What kind of sticks do you use?
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fatdan1067
- Posts: 9
- Joined: Sat Sep 17, 2005 12:09 am
- Location: St Louis MO
What kind of sticks do you use?
I just took delivery of my cocktail set on Friday and am experimenting with different sticks. I have tried Cool Rods, Whips, and have a pair of solid Acousticks coming from eBay. Any ideas on other sticks I might try? Thanks! I'll try to post some pics soon. I will tell you I have cheated and broke the rule (please forgive me!) I mounted my 10" tom and a 12" china on a cymbal stand. I am adding a Blast Block (hi pitch) also.
Sticks
Hey Dan,
Here's something I use ALL the time. Get a pair of blasticks. They are a round handle whith a bunch of small plastic dowels coming out. The problem with them normally is that soon after you start using them, the plastic rods splay out like a brush. I find that they get unwieldy and create too 'loose' a sound. I use piece of tape an inch or two ffrom the tip of the dowels and tape them tight. Using them like this gives you a lot of body to the sound but still gives you a good attack. It is also easier to play a wider range of volume with a good tone.
As far as regullar sticks, I use 'Diamon Tips' by Joe Porcaro. The model I use is called 'Spang-a-lang' 8A. The tips are literally diamaond shaped so they have a very small surface for the attack. This works great on my 14" crash ride. I prefer the plastic tip for this setup since it really makes the small cymbal sound like a ride!
Give them a try.
- John
Here's something I use ALL the time. Get a pair of blasticks. They are a round handle whith a bunch of small plastic dowels coming out. The problem with them normally is that soon after you start using them, the plastic rods splay out like a brush. I find that they get unwieldy and create too 'loose' a sound. I use piece of tape an inch or two ffrom the tip of the dowels and tape them tight. Using them like this gives you a lot of body to the sound but still gives you a good attack. It is also easier to play a wider range of volume with a good tone.
As far as regullar sticks, I use 'Diamon Tips' by Joe Porcaro. The model I use is called 'Spang-a-lang' 8A. The tips are literally diamaond shaped so they have a very small surface for the attack. This works great on my 14" crash ride. I prefer the plastic tip for this setup since it really makes the small cymbal sound like a ride!
Give them a try.
- John
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palacki808
- Posts: 152
- Joined: Fri Oct 10, 2003 10:50 am
- Contact:
brushes and sticks
"Cool Rods" are nice when you want to play at lower volumes. There's a little bit of crack in every stroke when you use them and they have a nice feel on cymbals.
Vic Firth makes a set of heavy red plastic brushes that can give you a VERY meaty sound for brushes. Its called their "jazz rake". They have an even heavier set of yellow plastic brushes called a "rock rake". I find that the rock rake is a little too loud for my taste, but some of you guys here at the lounge may like it.
I think my favorites would either be a pair of vic firth wire brushes (they're soooo smooth) or a pair of promark 5B natural sticks.
-Joe
Vic Firth makes a set of heavy red plastic brushes that can give you a VERY meaty sound for brushes. Its called their "jazz rake". They have an even heavier set of yellow plastic brushes called a "rock rake". I find that the rock rake is a little too loud for my taste, but some of you guys here at the lounge may like it.
I think my favorites would either be a pair of vic firth wire brushes (they're soooo smooth) or a pair of promark 5B natural sticks.
-Joe
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fw
I found these Indian temple jingle stick things I really liked. I got them at World Market (Cost Plus in some areas) for like $3 each. They are wood with three rows of jingles and a handle, and they are durable enough to sound like sticks (albeit very short ones--they are about 9" long) and the jingle sound is very controlable and hip. I tried some remo kids percussion shaker stick things full of bbs with rubber mallet balls at the ends, but they cracked and shot bbs everywhere.