Julia

@Joshua It's kind of a mystery...from what I can tell, VF and Zildjian merged around 2010, but VF seems to have been making sticks for Zildjian since before that. I have seen some complaints in forums about Zildjian stick quality, mostly quite some time ago, but it seems to have improved. I kind of relate this to the art world where Blick brand colored pencils are made in the same plant as Koh-i-Noor pencils, but they are not identical products, they vary in quality and components. Maybe Zildjian's old contracts with VF had a different quality standard than VF's own. Zildjian overhauled their stick lines recently, and I found that there are two newer equivalents for my discontinued 7a pair with them, and one with VF. But one of the Zildjian designs is black, so I definitely have to check that out sometime. I am more comfortable with shorter sticks — my wonky unison problem is less obvious when I play with them. For a while I used thicker sticks than 7a because it seemed to be helping my traditional grip, but now I'm comfortable enough that the stick diameter doesn't matter as much (hooray for practice and improvement!).

I just did some research about these Zildjian 7a sticks I got on clearance...looks like the series isn't made anymore, but VF makes their sticks anyway. But the point is that it seems like any 7a, 15.5", round tip, medium taper like this pair should be fine now that I've found the go-to stick that works for me. I still love playing with different brands and models of sticks, though, so I will continue doing that as time and wallet allows...but it's nice to know what I like, settle on it, and move on with the business of learning to play well.

The most interesting dull video I've ever seen! 😂 I picked up on most of the sound differences with the drum roll demo, playing cymbal with the stick shoulder, and on the snare with rim shots. The differences are too subtle to make or break the sound, so I really think it's a psychological thing with the feel as Tim pointed out. For me at this point, it's nothing but psychological. I'm playing on mutes; the sound and feel are only relevant in relation to that. It's mainly about how the grip feels and how the sticks rebound off the “artificial” surfaces. I love the grip on the new Zildjians I got recently, and the fact that they're maple so I play more quietly, but they're also thick enough to let me attack with them more than some thin jazz maples I've got. But that's the stick for me NOW, for my playing NOW, not on future kit configurations or even maybe on the next lesson track. Honestly though, the sticks I seem the most attached to — whether that's good or bad — are this cheap pair of 7a standard hickory Zildjians with electrical tape I put on them. I don't notice them at all when I'm playing with them, which I think is the key issue. It means I'm comfortable with them and I'm not distracted by what things they might seem to do for me when I play this or that style or surface. If I ever need to buy sticks in bulk, I'm willing to bet those will be it. I also think it's funny that I have a bunch of Vic Firth sticks and have admired various qualities about them, but these two Zildjian pairs are what I grab. That could change at any moment, though, so...I just shut up and play 😂 Really interesting discussion, thanks for posting this! Edit to add: When I start playing on actual drum heads, I will definitely follow up and share my experiences. That's going to be the really interesting and telling part.

@Scott It seems like a highly personal thing, like drummer footwear. It will be interesting to see how my preferences change when I start playing without mutes; I'm sure there will be subtle differences in the feel. @Erwin I think that's what must have happened to the Questlove signature sticks I posted about in a previous Sticklers thread. They were brand new...to me, but I bet they had been sitting in the store for a long time in the tiny, independent music shop where I bought them. I am enjoying the feel of the grips — hopefully they'll last longer than I think they will.

My last trip to Guitar Center was to pick up some Silentstroke heads for my kick and snare drums. I couldn't resist grabbing something else for fun — I got these Zildjian sticks, 5A maple with green dip. To my knowledge, they are fairly new on the market. The grip is really comfortable, but we'll see how it lasts long-term after some use and abuse. I find myself leaning more toward either taping sticks or getting dipped ones. This isn't to avoid dropping them — grip or no, dropping sticks is apparently my superpower 🙄 . I just like the feel of the grips or tape. But I purposely don't tape all of my bare sticks, just to check myself and make sure I don't grow dependent on grip aids. What opinions and feelings do you have about grips and/or tape on your sticks? If you've tried these sticks, has the grip been durable?

