A deeper dive into 2B: Vintage Promark oak sticks, 1970s-90s

The 2B sticks that Promark made from oak in the 1970s and 80s are near and dear to my heart. They’re balanced so well and feel so good in the hands!

Here’s a not-so-scientific chronology.

Top to bottom, first photo:

— Mid to late 1970s

— mid 1980s

— late 1980s to early 90s

There’s not a ton of difference between the first two pairs. The tip size and shape are nearly the same, and the neck just below the pedestaled tip is 7mm in diameter. The butt end is shaped differently between the gold band pair and the mid-80s pair.

By the time we get to the third pair, the sticks are a full 2mm longer and the neck just below the pedestal measures 3mm, with a tip that is larger as well.

The diameter of the straight part of the stick (before the taper) is 14mm on all three pairs.

I don’t know why the tips and the neck got larger in the late 80s. Either it was a deliberate change in that model’s design, or perhaps it was a way to simplify stick production by bringing multiple models (2B, Rock) to the same neck size. Possibly it could have been a response to the number of players who suggested a stouter diameter to reduce breakage? I have no way of knowing.

(I do know that by the early 2000s, the shape of the 2B sticks changed again. The pedestal disappeared, the taper became almost klunky and thicker and the tip got longer and more ovalized. I’m not a fan.)

I like to search for these older Promark sticks online and at yard and rummage sales, because in my opinion they're just so much nicer than the bland, straight sticks that Promark has been churning out since they were bought by D'Addario (which also owns Evans). 

I also have older Promark oak sticks in 1S, 2S and 3S, and while they're heavier, they are so nicely balanced that chopping with them is a delight.

Sadly, as with all vintage drums and accessories, the farther away we get from the date of production, the harder it is to find vintage items in playable condition that haven't been bought up by bigger and wealthier collectors. Time marches on.