Breaking sticks

While I love to drum I also love to powerlift and with that comes the use of cycles of steroids' (I know its bad, whatever). I've noticed that Vic Firth are extremely cheap and cant hold up to heavy styles of drumming. The durability is questionable at best and the sticks feel like tiny matchsticks.
 
Never broken a stick. Worn out the tips for sure, but never broken one. Used them all, Vater, Vic, Promark, Zildjian from 7A to 5B and never an issue. Currently at 2 months on a pair of Promark 5B rebound balance activegrip sticks and they still look new. I play everyday for a minimum of 30 minutes.
 
IplayDrumsithink said:
While I love to drum I also love to powerlift and with that comes the use of cycles of steroids' (I know its bad, whatever). I've noticed that Vic Firth are extremely cheap and cant hold up to heavy styles of drumming. The durability is questionable at best and the sticks feel like tiny matchsticks.
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interesting how much different situations are...what model do you use? Maybe you need to go up a few notches in thickness ?

I have used Vic Firth 3A's playing punk, and metal for years, and they never break on me. I hit medium hard - main motion from the wrist; drum corps trained, so it is a pretty aggressive stroke, but I don't bash. Bashing to me, is usually making up for hiding some other problem. I have never damaged a cymbal even.

usually my left hand stick will last me 6-8 months before it breaks...

the sticks that seemed to last the least amount of time for me were Vater or Promarks....and it was more the beads wearing away or snapping just below the bead at the thinnest point...but they would still go for at least 3 months.
 
IplayDrumsithink said:
While I love to drum I also love to powerlift and with that comes the use of cycles of steroids' (I know its bad, whatever). I've noticed that Vic Firth are extremely cheap and cant hold up to heavy styles of drumming. The durability is questionable at best and the sticks feel like tiny matchsticks.
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I do also powerlift, without sterioids of course, not that dumb to use them. But I don't regulary even break 7A sticks. I agree with @Xstr8edgtnrdrmrX that usually bashing and beating drums to death is just lack of ability to play better.
 
Superlow said:
Re: Breaking sticks left and right...




Trust me you dont want to try either of those. They don't feel like wood, they don't play like wood, because they are not wood. I have your problem with breaking lots of sticks. I suck it up because I play hard and I enjoy playing hard. I like the Vater sticks, they do seem a bit more dense sometimes that some of the VF's. If you like 5B I highly recommend the Vater Chad Smith Funk Blasters.
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Agreed re Vater. They use more moisture in their woods, which for me at least, living in a semi-arid region, makes a big difference. I use their Sugar Maples in Super Jazz, Fusion, and 5B models. That said, I am not a particularly hard-hitter, and can't remember the last time I've broken a stick.
 
Try repositioning the angle of your cymbals or the height or a combination of the two. The flatter the horizontal plane of the cymbal is the more it replicates a saw blade. Saw blades vs wood? Guaranteed winner is the saw blade every time. same with angles of rack toms and snare.
 
DutchDrummersDreams said:
It has been ages but I manged to break one.

View attachment 147755
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Now should I click 'like' or is that inappropriate? ;)

I remember years ago I once tried a pair of Tama oak sticks and had them break within 15 minutes.
The 1st and last time I broke a stick.
In the past I had pieces of the tip splitting off over time so it went from round to square.
Maybe my technique has changed because I haven't noticed that either.
 
eric_B said:
Now should I click 'like' or is that inappropriate? ;)

I remember years ago I once tried a pair of Tama oak sticks and had them break within 15 minutes.
The 1st and last time I broke a stick.
In the past I had pieces of the tip splitting off over time so it went from round to square.
Maybe my technique has changed because I haven't noticed that either.
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I must have hit a rim incidently as I rarely play rimshots anymore.

And those single flanged rims are unforgiving so its a good practice not to hit them and set the kit up as ergonomically as possible.
 
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Dill X said:
Re: Breaking sticks left and right...

I use Thomas Lang Signature sticks and I break about one stick every one or two practices. My record so far is three sticks in less than 10 minutes.

In response to your problem though it may be because of the way your cymabls are posistioned or if your using too much rim when you hit the drums.

Breaking sticks is normal. But expensive...
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My snare is a Premier and my toms are Gretsch. They all have cast hoops which are more crowned than a pressed metal hoop; i.e., less sharp edge extending stick life. I really like the cast hoop on the old Premier because they are a lower profile than the Gretsch hoops, which is ideal for a snare.

Also when I have had a stick splinter a little, I get out my pocket knife, cut the splinter out at its base and sand the stick there till there are no loose edges.
What also works real well is a thin coating of Devcon plastic steel on the most vulnerable parts of the stick.
If you have a splinter you can lift up on the splinter, slide some plastic steel under it and then clamp it till it sets.
On one pair i have lying around, I wrapped the stick at the common break points like you wrap the eyelet on a fishing rod with light line (not the monofilament line), gluing as I wrapped and then wiping off the excess.

I've always used Regal tip 7A, but a few years ago I discovered Silverfox sticks and wich I had discovered them years ago.
the silverfox 7A' have a slower taper into the nylon tip so they are just a bit thicker as they enter the tip so harder to break . . . also the tip itself is less pointed than the Regals so can be easier on the heads at a more vertical blow.
I tried to take photo to illustrate but the batteries need to be recharged in my camera.
 
