question about stick breakage

[HeLLmO]

okay, so in one of the drum groups on myspace there is this dude in a disscussion about sticks, and he says that in a 45 minute show he can break 4-5 brand new vater 5B's, so i ask him how the **** he can break that many sticks? and he says, well, i'm in a pantera tribute band, and i use all the cymbals vinnie paul does, including a 22'' HH power bell ride.

my question is how much does the cymbal you use really affect the number of sticks you break?


and don't say just tell him to get pro mark jap oaks, because i already have

[Cheungman]

tell him he needs to adjust technique. Unless the cymbal grabs the sticks and knees it, it really shouldn't matter which cymbal (well crashes and rides are different) he has

[Talos]

Whats breaking? Is it breaking in half or is it the tips splitting?

[FL3P]

I use vater 5Bs and I hit fairly hard and ride my crashes and the edge of my ride a lot yet I never have a problem breaking sticks. I think there's something wrong with his technique or he just hits a lot harder then he needs to.

[ThugsRook]

sounds like a combination of poor technique and weak hickory sticks.


(yea, ProMark JapOaks would help assuming he has the ability of weilding a heavier stick)

[Undisco Kidd]

I've broken one stick in 5 years. Technique is important.

[FockerTheLopper]

A kid in my school shows off how he breaks sticks. He just grabs them really tight and does something. Its a shame, he broke like 2 pairs of the school sticks and showed it off. Hes a douche

[steeldrummer11]

A kid in my school shows off how he breaks sticks. He just grabs them really tight and does something. Its a shame, he broke like 2 pairs of the school sticks and showed it off. Hes a douche
Wait does your school supply sticks for perc. students?

[Tang.]

..i've been playing for four years and i've only broken one stick. Maybe it's because i'm not hardcore. Either that or I enjoy technique?... probably hardcore though..dammit! :(

[Tyrannicide]

I'm on the verge of breaking my first stick...I've been playing since September. It took me a bit of time to get good technique(early on I damaged the stick and its weak, thats why Im on the verge of breaking it.) My main problem was that my HH stand wasn't very good and the top cymbal would slide back a little, exposing a 1/4" of the bottom one, so when I was playing, my stick was catching it and chipping away at it. Of course I didn't realize this right away because I would be practicing and I never looked because I always released the cymbals. It just went unnoticed for a while. Plus I hit a little harder then needed and unintentionally rimshotted my toms because I had them way to flat, now they are slightly tilted so there is maybe an inch difference in height from back to front.

I've improved a lot with technique and my setup.

I use Vic Firth's 5A sticks.

[Futuro]

my question is how much does the cymbal you use really affect the number of sticks you break? It doesn't.

Sticks break. I break sticks so much I had to pay the landloard for ruining the carpet.

The only stick I have found that I like and is durable is the 2B from VF.

[dpakman91]

I've been playing 8 months and haven't broken a stick yet at all really. i have had some little pieces kind of chip off of the tip though eventually.

[PandaDrummer]

i break quite a few sticks a year, mabey 2 pair, but i rimshot alot, and i mean alot alot, that and my technique probably isnt the greatest but whatev
i use vic firth 2bn's im gonna switch to pro mark jap oak 2b's soon

[FockerTheLopper]

Wait does your school supply sticks for perc. students?
Yeah but they're ****ty.

[rotary alchemist]

Yeah, technique is very important. I wouldn't blame it on the cymbals breaking his sticks. Just blame it on bad technique. Bad techniques = sticks breaking. As for me, some of my sticks have broken, but most of them just wear out and I have to throw them away. I usually only change ticks every 2 - 2.5 years on a good run. I use VF 5A's and 5B's.

[ThE_VANDAL]

I use Vic Firth's 5A sticks.


that's what I use, I break 1 stick every few months... but it's because I hit hard

[steeldrummer11]

Yeah but they're ****ty.
O, huh never heard of schools supplying drumsticks for students. My school's band program is currently requiring us to go out and buy SD1 generals and im out of school in about a month and will be in highschool next year. Pretty stupid concept if you ask me.

[Mitch2oo6]

I use to brake sticks like, alot. I'd go through six pairs in a month. I quickly realised my technique was fa-cucked, so I changed it. Havent broke a stick in six months. Thats all it is tell him; technique.

