I essentially stopped breaking sticks.

The dowel sticks are really good for church gigs and the like but they sound terrible on cymbals. I think the stick I was remembering was a Zildjian 6A but they seem unavailable on their website.

Yes, playing softly is a major skill and very hard to master, so I know where you're coming from. It'll open up a lot of doors for you if you can lay down a super solid groove at coffee house volume...

This guy is pretty sick:

Yeah that guy is a good drummer!!! I like his style in the first song you posted cuz he just played a beat. Even through his solo. I gotta get a better sounding ride. Mine's a cheaper 20" and it comes across as thor's hammer in my recordings. But maybe if I lighten up it will sound better too. LOL.

The new small stick love might help. Although the next song I record I'm not sure I wanna be real soft on. But we will see. I haven't found anything that I like as much as the SD4 combo's yet. It does seem like the length has more to do with it than width though. I cut down some 5A's to 15-3/4" and they felt much better to me. Why 1/4" makes much of a difference, I don't know. LOL. I'm not very tall.

 

[Jowes_84]

Started with VF5B 30 yrs ago
Tried a lot, now playing 5A or 55A
Maple sticks are too light imho.

Technique is key to sounding good and not cracking cymbals and sticks
Use rebound, don’t hit into or through the cymbals, use a light swishing motion

Ask me how I know, I must have wrecked 2-3k€ worth cymbals at least until I finally took a year of lessons again
No more breaking sticks or cracking cymbals since then even though I am playing equally loud and determined

You’ll have to try but imho you cannot go wrong with anything between 5A and 5B, the latter for rudiments, exercise, towards 5A / 7A on the kit for recording / lighter stuff

 

[421JAM]

I've been a drummer for 40 years. I've found that if you're not happy with your cymbal sound, you should be experimenting with different tip shapes. Round tips generally provide more articulation and a more focused sound. An oval or teardrop shape tends to create more overtones and a washier sound. Nylon tips create a very bright sound compared to wood tips. All stick sizes are offered with different tip shapes, so find the size you like, then try that size with different tips.

 

[FortyEight]

I bought some Vic Firth 7A's and Pro Mark TX7AW's and am liking them both. But they're a bit on the small side. But that's OK. I'm learning to see what that can mean for me. I feel more accurate when doing two hand 16th notes or triplets on the hi hat. But then of course the lighter you go the less fat the snare might sound. However, these seem to bring a fine sound. Plus I'm just recording drums. I can put whatever level I want....

I still wanna find a set of HD4's. And when I transition from the 7A's to the SD4 Combos, they fill big but in a good way.

 

[FortyEight]

Playing with 7A's has been working thus far. They still feel a bit small in all aspects, but working. It seems like there is kind of a lack of choices between 5A and 7A. Like something right in between.....