On value and usage

At the end of the day, a practice pad is a tool that allows the drummer to practice on a quieter surface, so as not to disturb the neighbors.

If this is the primary consideration, everything else fades in importance.

The pad’s construction, age, size and scarcity (real or perceived) matter far less in this context.

The value of a practice pad, then, is not in its design or construction, but in its use.

The pad that is pristine is a pad that hasn’t been properly valued. It hasn’t been used.

So today, I’m celebrating pads that have been valued through use.

A well-used pad is a pad whose owner has dedicated their time and effort to improving their drumming art.

A well-used pad holds drumming history on an individual, even intimate level. It contains the residue of every stroke played on it, and past a certain point, those strokes begin to have an effect on the appearance and feel of the pad.

I rejoice when I see a well-worn practice pad. It tells me its owner is devoted to excelling at drumming, and not distracted by externals, by ephemera. There’s sticks, and a practice surface, and the head, heart and hands. Period.

That feels like a beautiful thing to meditate on as I drum today.

May your drum meditations be as rewarding and precious.

The future of drum sticks?

If you read various chat boards (Reddit, DrumForum.com, etc.) you may notice a lot of griping about two things:

1. The increasing price of wood drum sticks; and

2. The decreasing quality of wood drum sticks.

There’s some truth to both points.

1. Stick prices have slowly risen for years. Inflation is out of control these days, so that should surprise no one. Some makers have managed to hold off raising prices for quite awhile but had to bite the bullet this past year. Others have been slowly and steadily raised their prices little by little over time.

2. Drum stick quality and consistency from the big major brands (Vic Firth, Promark, Vater, et al) has been declining for some time now. Drum stick makers that once sold their pitch- and weight-matching as marks of excellence have grown quieter about that as consistency has suffered. 

There are some salient reasons for both, and they are mostly beyond any company’s control.

A. Increasing scarcity of quality wood stocks due to deforestation and climate change. People don’t like to talk about climate change. Either they refuse to believe it’s real (though I don’t see how they can with today’s weather extremes), or they insist that it’s simply not a factor that affects wood quality. But the truth is that increased deforestation (to meet higher demand for wood in all industries) has helped speed up global warming, and the market’s impatience for mature raw wood has meant cutting trees before they have a chance to become “old growth.”  That makes for a lot of naked, unshaded earth, and that means the weather gets hotter, faster.  The global marketplace also adds climate pressure because of the increased carbon footprint required to harvest and transport raw materials from their source locations to the manufacturers for processing.

B. The lack of mature, old growth wood stocks has lent itself to cutting second-growth timber that is less dense and less stable, meaning a wider variance in wood grain and hardness. Both of these mean that as the wood dries, it can warp or crack more, which in turns means lower consistency in the quality and feel of sticks — and less durability — from pair to pair.

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When I was a young drummer in the early 1970s, the big stick manufacturers didn’t match for pitch or weight. Instead, you pulled all the sticks out of the bin labeled with the desired size at the music store. You rolled them across the countertop to check for warping, pulled out the eight or ten straightest sticks and then tapped them lightly on the counter to check for pitch. On a good day, you might go home with two or three pairs of decent sticks that way. On a bad day, you’ll be lucky to get one decent pair. When I was a kid, that’s the way things were and I simply accepted it.

Only when the big stick makers started doing this at the factory did sticks become consistently better. And of course, because they were taking this labor in-house, sticks also started costing more. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Nothing is free in retail.

But in the last ten years, wood consistency and quality from the big stick manufacturers began to suffer noticeably. Some people complained, and others went looking for another brand. European stick manufacturers began shipping their products overseas more, using European hardwoods that maintained a higher standard of quality. Higher-end shops like Steve Weiss began carrying those brands, making them available to a larger group of consumers, and the sticks caught on.

Add to this the rise of American craft makers like Cooperman and Reamer, with their beautiful hardwood sticks, and eventually we arrived at a time when American drummers got, to be honest, a bit spoiled.

And that’s when things began to fall down.

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During the pandemic, while we stayed at home and chopped on practice pads and waited for things to oen up again, we also continued to buy drum sticks. Demand remained high. But makers could not keep up. Towards the end of the lockdown, first Cooperman and then Reamer announced that they would stop offering their sticks in Persimmon, because their old stocks had run low and the second-growth stocks on the global market were not up to their standards. Vic Firth began running out of favorite models regularly, and by early 2023 some models could not be found at any price in shops or online. Vic Firth and Promark began discontinuing their lowest-selling models. Vater simply ran out of select models and didn’t respond to my requests as to when they might return. At one point, the Big Three’s budget brands — Nova (Vic Firth), LA Special (Promark) and Goodwood (Vater) — also ran low at online dealers, a sure sign that bigger issues were affecting the global economy even among drum stick manufacturers.

