Earlier this year, Craft stick maker John Crocken came up with a stick based on what famous drummer and instructor Sanford A. Moeller determined was the “perfect” stick for Rudimental drumming.
Using details from earlier sticks made by craft stick maker Charles “Buck” Soistman, with whom Crocken had apprenticed, and Moeller’s own notes, John Crocken has introduced what he calls the Moeller “Perfect” sticks. He offers them in persimmon, purple heart and Brazilian cherry.
A friend recently took delivery on a pair of these in purple heart, which weighed in at 80 grams per stick — on the heavy side of my favored weight range. So when I came into some extra scratch, I decided to order a pair in lighter persimmon, perhaps my favorite wood for craft-made sticks. John. Assured me he could make me a pair closer to 70 grams each. When they arrived in the mail a few days ago, I was happy to unwrap a pair of beautiful persimmon sticks weighing in at exactly 70 grams each.
They’re longer than most of the sticks I play, 17.5” — but I knew Moeller was a big, tall man so that would make some sense. The sticks themselves are not matched in terms of thickness — one is a little thicker than the other, perhaps a millimeter or more, and I could tell that right away. Does this make them. “Seconds”? I decided to test for pitch and see. They are pitched matched, and weigh the same. So, while I wish they w matched for thickness, the difference is not so glaring that I’d send them back at this point.
I’m not sure what to do with that, or whether it’s a reasonable thing to expect with craft-made sticks; and may ask John before I make a final decision.
They play effortlessly for their size and length. I find that I enjoy playing them with either matched or traditional grip. I do like these sticks a lot, and they play especially nicely on both drums and tunable practice pads.
If you can scrape up the Pennie’s, investing in a pair or three of craft-made drumsticks is a great idea, and can make you appreciate your drumming from a new perspective. Try some.
Happy drumming.
I bought a few pairs of his sticks and none of them were weight or pitch matched—-and 1 of the sticks broke in half while playing an 8 inch rimless rubber pad. Definitely not worth the money.
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