Friday, March 11, 2022

The latest rabbit hole: carbon fiber drum sticks

 Yeah, I know, what’s an old-school Drummer like me doing with carbon fiber sticks?

I don’t know, but I do like to follow my curiosity. So when these came up in Reverb for roughly the same price as a new pair of wood sticks,  I thought I’d try them.

Thanks to 20+ years repairing and then stripping carbon bikes, I’ve always been nervous about anything made from carbon fiber that’s likely to get smacked. (Ten years after retirement, I still can’t look at post-crash photos of carbon bikes and bits.)

But this was a cheap way to walk through the door.

$12 plus postage from Reverb seller.

Carbostck 5A, made by German company SpritzguSStechnik.

It feels perhaps a tiny bit skinnier than my Promark 5As, probably closer to the Vater LA 5As in diameter.

What they call a “classic” tip isn’t truly classic, but it also isn’t horrible.

In fact, I thought this would suck a whole lot more than it has.

They ARE still a little bit “klunky” feeling and they definitely DO make a wood 5A feel lighter in weight — and livelier — by comparison.

And at this price, it’s not a bad way to try out carbon fiber.

Though if I were going to use these on my drum kit, I’d put some Vater stick wrap on the shoulder to keep the carbon fibers from flying through the air after a misplaced rim shot.

I think I might need to try some other makes and models to learn more.

Got something carbon that you think is cool? Let me know.

Below: comparison between Carbostick 5A and Promark 5A.





No comments:

Post a Comment