The bottom fell out when the rumblings about quality grew louder on multiple online chat boards, and many of my drumming friends had given up on at least one or two of the Big Three in search of smaller, craft-oriented stick makers. (You can follow my adventures along the way in earlier posts on this blog, notably my testing of Harlan, Cooperman and Morgen sticks.)

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Today, the drum stick market is not struggling — sales continue to hold steady — but it has changed.

Custom stick makers are suffering. Cooperman is blowing out the last of its old Persimmon stocks, and has switched over to mostly hickory. Reamer is using hickory only. Rick Dior, one of the finest craft stick makers in the country, suffered devastating losses to his house and his home-based workshop during recent catastrophic flooding in North Carolina. He was able to salvage a number of ready-made sticks to sell online, but has advised his customers that new sticks won’t be available for quite some time, perhaps up to a year depending on how quickly the mud can be cleared out and extensive repairs can be made. Frank Kincel at LaBckbeat has had a difficult time sourcing local mature hickory stocks that are up to his standards, as well as facing health challenges and mechanical issues with his lathe.

I still enjoy my Vic Firth sticks, though to be honest I mostly like older models that I find as NOS (New Old Stock) at online retailers. I also look for deals from select eBay sellers, and occasionally I find nicer used sticks in good shape on various secondhand sale sites.

Since I don’t play drumkit these days, I don’t really need a great quantity of any size. I’m content to keep a few pairs on hand of the pairs I use the most. 

I suspect that students will have to settle for whatever they can find locally and make the best of it. Serious professionals will have to be a bit less picky, or guard the sticks they have a bit more carefully to make them last longer. 

Younger drummers reading this post may scoff. I can’t really help them, sorry. They will have to find their own way forward to a more resourceful and sustainable drumming future.

To be honest, I’m glad I’m no longer playing professionally on a regular basis. It takes the pressure off having to be properly and fully equipped, and invites me to be grateful for what I have.

Happy drumming.

Why do I need/want SO MANY sticks?

I got into boutique and specialty sticks in a big way during lockdown, with some help from the guys over at the Boutique and Collectible Sticks group on Facebook. Since then, I've had the opportunity to try many, many different kinds of drum sticks, and was able to narrow my focus to sticks designed for rudimental and marching applications.

I didn't go as crazy as I'd done with practice pads, as I didn't have the space or the budget. But over the last three years I've managed to set myself up with some really excellent sticks for those purposes.

My ultimate goal is to keep one or two pairs of my favorites on hand for regular use, and display the most special sticks on my little wall rack. Some of these sticks have seen some use, while others are in new condition and I don't plan to play with them all that much.

The variety of sticks just for my purpose is staggering. Larger factories produce an astonishing number of rudimental models every year, in the tens of thousands. Craft makers who turn sticks a few at a time can produce hundreds in a year if everything goes right. Here are some of my favorites, in no particular order:

Ingrained Instruments 1S. A great all-around rudimental stick in hickory. Strong, thick and yet lighter in weight than one might expect. My heaviest pair weighs 75g per stick. These are shaped very similarly to the "Air Force" style of rudimental sticks, but with a shorter taper.

Vic Firth IMS10 (no longer made). A terrific marching stick for smaller hands, which still has enough heft to work outdoors and a fine enough balance to work as an indoor stick. Some drummers use this as a heavier concert stick when the score calls for a "field" drum. I was able to procure ten pairs of these and I use them almost exclusively with my HONK! band on a 13" marching snare. If you find some, get them.

Promark 2B in oak. A classic concert and student stick, a little shorter but still well-balanced and with enough weight to use in a middle school marching situation. My favorite application for these is as an affordable student stick for woodshedding rudiments. I have several pairs from different points in their history, including a pair in golden oak that feels heavier and more dense than the white oak models. For the size and shape I tend to favor the vintage versions from the late 1970s through mid-80s.

Cooperman marching sticks, several models. Cooperman has largely stopped making sticks from any wood other than hickory due to diminishing stocks. But even in hickory their sticks feel amazing. In particular I'm a fan of #10 Petrella General (for concert work), #21 Connecticut Drummer and #24 Fastick.

