Chuck Posted February 19, 2023 Share Posted February 19, 2023 I have a 22 inch Zildjian ride from the late 60's which I acquired not too long ago. I was hitting it the other day with a 5B stick with a wooden tip. Then for some reason I pulled out a smaller stick with a plastic tip and hit it. This may sound melodramatic, but I was kind of stunned at how different it sounded. I guess I never compared wood versus plastic side by side before. Not only was the sound from the plastic tip "brighter" (not sure if that's the right word to use) but to my ears it made the pitch of the cymbal sound higher. Would that make it better for jazz? Any other thoughts on wood vs. plastic? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juan Posted February 19, 2023 Share Posted February 19, 2023 I don't have a personal opinion, but my in-person teacher, a seasoned jazz and Latin jazz player made a strong statement about plastic tips being too harsh sounding on cymbals, and specially the ride, and that he would only use them on mesh heads. But hey, sound is such a personal thing and I'm sure not every ride sounds bad with those tips. considering you have to play all the kit with the same stick, I think this should be explored over the snare and HH at least. Any references of jazz players using plastic tips? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Posted February 20, 2023 Share Posted February 20, 2023 IMO, Like cymbals themselves, sticks have their own sound. You’ll most certainly notice different sounds using different wood type, tip styles, weight, lengths, etc. Especially vinyl/plastic vs wood. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted February 20, 2023 Share Posted February 20, 2023 I used to use plastic tipped sticks a long while back, they do have such a bright sound on cymbals but I switched to Barrel tipped after I had multiple ocassions where tips flew off. I'm talking 40 years ago. I think it also sounds more condensed if that makes sense and I think wooden tips give a little on impact but plastic ones don't. I think wood is kinder to the cymbals and heads as well, but thats just my opinion, no idea how true that is. I have played with heavy timbale sticks which have no tip to speak off and I loved those, just sounded different again, like when you switch the stick around and play with the but... great on the ride bell. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Posted February 20, 2023 Share Posted February 20, 2023 I too was surprised with the difference between plastic and wood tips, although I'm not a fan of the sound on cymbals. A couple of weeks ago we had a good chat about sticks with Grant on a Hang call: https://www.stephensdrumshed.com/courses/qa-calls/2-8-23-community-hang/; at least I thought it was a good call as I asked half the questions 😉 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Posted February 20, 2023 Author Share Posted February 20, 2023 (edited) 16 hours ago, Juan said: I don't have a personal opinion, but my in-person teacher, a seasoned jazz and Latin jazz player made a strong statement about plastic tips being too harsh sounding on cymbals, and specially the ride, and that he would only use them on mesh heads. But hey, sound is such a personal thing and I'm sure not every ride sounds bad with those tips. considering you have to play all the kit with the same stick, I think this should be explored over the snare and HH at least. Any references of jazz players using plastic tips? Somehow the plastic tips sounded more jazzy to me which I guess shows that I know nothing about jazz. Edited February 20, 2023 by Chuck 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Posted February 20, 2023 Author Share Posted February 20, 2023 I tried comparing the sticks again and this time I didn't hear the change in pitch. Maybe my ears were playing tricks on me the first time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Posted February 20, 2023 Author Share Posted February 20, 2023 6 hours ago, David said: I used to use plastic tipped sticks a long while back, they do have such a bright sound on cymbals but I switched to Barrel tipped after I had multiple ocassions where tips flew off. I'm talking 40 years ago. I think it also sounds more condensed if that makes sense and I think wooden tips give a little on impact but plastic ones don't. I think wood is kinder to the cymbals and heads as well, but thats just my opinion, no idea how true that is. I have played with heavy timbale sticks which have no tip to speak off and I loved those, just sounded different again, like when you switch the stick around and play with the but... great on the ride bell. I bought a pair of 5A barrel tips on ebay which I really like. I think the sound is crisper and I just like the way they feel. I think it's probably the way they rebound. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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