Why the "hate" for nylon tips??

They aren't so bad after the tips come off, but I also like the sound of worn down wood tips.

I do too. It's softer and a little less defined. That suits me personally, and I imagine that versatile professionals find a use for that sound as part of their palette, along with plastic tips etc.

Larry, the plastic tips sound like trouble for you. Maybe go back to wood and tolerate a little more tip wear?
 
I do too. It's softer and a little less defined. That suits me personally, and I imagine that versatile professionals find a use for that sound as part of their palette, along with plastic tips etc.

Larry, the plastic tips sound like trouble for you. Maybe go back to wood and tolerate a little more tip wear?

No trouble at all. Your flying tits are probably more trouble lol :p

I'm a nylon guy for the foreseeable future. I like the wear characteristics. I don't hate the tone of round tips at all. (wish they didn't dent heads so easily) Acorns are way over the top by comparison. I'd gladly accept a "not my preference acorn tip" ride tone in trade for tom head longevity. If the acorns dent my heads fast, then I'm going back to round tips. I really like the tone of them on my ride. They're consistent. Wood tips...you have to find a good spot after a few gigs because of the splintering.

Life is one big compromise.
 
They just sound nasty riding on a cymbal. They don't sound good on the drums, either, but maybe in a more subtle way, because I don't remember hating them for that-- just for the way they sound on the cymbal. But there's a great jazz drummer in town named Ron Steen, who has been using them for decades-- and he plays a 22" 602 ride, so his sound is super bright-- but he sounds great. There is something to be said for having a sound that cuts. I still think they sound awful, and have never owned a pair.
 
Back in the day when I rode a covered wagon to school, some nylon tips would come off. To say that "they always come off" is a bit dramatic. Wood tips splinter and that flat spot sounds horrible on a cymbal. UnionGoon is correct in his assessment of Regal Tip brand. I have never had one come off and the segmented tips sound a bit closer to wood than do the solid nylon. All sticks wear out but if you insist on nylon, Regal Tip is the way to go.

Back in the day, when I had to walk twenty miles to school through three feet of snow uphill both ways, I used nylon tips because I liked the definition. Today I use wood tips because I like the sound and the feel. I use Regal 5B maple and Boso and I have had no problems with the tips. The neck and the shaft usually wear out faster than the tip for me.
 
They just sound nasty riding on a cymbal. They don't sound good on the drums, either, but maybe in a more subtle way, because I don't remember hating them for that-- just for the way they sound on the cymbal. But there's a great jazz drummer in town named Ron Steen, who has been using them for decades-- and he plays a 22" 602 ride, so his sound is super bright-- but he sounds great. There is something to be said for having a sound that cuts. I still think they sound awful, and have never owned a pair.

Ron Steen was the first guy I thought of when I thought of guys who get a good sound with nylon tips. Ron's got a beautiful touch. It's been a LONG time (too long) since I saw him play, but I remember sitting in at one of his jams once and he was using those Joe Porcaro diamond tip sticks (with nylon tips).
 
You know, I stopped using nylon tips about twenty years ago, mostly because the tips always flew off. Wood tips also seemed a little more forgiving with my shoddy technique.

A short time ago I was jamming at a friends house and broke some sticks; he had some nylon tipped sticks lying around so I used them, and was surprised at how much I liked the feel.

So I started using them more regularly, and it would certainly seem that in the intervening decades, drumstick makers (or at least Vic Firth, which I use pretty much exclusively - hope they're reading) have figured out how to keep the tips secure. I rarely have one fly off anymore, and I play much harder than I used to.

Nowadays I switch off between wood and nylon, depending on my mood (or what's left in the stick bag). I like 'em both, really, but I chalk that up to having less sensitivity to the sound and feel than most of my drumming brethren. A troglodyte like myself doesn't care much about the tip of the club, as long as it makes contact. Violent contact.
 
In the audience, with the music I play, I can't tell nylon from wood, so that's the reason for my switch. If I played jazz I would never even consider nylon.
 
I never noticed that nylon sounds different on drums, and I've never had a tip come off on me, but I really don't like the way they bring all the shrill tones out of a ride cymbal. So harsh.

Wood tips do splinter away, but for me that happens at about the same rate as the stick getting chewed thin at the shoulder anyway, so no biggie. I toss a stick when it's too thin at the shoulder which is usually before the tip has shredded away. Probably says something about how I play.

Butt-ends on a ride cymbal, on the other hand ... I really like the feel of backward sticks but never liked the way they over-stimulate the ride cymbal. I eventually got to where I could get my right hand's dynamics controlled enough to compensate. Now when I go back to tips on the ride it feels a little weird at first to adjust that right hand volume back up again. Totally doable though.
 
I've been using nylon-tipped sticks since they first became available to me - so that tells you how old I am. In the early days there was a problem with the tips coming off, but I can't tell you how long it's been since I've had a tip come off. It's that rare. The tone between wood and nylon is very evident, but the accentuated hi frequencies produced by the nylon tips is perfect for rock/pop/country music. Very occasionally I'll use a wood tip just for a change in cymbal sound, but for me, nylon is the stick of choice.

GeeDeeEmm
I also use nylon for longevity and don't sense a noticeable difference in the sounds created for rock/pop that I play. I do notice the heightened stick definition on the ride and hats with nylon. I am not a smasher or hard hitter, so I don't dent drums or break sticks often, but noticed with wood tips they split off relatively fast and their nylon brand counterparts last me a long time. I'll sticks use wood sticks for certain songs but overall, I've done OK with mostly nylon.
 