Whooo that's a pricey one! It does sound beautiful on video demos I saw. I like darker sounds in a ride, that is what I am learning. I'm going to have to find a 'student’ equivalent, though.

@Joshua I've had no time 😞 I just transitioned from part-time to full-time work, which is great, but everything has gone a bit haywire. I'm also catching a cold (the stress fairy is paying a visit! 🙄). I'm really looking forward to things settling down, so I can go to the music stores and hit clangy things and see what I like. Keep talking cymbals, I'm listening!

<furiously scribbling notes for her cymbal shopping>

What are the reasons for preferring large or small hi-hats? Is it a genre thing, or individual preference? I know that Stewart Copeland likes to use small, thin ones.

SDR from today's practice: Just one 🙂 I noticed it wasn't because of catching the stick on the hi-hats. Nope...the other slick move in my beginner repertoire is hitting the sticks together. If I had a dollar for each time I did that, and $5 for each time it made me drop a stick, I'd have a top-of-the-line kit and a mansion to play it in.

Ooh, helmets with Stephen's new T-shirt graphics on them! And safety goggles. And elbow pads, and knee pads and...ok just drummer body armor. For us beginners to protect ourselves from...ourselves. 🙄

I dropped a stick a solid five times in practice yesterday. I drop sticks frequently, so I decided to take a closer look at the issue. It's nice to know I don't have a death grip on my sticks, and that the Moeller stroke exercises are keeping my grip nice and loose. I just haven't found that control point yet. I'm pretty sure it's a beginner thing. I watched Stephen Clark's YT video on the topic of drumstick dropping, and discovered that it could be my kit setup. I'm not dropping sticks when I reach for the rack or floor tom; it's always over the snare. I seem to be dropping the right stick mostly by catching it under the hi-hat and losing control from there. Sometimes I don't drop the stick, but just get hung up on the hi-hat for a second. I like the hi-hat to hang over the snare a bit so my right hand doesn't have to reach out so far. I moved it out a bit, but upwards at the same time, so we'll see from there. I'll report future changes in my SDR (Stick Drop Rate) after more practice. Does anyone else have stick dropping experiences beyond the normal? Would love to hear about your experiences.

@Tim B. You make some very good points there! I'm certain in some cases that it's purely mechanics - when I tried thicker sticks, even though I really didn't want to, traditional grip got much easier. Now I can play with any diameter stick. In other cases, though, you're right on point when you say I'm thinking “This stick makes me play like X". You've inspired me to try an experiment — choosing my sticks at random and just seeing what happens. Thank you!

I was using my VF X8Ds, which are super long, but in playing around with some other pairs, I noticed that I am a little bit better at playing hand-hand unison when the sticks are shorter. I have no idea why. It has been my experience, though, that switching sticks frequently has tweaked things about my grip and playing just enough that I can get a feel for the technique, and then go back to other sticks later and find that I do just fine. I did this a lot on my practice pad before getting a kit. So I dug out the shortest pair of sticks I have, Promark's Rock Maple Jazz Café MJZ-3, 15 1/8”. They are also the narrowest sticks I have (.495”). This may not be the root of the problem, but hopefully this will help me get a better feel for unison playing. Another advantage: They are thin and maple, therefore easy to break, so I can have my stick-breaking milestone party a bit sooner. ✔️

@Robert Ohkayy I suppose black will do 🙄 I have mentioned this before — I love it when sticks get bouncy from taping them. That may or may not be a good thing for my playing, but I think it's really cool, I'm like a toddler amused by a really fun toy. Even cooler: using bouncy sticks on the super bouncy Silent Stroke mesh heads, tuned tightly to be super, super bouncy. I am weird. My poor family just kind of goes with the flow.

@Robert I will definitely have to look for that. I can get almost as nerdy about taping sticks as I do about collecting and playing with them. I think of them as really expensive trading cards 😂 Thicker tape would be nice, because I really liked that Vater tape until it disintegrated on me. I wish iridescent mirror tape had grip, because that would look amazing on sticks...oh wow, don't get me started.

