My favorite vintage sticks

Not boutique, but collectible.

I have always had a thing for vintage marching sticks from the 1920s through 1960s. (I went to high school in the 1970s, so calling the 1970s vintage is, well, a work in progress.)

Here’s the 3S sticks that I adore.

Top to bottom:

Slingerland maple, late 1970s

Slingerland, 1950s

Leedy 1950s (after Slingerland bought Leedy from Conn)

Ludwig, nylon tips, late 1970s

Ludwig wood tips, 1970s

Ludwig Burns Moore model, 1950s (after buying their name back from Conn)

Leedy & Ludwig, 1950s (when Conn merged the two companies, 2 prs)

WFL Burns Moore Model (Ludwig family owned company, started after Conn sued for the rights to use the family name)

Leedy, 1930s

These sticks came from a time when sticks were not pitch or weight-matched. Difference between sticks could be as much as 10 to 15 grams! If you were lucky, you could empty the entire slot of one model, roll on the counter for straightness and tap in the glass for pitch. Some shops wouldn’t let you do that and you were stuck with what they handed you. (By the time I was in high school, most shops would let you test and match sticks.)

These sticks tend to have more weight in the back half of the sticks, and a longer taper than found in modern marching sticks. Before the mid-1950s, most marching drums still used wooden hoops, which meant sticks lasted longer through rim shots and rim clicks. They also used calf heads, which were subject to the vagaries of temperature and humidity and forced drummers to “pull” their strokes up of the head, a very different technique than is called for on Kevlar heads.

Playing with these older stick designs feels so much better in my hands than the modern, forward-heavy sticks used today. While I continue to pare down some of my newer sticks, I'll hang onto these and enjoy them. You can often find these older sticks on eBay and other online sale platforms, but also check thrift shops and rummage sales.
Happy chopping.