Pad du Jour: "Swingmaster" training sticks by Cappella

More fun from the elusive Cappella drum company.

These "practice" sticks are heavy. They're meant to be. Basically a 5B stick made of solid aluminum, wrapped in layers of rubber and intended for use only on a rubber practice pad (they'd destroy an actual drum).

 

Designed to give arms, wrists and hands a real "workout" by applying more resistance, these sticks are almost uncomfortable to use after just a couple of minutes of slow, careful warmups. And to avoid any risk of injury, I can only use them with matched grip.

One online reviewer insisted that he gave all if his drum students these sticks, and deemed then an ideal stand-in for drumming on a pillow. Assuming his students were kids, I'm not sure this was an ideal practice, especially for anyone younger than high school age. The sticks are that heavy.

They were made by the Cappella drumstick company and were last sold anywhere over a dozen years ago; at least that's when the last online reviews date from.

Definitely a bit of an oddity for my collection, but also a great conversation piece for the wall rack.