Since I started playing regularly again a little before COVID I started saving my broken sticks. Last night I counted 16. And I broke one last night at rehearsal. I should explain that only 1 of the broken sticks split at the shaft. All the rest broke up by the neck where I tend to whittle away my sticks until the neck and head are just a spindle sticking out from a fatter piece of wood. I realize that some of this is technique, and maybe all. I keep my hi hat sort of high so I don’t encounter issues with the sticks hitting each other while playing the hi hat and snare. I probably could sit a little bit higher but I prefer my relatively low seat height. My thighs are parallel to the floor when seated. A 90 degree angle (almost). I’m 62 so any idea of me making major changes to my approach is unlikely. I also hit lots of rim shots but that has never really caused me to break sticks. And I play traditional grip so it’s always my right hand stick that gets whittled down.
 
I don't remember the last time I "broke" a stick. I play 2B nylon tip. Over time the shoulder just gets so chipped up and worn down that I throw them out. I checked my stick bag and still have some random sticks I bought 20 year ago. The latest ones I bought were a half dozen Vic Firth hickory sticks.
 
MntnMan62 said:
Since I started playing regularly again a little before COVID I started saving my broken sticks. Last night I counted 16. And I broke one last night at rehearsal. I should explain that only 1 of the broken sticks split at the shaft. All the rest broke up by the neck where I tend to whittle away my sticks until the neck and head are just a spindle sticking out from a fatter piece of wood. I realize that some of this is technique, and maybe all. I keep my hi hat sort of high so I don’t encounter issues with the sticks hitting each other while playing the hi hat and snare. I probably could sit a little bit higher but I prefer my relatively low seat height. My thighs are parallel to the floor when seated. A 90 degree angle (almost). I’m 62 so any idea of me making major changes to my approach is unlikely. I also hit lots of rim shots but that has never really caused me to break sticks. And I play traditional grip so it’s always my right hand stick that gets whittled down.
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that same thing happens to my "cymbal" stick (right hand one) but I use Vic Firth 3A's, so a much beefier stick. It is also b/c I use the shoulder on the hi hat 99% of the time.

A J said:
I don't remember the last time I "broke" a stick. I play 2B nylon tip. Over time the shoulder just gets so chipped up and worn down that I throw them out. I checked my stick bag and still have some random sticks I bought 20 year ago. The latest ones I bought were a half dozen Vic Firth hickory sticks.
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I also rarely ever break sticks, and I play punk and metal mostly. I hit med hard, and have never broken a drum head or cymbal either. My drum heads pull out of the counterhoop before they actually split.
 
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Xstr8edgtnrdrmrX said:
that same thing happens to my "cymbal" stick (right hand one) but I use Vic Firth 3A's, so a much beefier stick. It is also b/c I use the shoulder on the hi hat 99% of the time.



I also rarely ever break sticks, and I play punk and metal mostly. I hit med hard, and have never broken a drum head or cymbal either. My drum heads pull out of the counterhoop before they actually split.
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I use Vic Firth 5a’s. And when I’m not paying attention to technique, which unfortunately is somewhat frequent, I end up hitting the hi hat with the shoulder. And invariably I find wood chips and splinters all over the floor after a while. I also have never broken a head or a cymbal. Although I have been accused of playing too loud which means I probably hit somewhat hard. Ironically, I find that my playing actually improves when I focus on not hitting so hard. Something I need to pay more attention to, along with stick angle on the hi hat. 😁
 
A J said:
I don't remember the last time I "broke" a stick. I play 2B nylon tip. Over time the shoulder just gets so chipped up and worn down that I throw them out. I checked my stick bag and still have some random sticks I bought 20 year ago. The latest ones I bought were a half dozen Vic Firth hickory sticks.
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Same here. It's been ages since I actually broke a stick. I haven't played backbeat rimshots all night for a long time.

Most of my expired sticks nowadays have a whittled down neck or chipped tips, but I mostly play nylon tips...I like the consistency in sound.
 
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MntnMan62 said:
I use Vic Firth 5a’s. And when I’m not paying attention to technique, which unfortunately is somewhat frequent, I end up hitting the hi hat with the shoulder. And invariably I find wood chips and splinters all over the floor after a while. I also have never broken a head or a cymbal. Although I have been accused of playing too loud which means I probably hit somewhat hard. Ironically, I find that my playing actually improves when I focus on not hitting so hard. Something I need to pay more attention to, along with stick angle on the hi hat. 😁
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shoulder on hi hat is not a wrong angle/bad technique though....most of the drummers I see are using shoulder on hat for loud, or sloshy parts. I also use tips when I need to do intricate patterns, but those usually happen in less aggressive or less thickly textured parts of songs.

when i play jazz, I use tips almost all the time...and I still use the 3A's for jazz too.

to me, shoulders on hat is a timbre...sort of like rim knocks versus regular hits versus rim shots on snare

and there is definitely a difference between hitting hard, and playing with full sound. Like you, my speed and fluidity get compromised when I hit hard, but when I use the correct technique to get full sound, I can go!!!
 
My sticks have gotten thinner over the years. I started with 2Bs years ago, then it was 5B, then 5A, and recently I've discovered 7As. Funny thing is, I used to break A LOT of the thick sticks - like several in one rehearsal - but I have not broken a single 7A yet, and I'm not playing any softer.
 
I have not broken many sticks, but I'm a jazz player and aim at having a light touch. However, I've broken a few after using them for a long time and found that they make excellent kindling for the fireplace.
 
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