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!

[Oddrulerofmars]

Originally Posted by 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

I find that 2Bs are too large. But size of a stick shouldn't make you break cymbals. Are you hitting them right? You should come at them at an angle. I've never broken a cymbals. But I also use 5Bs.

[pdalmolin]

Yea, I'm hip to the glacing blow thing on cymbals. I've been playing professionally for over 40 years and have learned a thing or two about cymbals, drums, heads, sticks... You can check out my website at phildalmolin.com. 2B's are a large stick which the size alone shouldn't make someone break cymbals. The type of thrashing cymbals take, can and will. I mentioned my using a 2B stick was back in the 80's. What I didn't mention was it was a rock band (pretty punkish) and knocking the shit outta them seemed cool at the time. Also, 4 shows a day in the mid-day grueling heat (over 100 degrees) outside in Texas can be very abusive to a cymbal. Also again, guys who constantly gig are going to have cymbals that get little abuses along the way like an accidental drop that causes a tiny edge chink, eventually cracking that cymbal. All in all, you're right, normal playing doesn't break cymbals. It's mostly about how they're taken care of, proper cymbal sleeves, felts etc... I've gotten much more anal about the 2 dozen-plus cymbals I own now....

[Oddrulerofmars]

Originally Posted by pdalmolin

Yea, I'm hip to the glacing blow thing on cymbals. I've been playing professionally for over 40 years and have learned a thing or two about cymbals, drums, heads, sticks... You can check out my website at phildalmolin.com. 2B's are a large stick which the size alone shouldn't make someone break cymbals. The type of thrashing cymbals take, can and will. I mentioned my using a 2B stick was back in the 80's. What I didn't mention was it was a rock band (pretty punkish) and knocking the shit outta them seemed cool at the time. Also, 4 shows a day in the mid-day grueling heat (over 100 degrees) outside in Texas can be very abusive to a cymbal. Also again, guys who constantly gig are going to have cymbals that get little abuses along the way like an accidental drop that causes a tiny edge chink, eventually cracking that cymbal. All in all, you're right, normal playing doesn't break cymbals. It's mostly about how they're taken care of, proper cymbal sleeves, felts etc... I've gotten much more anal about the 2 dozen-plus cymbals I own now....

Alright, I understand. haha, I guess It's pretty silly of me to be telling someone who's been playing longer than I've been alive that kind of stuff. But, yes I understand, cymbals do take a whole lot of abuse sometimes, you can't treat them like their fragile. Sweet website though! Peace

[pdalmolin]

You're cool bro. I wonder what happened with the guy at the front of this thread who was lookming for sticks for his practice pad. What he needs is a SET! So he can get hooked on this dope we call drums!