John Crocken Moeller model. A very distinct stick made by one of the oldest stick craftsmen in the buisiness, made in your choice of hickory, persimmon, jatoba or purple heart. I have a persimmon pair and I love playing these because of their size, thickness and balance. There's literally no other stick like it for rudimental work.

Craft drum sticks made in small batches can be very expensive, but you're paying for the maker's time and experience. If you live far from the craft makers, as I do (most are located in the eastern half of the US), you'll need to be pickier about when to invest in a more expensive stick.  On the plus side, many of these small-batch makers are happy to talk with you about your possible choices by phone or email, and they will work with you as much as they can.
Choosing sticks for rudimental work can be almost as personal as choosing a bicycle saddle. What length of taper do you like? How thick a diameter is the most comfortable in your hands? Will they feel different if you play traditional versus matched grip? Which woods give you the response you're looking for? Do you want to be able to use them on a pad as well as a drum?
There are LOTS of possible answers to these questions.
Take your time, ask other players for their thoughts and try a LOT of sticks before you buy.

Below: My Ingrained 1S on a Rudimental Drummers practice pad.

Below: Chopping with a pair of Cooperman Fasticks that have been taped.

Enjoy the exploration and discovery, and Happy Chopping!

My latest rabbit hole: all about sticks. Really FINE sticks.

I’ve really fallen down the rabbit hole of boutique, custom and collectible drumsticks lately.

They’re often easier and cheaper to find than some practice pads, they take up less space, and some of them are flat-out gorgeous.

Here are a few of the latest to come my way:

1. Cooperman #10: Nick Petrella “General”.  A heftier version of the original Petrella concert stick, with a bigger tip and a more robust feel. I was fortunate to find these in both Persimmon and Hickory; today, Cooperman is taking a break from making persimmon sticks until they can source old-growth wood again.

I wouldn’t be disappointed about hickory, though. Cooperman know what they’re doing when they turn wood into some of THE nicest, best-balanced sticks I’ve ever played. 

The persimmon version are lighter, and more rigid. 

They feel great in concert passages where you don’t have time to change sticks and a lighter touch is needed.

The hickory sticks have become my new best friend.

Since getting them over a week ago, I’ve been chopping with them every single day on a variety of pads (which, being home bound due to Long Covid, is 95% of my playing right now). They feel lively, extremely well-balanced and very comfortable in my hands. 

I like them so much I plan to buy another set or two at least.

2. I’ve been having a lot of fun hanging out at the Boutique and Collectible Sticks FB group. Run mostly by symphonic and concert players with some overlap in the ancient Rudimental drum scene, these enthusiasts have invited me to broaden my horizons well beyond hickory and maple, and far beyond mass-produced sticks I’ve been playing for decades. Through them, I am learning about all kinds of woods and the kinds of sticks each is best for. And I’ve made a few really good friends as well.

My latest stick acquisition came courtesy of a friend who got several pairs of padauk sticks some years ago, from a young man still learning the craft. My friend sent along a pair to me so I could experience what playing with padauk sticks feels like. So far, they’re fascinating. I wouldn’t say I’m converted or anything, not with my hickory #10’s hogging a lot of my drumming time. But padauk is an interesting wood. The sticks are lighter than hickory, but possess almost no shock-absorbing qualities. So I have to make mental and physical adjustments to play cleanly with them. Once I figured this out, my diddles became smooth and light, almost ethereal. I know that some fife and drum corps sticks are being turned in padauk today, but I’m not sure my hands would enjoy playing on the march for an afternoon with them. I need to hang out with them more.

These sticks arrived with an incipient split in the wood on one of them. So I carefully lifted the split , applied some Elmer’s Glue-All underneath and in the cracks around, and set it to dry.

After it was thoroughly dry, I removed the wrap, sanded the excess glue off the surface, and applied a light coat of clear nail polish over the area to seal it.

When that had dried thoroughly, I gently tapped them on the dining room table so see if I could hear anything odd. I couldn’t. So I chopped on a rubber pad with them for a little while and really liked the subtleties my hands were receiving. 

They’re drop-dead gorgeous sticks.

Other woods on my list of Sticks To Try probably include rosewood, ebony, zebrawood, walnut  and various kinds of maple. If aim able to find sticks in those woods affordably, I’ll share my findings here.

Here’s video I made earlier this morning, some freestyling with the hickory Cooperman #10’s. 

They are absolutely delicious to play with, and just might have become my go-to stick for pad work and rudimental chopping in general.

Happy chopping!