I had one come off and nail me right between the eyes after I hit my snare drum. Hurt like a SOB and after I stopped writhing in pain I counted my lucky stars that it never got me in the eye. Happened so fast that there was no way I would have reflexively blinked before it made contact. I've had a bunch of them come off but thankfully that was the only time I got hit by one. I really dislike how they sound on cymbals though, and that is the main reason I never use them anymore. Sure, wood tips wear out and get flat spots, but for me that is the lesser evil than having to hear that awful plasticy/metallic ping every time I hit my ride cymbal. I'm a pretty heavy hitter though, so most times the shank of my sticks get pretty chewed up from rimshots before the tips get too beaten up.
 
I'll use wood tips on low volume gigs on the rare occasion those come up, but pretty much nylon only for me. I play in a rock band, often un-mic'd so I like the sound on my cymbals. Plus you can't beat the durability of the tips. Manufacturers must have gotten better at it, because I haven't had tips fly off in years and years.
 
Regal tip nylon won't fly off. I used to assemble them. They had a press in which the tip was stretched over a sub tip lathed into the wood, so there was no way that tip could come off without pliers.
Other brands simply glued or pressed onto a straight nub.

I've had nylon tips from Vic Firth, Pro Mark, and Vater fly off and damage my heads. All within the last couple years.

I'll have to keep this in mind since I mostly use the Regal Tip Metal-X and Clufetos models now. I prefer the sound of wood tips anyway, but there are times when I do need more highs out of the ride.
 
I've always used wooden sticks, to me they have a better, more natural, feel on drums and cymbals. Also, nylon tips are super bright and loud, wooden sticks have that "woody stick definition" and allow you to control the sound and the volume. I always see nylon tips as being similar to electronic drums; they sound pretty good, but the dynamics and subtleties are lost.

On a side note, I had a drum professor once who used Regal Tip nylon sticks and took the tips off to play (jazz/bop). He loved those sticks; they had a great feel and were quiet enough for practice rooms...
 
I used nylon when I was young and had too many tips fly off so I switched to wood. Then I had too many tips break and develop that flat dead spot so I switched back to nylon. To me wood sounds better, if I were recording there is no doubt I'd wan that wood sound on my cymbals. For practice or live I feel the nylons last longer and I get a faster bounce on my ride. I have also noticed the tips don't seem to fly off as much as they did 10 years ago. Maybe I've just been more lucky.
 
Like others, i gave up early after dropping $18 on a pair of sticks only to have the tip fly off 3 minutes later, rendering the remaining stick useless

Nothing worse than a pristine wood handle still shiny with lacquer thats useless
 
I used to swear by and exclusively play wood tips. I opted for cymbals that worked well with wood tips to offer that stick definition we all love. But then I realized that the music I was playing most often calls for more bright tones, and a 'pingy' ride sound. Instead of buying new cymbals, as I love mine to death, I opted to play with nylon sticks to brighten up my sound a little. It has worked to a certain extent, but it's not a huge difference. I've never had a tip fall off (I use Vic Firth American Classics), and I don't notice any real difference in sound on drum heads. I like the feel of them. A harder substance means more energy kicked back as rebound, rather than absorbed into the stick.

I still personally prefer the sound of wood tips on cymbals, but my needs call for nylon more times than not.
 
The way the sticks feel when the nylon hits the plastic on the drum head.

I don't know why, but it drives me nuts.

I much prefer the feel of wood hitting the plastic.

And I fully realize this explanation doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but it's my personal reason why I don't use nylon tips.
 
I hate how they feel on the drums

I hate how they sound on the cymbals

I hate that there is even the slight possibility of a tip coming off my stick

and one of the most pleasing sounds to my my ear is something commonly known as "woody stick definition" on a nice cymbal ...... try getting that with a nylon tip

Amen. I'll acknowledge that it's a subjective thing, but I can't stand the sound and feel. Also, I don't know exactly how it compares to wood structurally, but something tells me there's a chance that nylon may damage heads (or, God forbid, cymbals) more easily. Anyway, not a fan.
 
OK, this discussion IS purely subjective, but I've just got to comment on a few of the remarks:

-- Tips flying off. I just don't get it. I personally, nor anybody else I know who uses nylon tips, has had this problem since the early days of nylon tipped sticks. What brand were you guys using?

-- Nylon tips on cymbals. No way to argue with anybody's preference here. You either like them or not. I play all pop/rock/country, so a nylon stick gives more hi frequencies there, and help the cymbal to cut thru. But I'm certain that audiences can hear the difference, especially if the cymbals are miked.

-- Nylon tips on plastic heads. You can hear a difference? Uh-uh. I would bet real money on this one. I guarantee that in a blind test nobody would be able to distinguish between wood or nylon beyond the lucky guesses.

GeeDeeEmm
 
OK, this discussion IS purely subjective, but I've just got to comment on a few of the remarks:

-- Tips flying off. I just don't get it. I personally, nor anybody else I know who uses nylon tips, has had this problem since the early days of nylon tipped sticks. What brand were you guys using?

-- Nylon tips on cymbals. No way to argue with anybody's preference here. You either like them or not. I play all pop/rock/country, so a nylon stick gives more hi frequencies there, and help the cymbal to cut thru. But I'm certain that audiences can hear the difference, especially if the cymbals are miked.

-- Nylon tips on plastic heads. You can hear a difference? Uh-uh. I would bet real money on this one. I guarantee that in a blind test nobody would be able to distinguish between wood or nylon beyond the lucky guesses.

GeeDeeEmm


YES !

Just what I wanted to say........

.
 
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