Longer Drum Sticks

[Bob]

My go to stick has been a Vic Firth 5B which is 16" long.  I just got the 5B Extreme version which is 1/2" longer.  I REALLY like the longer stick.  Makes me want to try their 17" freestyle sticks.

Has anyone experimented with longer sticks?  They do take a session or two to get used to them!

[Julia]

I have a few pairs of long sticks, including VF Questlove signature sticks (17”) and VF 8D Extreme which is 16.5”.  I find I don’t use them as much now with my smaller kit, but my old kit is larger and they’re great on that.  Questlove described in his promo bit for them that they hit a sweet spot on his cymbals.  

I’ve gotten so used to my Zildjian 7A — probably 15.5 / 16” that the longer sticks would take some getting used to.  I hit my sticks together too much so I imagine I’d have to watch out for that even more with the long ones.  I should pick up the Questloves again, though, because they are a slimmer stick and have a grip on them, which I like.

Edited January 16, 2022 by Julia

[Guest chantale]

I mainly play with 1A from V5, which are 16.8" but I like American Metal from the same brand which are 17",  They are also very heavy and that's what I like the most. The 7A slips out of my hands but for speed, you have to work longer with 1A. 

I was curious and I put 1 stick ... on the kitchen scale: Metal is 67g, 1A is 57g and 5B is 49g. For me, that's where it all plays out.

[Julia]

Wow, those Metal sticks are beasts 👹  My husband has some pairs of sticks when he was practicing (mostly just playing around on my kit) that are bigger and heavier than mine. I like a heavier stick sometimes, but not on the muted kit. I brought my heaviest ones to “Mom’s Sound Studios” 😆 to play on the loud kit. 
 

Promark makes a line called Forward Balance that is a bit heavier towards the shoulder relative to the butt.  It makes you have to throw harder.  They’re hilarious on my mesh Silentstrokes because the mesh gives such big rebound.   You might like the feel of them.  
 

The opposites are their Rebound sticks, lighter towards the butt for an extreme rebound. If I used those on my Silentstrokes I think they would crash out the window behind me…

 

[David]

I use VF 5B barrel tip sticks as my main go to ticks, 16" with a medium taper with lacquer finish.  I used to use the Steve Gadd signatures at one time but I prefer these now, tiny bit longer.

I bought a pair of Promark Rebound 5b's which feel really good, I like the lacquer on them, seem very fast, keep cool in my hands and feel very solid. Interested in trying out the firegrain series

On a pad I use VF SD1 general which have a round tip, are a bit thicker and 16.38".  I find they work my hands a little more which builds my endurance.  I don't find the length affects my playing, maybe I should try them on the kit.

Recently I bought a few sets of Maple Stagg SM5B very cheap off ebay and have been very impressed with them, nicely made and feel good in my hands, a nice change at the kit when I put down the VFs.  I would certainly use them live.

Might try out the Bill Bruford signature stick... just because I am still 12 and a big fan....

Edited March 26, 2022 by David

[Julia]

@David Signature sticks are great — not for their properties as they vary, but for the inspiration that they give you.  I suppose I’m just a sucker for the marketing, I know full well I’m paying for the name and image — my everyday go-to stick isn’t going to be anyone’s signature stick.  I just like that I’m putting myself in that drummer’s shoes, so to speak.

That said, signature sticks may be someone’s everyday go-to (aside from the drummer in question — and I am not even sure that’s the case for them).  That would be interesting to hear about.

I’m curious about the firegrain — does it enhance playing? 

This discussion is making me want to buy more sticks…

[David]

8 hours ago, Julia said:

I’m curious about the firegrain — does it enhance playing? 

This discussion is making me want to buy more sticks…

I have a lot of sticks... and yet I have ordered a pair of firegrain... Once I get them I'll do a comparison between them and the other sticks I use regularly.  

[David]

On 3/27/2022 at 11:14 PM, Julia said:

@David Signature sticks are great — not for their properties as they vary, but for the inspiration that they give you.  I suppose I’m just a sucker for the marketing, I know full well I’m paying for the name and image — my everyday go-to stick isn’t going to be anyone’s signature stick.  I just like that I’m putting myself in that drummer’s shoes, so to speak.

That said, signature sticks may be someone’s everyday go-to (aside from the drummer in question — and I am not even sure that’s the case for them).  That would be interesting to hear about.

I’m curious about the firegrain — does it enhance playing? 

This discussion is making me want to buy more sticks…

Ok.. So I slipped and ordered a pair Bill Bruford signature sticks... it's pure hero worship on my part... but I am interested in how they feel... and afterwards I can set up a shrine 🤣

[Bob]

On 3/27/2022 at 6:14 PM, Julia said:

That said, signature sticks may be someone’s everyday go-to (aside from the drummer in question — and I am not even sure that’s the case for them).  That would be interesting to hear about.

I have been using Vic Firth Peter Erskine Ride sticks for the last two months.  Diameter of a 5b with a longer taper and small teardrop tip.  The rebound is the best I've experienced in a drum stick.  They feel very light and fast.  In case you're not familiar with Peter Erskine he was a long time drummer for Weather Report and has played with hundreds of top musicians in his 30 year career.

[David]

1 hour ago, Bob said:

I have been using Vic Firth Peter Erskine Ride sticks for the last two months.  Diameter of a 5b with a longer taper and small teardrop tip.  The rebound is the best I've experienced in a drum stick.  They feel very light and fast.  In case you're not familiar with Peter Erskine he was a long time drummer for Weather Report and has played with hundreds of top musicians in his 30 year career.

I used those a long time back, still have a pair that's over 20 years old, small ball tip, chunky stick, really nice to play but I was playing a lot of rock at the time which didn't suit them.  I also had a pair of Omar Hakim sticks which were similar but had bigger nylon tips which was my go to stick back then.

I really used to like using timbale sticks with no tips, chunky, funky and surpassingly versatile... very robust.

[Sean]

I use a promark rebound 7A (0.535) which is nice and light I prefer a 7A as I only have small hands and wrists and I like the rebound range from promark very light and fast.

[Julia]

8 hours ago, Bob said:

I have been using Vic Firth Peter Erskine Ride sticks for the last two months.  Diameter of a 5b with a longer taper and small teardrop tip.  The rebound is the best I've experienced in a drum stick.  They feel very light and fast.  In case you're not familiar with Peter Erskine he was a long time drummer for Weather Report and has played with hundreds of top musicians in his 30 year career.

The Erskine Ride pair is among the morass of sticks in my house, and I “randomly” chose them to practice with just before I thought of the Pick-My-Sticks Challenge.

Wouldn’t ya know…the sticks sounded lovely on my ride cymbal. They feel heavier than what I’m used to, but that was the point — I wanted to challenge myself.