What stick size do you use?

What stick size do you use?

  • Total voters
    121
I have used so many brands different models over the years that I've chosen 'Other'.
Last 3 years or so i have been using the Vic Firth SD9 Maple Driver stick, but since maple is less durable than hickory looking for something else. Have a pair of Ahead Rock sticks lying ready to check out this friday!
 
Main stick: just short of 5A, Vic Firth Keith Moon signature stick.
For the longest time of me, the thinner and shorter the better. Maybe it's my thin arms (but I can play loud without a problem), but every long or heavy sticks I've played, even maple or long taper ones, don't feel as swift or balanced. That's unless the stick becomes thin enough to grind between my left thumb and index finger.
Good sticks I've used: 7A (the Promark ones are the thinnest), 5A, SD4, HD4. I'd like to try some Jazz-labelled sticks, too.
I've also used a strange pair of stick: the Promark Phil Collins sticks. Very short and stout (just like the drummer), they allow me to play LOUD very effortlessly. Could be swifter, though.
 
Vic Firth 5A Extreme woodtip for me (longer than the standard 5A's), been my go-to sticks for almost 20 years now. Tried other makes of that same size, but those tips on the VF's are special to me, never got close to be comfortable with others.
 
With most sticks being 16"'s in length, how do you like the longer sticks that come in around 16.5"'s? One of the first sticks that I really had a liking for was the VF Extreme 5a's and 5b's. I have the x55a and x55b's as well.
 
Los Cabos 3A in both Red Hickory and Maple, depending on volume requirements
 
Rattlin' Bones said:
I use 5A but diameter of brands isn't consistent. A 5A ain't a 5A ain't a 5A.
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Very true. Brand to brand will demonstrate that consistency is never a standard. If that's a big thing you want to have, then staying with one brand is the path you must take.

I love a good, general 5a stick for playing, but use heavier ones (like my Thomas Lang signatures) for pad work.
 
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I prefer longer sticks; I was playing X55As (16.5" long) and Freestyle 55As (17" long), but recently switched back to X5Bs and X55Bs for ease of grip.

I used to love the Vic Firth Vic Grip, but when Zildjian bout VF it seems like Vic changed to Zildjian's Grip formula, which causes me horrible blisters. You couldn't pay me to use it now.
 
YES!!!! a poll

I am so used to having marching sticks in my hands that anything smaller than a 3A feel like a toothpick in my hand.

I used to use VF SD1 Generals, but they shredded way to fast with cymbal work. It took me years to find something that felt right, and I settled on VF 3A's finally
 
Vater LA 5A most of the time. Sometimes the 5B.

They are hard to break, and the best balance for the multiple styles I play.
 
I use VF SD1 Boleros. Beefy handle, very late and sudden taper, with a small round tip. It's the goldilocks stick- solid and weighty enough for rimshots and anything you'd want to play on a drum, but with a tip that gives you all the control and bounce you could ever want off a cymbal. It always astounds me that people can, and actually choose, to paly drums with any other sticks.
 
Musicsucks said:
I use VF SD1 Boleros. Beefy handle, very late and sudden taper, with a small round tip. It's the goldilocks stick- solid and weighty enough for rimshots and anything you'd want to play on a drum, but with a tip that gives you all the control and bounce you could ever want off a cymbal. It always astounds me that people can, and actually choose, to paly drums with any other sticks.
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man, how do those not just shred?

i don't hit the drums that hard for a metal guy - my 3A's will last me about a year or so; have never broken a head while playing etc.... but the tips of those Boleros would be toast after 3 songs!!
 
I think the small round tips actually last longer than most acorn tips. With that shape it’s just not conducive to having little pieces of wood chip off. I dunno- the more I think about it the less it makes sense, but in my experience, these sticks last at least as long as any 5A/5B I’ve ever used.
 
Vic Firth SD4 wood tip.
 
Xstr8edgtnrdrmrX said:
man, how do those not just shred?

i don't hit the drums that hard for a metal guy - my 3A's will last me about a year or so; have never broken a head while playing etc.... but the tips of those Boleros would be toast after 3 songs!!
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Typical Maple stick syndrome.
That's why I don't use them. They're saw dust after a couple of days.
Someone else might like them, and that's fine, but I'll stick with Hickory.
 
As my Guitarist says, the correct answer to the question is "It depends...."
Most of my current gigs are on the low volume side, so Maple sticks help to soften the sound, especially on cymbals.
From quiet -> loud

Regal Tip 8A Maple
Regal Tip Bob Gatzen Maple (Wonderful cross-stick)
Regal Tip 5AX
Regal Tip 5BX

I also have a pair of Regal Tip 5A-E Nylon tip, if I need some extra clarity on cymbals
Mick
 
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