Sticky Situation
How does a professional select his drumsticks? You may think selecting sticks is just a simple as grabbing a pair that look cool, or are in your price range, and heading to the register. Well, just as there is much more to all other aspects of drumming for the professional, there is more to stick selection than just a simple decision.
Sticks come in may different types of wood. Hickory, oak, and maple are the most common. Sometimes a short run of some type of composite material sticks will hit the market, but they never gain wide spread popularity. The differences between the woods reveals itself through the strength, flexibility and feel of the sticks. Oak sticks are the hardest and most durable, but they also provide the most shock to the hands of a drummer of the three, and they are much less flexible. Generally, drummers who play music styles that require harder play go with oak. Maple sticks provide the most flexibility and cushion from blows, but they are much less durable than a harder wood like oak. Maple is great for jazz drummers and other lighter, precision styles. Hickory sticks provide a good, all around stick material. They are only slightly less durable than oak, but have enough vibration absorption capabilities to make them comfortable to play with.
Next in the selection process comes the size of the sticks. Sticks differ in varying diameters and lengths. Durability comes to mind when thickness is contemplated, but so does sound. Thicker sticks are heavier and naturally create a louder sound. As we have discussed in previous posts, the pro drummer has to keep volume levels appropriate for the size of the venue, so stick selection factors into this process as well. Lengths of sticks are left more to the preference of the drummer selecting them.
Just when you thought you were done considering the differences in stick types the tips come along. Drumstick tips come in different shapes and are either made of wood or nylon. The shapes effect the amount of surface area that is in contact with the head or cymbal when it strikes. It also effects the tip-weight of the stick, which creates different points of balance. The more surface area that strikes the head, the more attack that is produced. As you remember from previous posts, attack is the sound of the stick striking beater head. Wood tips provide a lesser amount of attack than nylon tips do. Nylon tips aide in bringing out the sound of a cymbal when striking it with the tip.
With all of these choices in mind, and the influence each choice has in the overall sound the drummer produces, most professional drummers that play varying sizes of venues elect to own several different variants of their preferred stick choice. Consistency in sound is the goal of the professional drummer. Drumsticks have their role in the process and should not be overlooked.
Keep on drumming!