[othankheavenfor311]

4-5 broken sticks = sucky *** technique

you basicallt can conclude he doesnt know wtf he is doing

[Kosmos Tree]

sticks break, get over it.
Besides that it's not your money he's destroying, so what.
Keep in mind that he helps people to keep their jobs, just tell him 5 pairs isn't enough :smash:

[Talos]

Whats breaking? Is it breaking in half or is it the tips splitting?

If its the tips splitting, tell him to by some Nylon tips but if theyre snapping in half, tell him to buy Aheads lol.

[440561]

Yeah get him some aheads as a present but don't tell him how crap they are. Just say they are like playing with concrete.

Actually-price tag. Get him to buy some aheads!

[HEEEL]

It seems many people here love the fact they haven't broken sticks...don't you guys rimshot your backbeats most of the time? Try it, you'll be amazed how much better it sounds, and how much better it cuts through with a band :)

[Laney]

I've never broken a stick on a cymbal. As my learned friend says ^^ its all to do with consistant rimshots on the back beat.

[HeLLmO]

It seems many people here love the fact they haven't broken sticks...don't you guys rimshot your backbeats most of the time? Try it, you'll be amazed how much better it sounds, and how much better it cuts through with a band :)


true, it does cut through better, but The Rev used all rimshots on the City of Evil CD, and i think his snare sounded like turd, so some of us don't do rimshots, though sometimes it does sound good, i use them when i play Naked in the Rain by RHCP and it sounds great

[440561]

Maybe it sounds good, but how do you manage to break sticks doing that! It sounds like you would have to hit extremely hard against a very sharp rim to break sticks doing that.

[Laney]

Maybe it sounds good, but how do you manage to break sticks doing that! It sounds like you would have to hit extremely hard against a very sharp rim to break sticks doing that.

No. Sticks are wood, rims are metal. You don't need to hit THAT hard to break them. But if you're playing in a band with 2 guitars on 11, you need to hit hard ;)

[HEEEL]

How do you know he used all rimshots?? And besides, the tuning and make of the actual snare would have an effect on the sound as well.

Chad Smiths your favourite drummer I'm assuming? He rimshots all the time and it sounds great, the same goes for pretty much every professional, working drummer in the world.

440561, try it. Play along to to your favourite album or something, getting a consistent rimshot going, and you'll see by the end of it how sticks break from this, the middle part of your stick should loook a little like a guiro (or however its spelt).

[HeLLmO]

How do you know he used all rimshots?? And besides, the tuning and make of the actual snare would have an effect on the sound as well.

Chad Smiths your favourite drummer I'm assuming? He rimshots all the time and it sounds great, the same goes for pretty much every professional, working drummer in the world.

440561, try it. Play along to to your favourite album or something, getting a consistent rimshot going, and you'll see by the end of it how sticks break from this, the middle part of your stick should loook a little like a guiro (or however its spelt).


i know the rev did all rimshots because i read it in an interview he did w/ DRUM! magazine. and i know chad does use rim shots alot, so i'm sure the drum does make a ton of diffrence. but yea, 440561, rimshots do eat up sticks like a bitch

[CARMEN77]

I use a HH ride and I never break sticks.

[Kosmos Tree]

Rimshots are the only way to go in a rock/metal setting.
It sounds so much better, really cuts through and adds so much to a live setting to actually hear a snare.

[santi3hg]

He's hittting harder than he needs to, IMO. If anything hes going to be breaking a crash very soon if he keeps it up.

[Josiah]

I play rimshots on every backbeat.. you have too. That doesn't make me chew through sticks at the rate that guy is "bragging" about.

Sounds like one of those guys who actually think the more you break makes you better so he purposefully plays to break them. 4 sticks in 45 mins is absurd. That's just crap technique and not knowing what you are doing.

[AdultSwim815]

okay, so in one of the drum groups on myspace there is this dude in a disscussion about sticks, and he says that in a 45 minute show he can break 4-5 brand new vater 5B's, so i ask him how the **** he can break that many sticks? and he says, well, i'm in a pantera tribute band, and i use all the cymbals vinnie paul does, including a 22'' HH power bell ride.

my question is how much does the cymbal you use really affect the number of sticks you break?


and don't say just tell him to get pro mark jap oaks, because i already have

He sucks more than I do, tell him that.