@Joshua This is the second taping, I haven't tried it enough to tell yet. The first time I taped them I used Vater's stick tape, which is thin foam. I loved it until it wore out and tiny black crumbs started falling off it everywhere. I like how taped sticks get bouncier — that serves no actual purpose for me, but I am amused by it. I also discovered at some point that thicker sticks helped me get used to traditional grip, so tape on my thin sticks works great. This electrical tape is a lot thinner, but seems to be nice and grippy, which will help me with Moeller stroke because when I practice that my sticks are a-flyin’ everywhere 🙄.

Ok @David , here you go, my signature stick! The catalog description will read as follows: Both versatile and elegant, these sticks showcase Julia's muted beyond all reason drum set understated drumming style. It's everything that Questlove she desires in a stick. Their outstanding feature is their bounciness — these babies rebound like someone who just broke up with a celebrity. Yours for only $79.95 per stick. Since you were the brains behind this enterprise, you get a cut of my profits 😉

@Joshua I want to be a fly on the wall in those team meetings 😂 It's funny how just changing from a practice pad to a muted kit changed my stick preference already — Superpads, Silent Strokes, and cymbals covered with mousepads or cotton pads and electrical tape are all very different from the practice pad, whoda thunk. And that's not even taking sound into consideration. When I don't need to mute my kit, watch out for me turning into Ultra Stick Nerd. It's a rabbit hole I may never make it out of 😂

@Robert Lots of free time to practice at work, are you hiring there? 😆 I don't have to worry much about how my sticks sound on the drums because of the mutes (let's see how many times a day I can whine about having to mute my drums... 🙄). I imagine that I will get a lot pickier later when I can play on an unmuted kit. Then the sticks have to look and sound good. It's nice, though, that I've played on a practice pad and different mute pads so much that I have a good feel for stick dynamics on different surfaces. It's helped me understand grip. I will nerd out more on this in future club posts.

@Brian Wow, I got mine for $165 and it's much more low-end than a Tama! You've got good drum karma!

@David brilliant idea! You know what though, my last name is Ryder, and it is my dream to have a signature cymbal named for me.... THE RYDE. 😂

So true that the descriptions are interesting! I think it's probably what makes a drumstick and gear catalog an actual piece of literature. I like to consider taper and head shape from an aesthetic angle, which of course has nothing to do with how they sound 🙄

It's interesting to find out about the sticks and other gear our favorite drummers prefer and why, but that doesn't necessarily make the sticks (or gear) suitable for us. I am intrigued by the idea of a stick having an endorsement, and what that does for us everyday drummers. What is your take on them? Below are a few questions to ponder, in here or just for yourself. You don't have to name any names 😉 What are your signature stick experiences? Have you ever been influenced to buy a stick because of the endorser? Have the qualities of a signature stick ever turned you away even though you're a fan of the endorser? Has an endorser ever turned you off from a stick that might have been a good fit? Have you ever been introduced to a drummer you weren't aware of before because you discovered and liked their signature sticks? Have you ever gotten/ contemplated getting a pair of signature sticks not caring about the endorser, because the sticks were a good fit for you? I'll have a go at answering them here: 1 - Jojo Mayer's. They are actually a great fit for me. I will someday check out Vater's Stewart Copeland stick. Seems like an all-around good one. I like to support female drummers as well, so I'll be looking at some of their sticks sometime. 2 - A drummer I like has a stick that just isn't right for my hands or kit. Sorry, celebrity endorser drummer. 3 - Let's just say I didn't want to go out of my way to get the stick, so I got an easier-to-find equivalent. No one that I know of has done something egregious enough for me to react that strongly, but I suppose it's possible. 4 - Finding the VF Questlove sticks opened me up to exploring his work. My husband has VF Peter Erskine sticks that I quite like to borrow, so I did some research on him (Erskine, not my husband). 5 - Not yet, but I'm more inclined to not care rather than to be turned off by an endorser.

Top: the defective Questlove sticks that I taped. Soooo bouncy-good. Bottom: the pristine Questloves in all their tuxedoed glory. I feel like I should use them to play at a wedding. These sticks are a bit delicate because of the thin diameter and long taper, so they aren't for thrashers, but great for any playing where you need a light to moderate touch.