I was recently invited to join yet another Facebook group, this one devoted to "Boutique and Collectible Drumsticks," where I've been getting an education in the range and scope of high-zoot, hand-turned sticks.
Since most of what the other members own and use is beyond my paygrade, I decided to stick with my focus of vintage sticks in the sizes I normally use. It's a cheaper option and in most cases, a more attainable one. It also allows me to start in a more familiar landscape; most of the fancy sticks are made and enjoyed by folks in either the symphonic or ancient drum corps categories, neither of which I inhabit.
So here I am with a bag full of sticks in the most familiar and ordinary size of 2B.
This is the size most beginning drum students learn on (except for me -- my hands were too small at age ten to manage the size, so my 5th grade band director gave me a pair of 5A's instead. In retrospect it may not have been the best choice but my hands eventually grew to manage large sizes and, well, here we are.) It's a good all-around stick for school use and remains my personal favorite for ordinary concert, rudimental and pad work.
(Before we continue, feel free to read this excellent overview of how and why drum sticks sizes came about.)
As with all things manufactured, there's a fair amount of variety within a given size designation. Below is a spread of drumsticks in my collection, all labeled "2B" and all slightly different from each other.
Below, Left to Right: Vater 2B, Vater "Classics" 2B, KK 2B (made in Russia), Vic Firth American Sound 2B (no longer made), Speedex 2B (1960s), Fibes 2B "Band" and 2B "Power" (both circa 1978 or so), Carroll 2B (1960s, Mercury 2B (1950s) and Slingerland Haskell Harr signature 2B (early 1960s, nylon tip)
The variety found in this small group illustrates the lack of standardization, which remains with us today. Up close, you can see even more variety, just by looking at the tip and taper of each pair:
For example, the Fibes sticks are freakishly different in tip and taper from the rest. (I admit that I loved playing with "Power" 2Bs in high school band, and when I found a pair recently I HAD to have them again.) Otherwise, with the exception of The Vic Firth American Sound's round tip, everything else has some variation of the rounded or acorn tip found commonly in this designation.
I enjoy comparing and contrasting the response and sound of different sticks within a size designation, but for most of my daily pad work, I always end up returning to the Vater 2B (Far left). The balance and feel just work well for my hands at this point.
When looking for a pair of sticks I'm going to play a lot, I always want to check for straightness, weight and pitch-matching.
When I was kid, this meant going to the stick display and trying every pair of sticks in a brand and size designation until I found a pair or two that checked all the boxes.
Today, most of the major manufacturers claim to do this as part of their quality controls before the sticks leave the factory; its been my experience that the top three -- Vic Firth, Promark and Vater -- do a pretty good job of this, and I tend to trust their judgment most of the time.
However, it helps that if I order their sticks through the mail and am not satisfied, I can send them back for replacement. (Vater is especially great about this in my limited experience.)
With the advent of custom sticks, it has become possible to establish a relationship with a small maker over time, and then bring to them an older mass-produced stick for their suggestions and improvement, making for a truly custom -- and expensive -- product. Again, that's too rich for my blood, but I'm glad to know the option exists.
Finally, Here's an example of a "mass-produced" pair of sticks from the 1960s, before strict quality controls were in place:
Speedex 2B. Note the difference in length --
-- and in taper and tip shape as well.
This would be far less likely to happen today. But I keep this pair on hand to remind me what things were like and to see how far we've come.
Today it is possible to find even a cheap pair of drumsticks with tighter tolerances and quality control than "better" sticks of my childhood, so anyone can find a decent pair of sticks and get started on their next drumming adventure.
Carry on.
Happy chopping!
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