what kind of sticks should i be using?

[mike53]

im relatively new at drumming, and i have a cheap drumpad and i want to know what kind of sticks would be appropriate for playing??
i would greatly appreciate it someone could let me know!

[kiteboarder]

5A and 5B's are very popular with rock drummers. 7A would be a good choice for quieter playing such as Jazz. But, for the practice pad it is sometimes good to go on the heavy side for exercising purposes. Something thick like a 2B would be great. I use Paul Hardiman marching sticks on a pillow and on a pad to exercise. Those sticks are massive. I would never touch an actual kit with them or even with 2B's, but for practice on a pad or pillow, they are great.

[mike53]

thanks a lot for the suggestion! I'm planning to go down to my local music shop and buy me a pair of the thicker sticks... i will have to make a note of not using those sticks on a real kit

[pdalmolin]

I used 2B's on drumset back in the 80's to get a fatter tone. It sounded great, but I went through cymbals (breaking them) which are not cheap! Heads also...

I play what's called a SilverFox LR now. They are similar to a 3A. I have an endorsement. They are really great sticks!

check here: SilverFox Percussion - Official Website

[kiteboarder]

One thing worth mentioning is that many drummers will stick (haha, pardon the pun!) to only one type of stick. I believe it's important to use different sticks for different situations. At first it may seem counter-productive because it'll feel very weird going from a relatively thin set of 7A's to a chunkier set of 5B's, for example. While I mainly use 5A's because I get good tone and enough rebound, if I need to go louder and faster, I'll switch to 5B's. For quiet church gigs I'll use 7A's or bundles like the Promark Cool Rods and Hot Rods. I find I can get great sounds out of those bundle sticks even for louder situations. Oh! And if you haven't already, take a pair of felt mallets to your big crashes and floor toms. You'll be floored (pun again!) by the awesome sounds you can produce with a pair of those!