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Recommendations for sticks for very light playing (NOT hot rods)

Started by DrumnDad, December 10, 2013, 03:27 PM

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DrumnDad

I need a pair of sticks that can be used to play very quietly in a church setting.  I will be playing just a snare, not a kit, and will be doing press rolls and such, but must be very quiet. No hot rods, tala wands, etc., since I will be playing rolls and need a crisp sound.  I have in mind the Vic Firth SD 5, which I used a few times back in the 80's.  Any other suggestions?  I live in a mid size city with limited drum shops, so they are usually not much help.  I will probably have to order these and hope they arrive in less than 11 days.  :)

Bart Elliott

I highly recommend the  Maple Wood Tip Drumsticks. I own and use these for just the type of playing you're talking about. Even used them while playing Ravel's Bolero for a live concert and recording with the Amarillo Symphony Orchestra.

If you can't get these locally, and if online is just not going to be fast enough for you, try the  (SPE) drumsticks ... not to be confused with his Ride Stick which has a larger and longer tip.

The VF Peter Erskine SPE sticks are great for quiet playing as the tip is smaller than a small pea. I use them a lot for quiet jazz settings.

For really, really soft playing ... I keep a pair of wooden chopsticks in my stick bag ... but that's not going to work well for doing buzz or press rolls.

DrumnDad

Thanks, Bart!  I may just order both.  I really need to add some variety to my stick bag.  It's looking a little too generic in there!  Thanks for the advice. 

Doug

Michael Bettine


Tim van de Ven

I use Vic Firth SD-1 sticks for everything; I change my volume output to suit the room.

I only use bundles, brushes, or blasticks for the sound that they make, which is different-sounding than a stick, not to reduce the volume.

Bill Bachman

My go-to sticks for quiet gigs are the Vic Firth AJ-3. They have a long taper to take some weight off the front end and the bit of flex makes them really responsive. They want to "go" a bit more than a 7A for instance.

Joe

Ergh! I wish I saw this earlier, and I sincerely hope that you found what you needed.

For me, I would run straight to a pair of Boleros. I get the feeling that they weren't named that for nothing. :) Erskines and Echos wouldn't be horrible, either...but man, I got hold of a pair of Echos a few years ago, and I didn't want to buy them for fear that they would shatter in the very stick bag! Plus my hand does better with a straight, fatter shaft.

That said, I did some snare work alongside the drumkit for Christmas , which consisted mainly of single stroke fours and sevens in accompaniment for one song, and I used my pair of Ted Atkatz signature sticks, which are nice, classically shaped persimmon things with a good long taper and a fat acorn-oval bead. They beat out my other three pairs I brought: some Ney Rosauro sticks which are like a thinner hickory version, sort of, a pair of pipe band sticks in case I needed fatness (I didn't; this was a CS Ambassador X on a 6.5" drum; it was too fat as it was), and the aforementioned Boleros.

Bob Glassman

I use Vader Sugar Maple Sweet Ride sticks..  They work for me...

Chip Donaho

I use Remo 7A for just about everything. I can play soft or flip my sticks around and drive it for both country and rock. It's all in the finger control to do rolls. I played concerts with these sticks in the Army Band. My commander never gipped that I was too loud and he was rather fussy.  :)

Poh Soon Teng

Maybe consider the VF AJ6? Smallest tip and craziest taper out of any stick ive ever seen. And they get crazier once you wear them down... You could shank someone with one... :)

John Pinck

I play a LOT of low volume situations.  I used the Erskine's mentioned before, as well as a variety of maple sticks.  Now, however, I rarely step up to sticks unless I need to (rather than the other way around).  Here's what I've found:

I play best, groove best, jell best, whatever you want to call it, when I'm matching the volume to effort levels of the other musicians.  If we hit the climax of a song live and the guitarist is leaning on his vocals and his axe full force, I don't want to just be stepping my effort up from "dainty" to "less dainty".  I would rather be slapping the crap out of my brushes at that point than restricting myself from getting caught up in the music.

Don't get me wrong, if you're doing this occasionally, get yourself a pair of light sticks, mute your drums a bit, and pull it off.  You'll still sound great, and it may likely be a better immediate fit for you if you're used to playing with sticks.

But if this is a longer term position, as it has been with me, start getting used to the tools of that trade.  Cymbal selection is also going to be huge, as you'll need to find best how to fit in the mix volume and EQ wise.  Over the years I've found that I need to have a set of 100% raw cymbals (right now playing K custom raw hats and ride) as well as some higher pitched, washy-er cymbals (right now, k mastersound hats, constantinople light high ride). 

Anyhow, hope some of this brain dump helps! 

Cheers,

John

Tim van de Ven

Quote from: John Pinck on December 29, 2014, 12:05 PM
I play a LOT of low volume situations.  I used the Erskine's mentioned before, as well as a variety of maple sticks.  Now, however, I rarely step up to sticks unless I need to (rather than the other way around).  Here's what I've found:

I play best, groove best, jell best, whatever you want to call it, when I'm matching the volume to effort levels of the other musicians.  If we hit the climax of a song live and the guitarist is leaning on his vocals and his axe full force, I don't want to just be stepping my effort up from "dainty" to "less dainty".  I would rather be slapping the crap out of my brushes at that point than restricting myself from getting caught up in the music.

Don't get me wrong, if you're doing this occasionally, get yourself a pair of light sticks, mute your drums a bit, and pull it off.  You'll still sound great, and it may likely be a better immediate fit for you if you're used to playing with sticks.

But if this is a longer term position, as it has been with me, start getting used to the tools of that trade.  Cymbal selection is also going to be huge, as you'll need to find best how to fit in the mix volume and EQ wise.  Over the years I've found that I need to have a set of 100% raw cymbals (right now playing K custom raw hats and ride) as well as some higher pitched, washy-er cymbals (right now, k mastersound hats, constantinople light high ride). 

Anyhow, hope some of this brain dump helps! 

Cheers,

John

I only play brushes when it's the sound that I need to make on my drums. I use the same drumstick for all situations; I change my volume for the situation; I only muffle drums if the sound is what is required; muffling doesn't happen to reduce my volume; I control that, not my drums.

You don't see orchestral snare players switching to brushes during the ppp parts of Bolero; they use the same sticks and control their dynamics. 

I've seen loads of drummers in Montreal (where I live) that beat the tar out of a set of brushes, bundles, or blasticks instead of using sticks; it doesn't sound good and it makes little sense.

Joe

Actually, I remember reading a book in my youth that consisted of interviews of various members of the orchestra, from the 1970s—I want to say it was the Boston Symphony in particular, though I could be wrong. Anyway. The percussionist interviewed shared how sometimes he didn't use "the wooden sticks", such as the beginning of Bolero, where he began with English pennies and progressed to his wife's knitting needles before going to sticks.  Not sure if this is still done.