Julia Posted July 8, 2019 Share Posted July 8, 2019 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. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted July 9, 2019 Share Posted July 9, 2019 I have never bothered to try any of the "Signature" sticks but reading the descriptions has been interesting. As a complete newbie, I don't yet appreciate the subtleties of taper, head shape etc but the simple length and weight is what I have based my decisions upon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julia Posted July 9, 2019 Author Share Posted July 9, 2019 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 🙄 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Posted July 9, 2019 Share Posted July 9, 2019 I have a pair here at work and I’m with @Julia on this one. The shape has to be right for me and since I’m playing on a homemade hard rubber practice pad here at work (yeah, I have a lot of free time here 😜), sound quality isn’t important. I won’t touch this pair near my kit. For some silly reason the aesthetics of a stick is waaaaay too important to me. What’s pictured is just awful. 😂 41 minutes ago, Julia said: 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 🙄 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julia Posted July 9, 2019 Author Share Posted July 9, 2019 @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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grant Posted July 10, 2019 Share Posted July 10, 2019 You have a very good point @Julia. Stick choice will DEFINITELY become super important when you don't have to use those mutes any more. Almost every team meeting we have at SDS we end up talking about drum stick tip choice. There are SO MANY options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julia Posted July 11, 2019 Author Share Posted July 11, 2019 @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 😂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grant Posted July 11, 2019 Share Posted July 11, 2019 Hahaha I can totally relate. But that's also part of the fun of getting to play the drums. There are so many facets to the instrument. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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