ILOVEDRUMS... It Begins.

[ShaolinLambKiller]

I use Ralph Hardimon signature sticks by Vic Firth, also like the Tom Float signatures. Both are much thicker than 5B, but it's what I'm comfortable with and they last me a pretty damn long while... months long actually instead of weeks. It's just a matter if he can muscle his way through the tree branches as they have fondly been called.

[Road Bull]

This may have been covered already, but what sticks do folks here prefer? Our drummer Zach uses Pro Mark Hickory 5b, but goes through 'em like crazy. I know that's part of the fun (read:cost) of playing doom drums, but anyone have suggestions for sticks with similar profiles that last longer?

Well, Pro Mark (OAK) would last much longer overall as a wood type over hickory. Hickory can have a good feel, but also be a little lighter and dryer. I have been using Vic Firth Rock, and Metal for about the last year or so. I feel that they break, (Rock break faster than the Metal version), too quickly. They also start doing the mid-stick peel thing a bit early too.

I am been told great things about Vater sticks. I believe they use hickory as well, but supposedly use a denser selection to make their sticks. I still need to try them.

If he likes Pro Mark, he may want to give the OAK versions a try. Some of the trade off might be stiffness of the wood. tee hee hee... wood... stiff... Anyway. Some drummers don't like the way a stiffer stick transfers more vibration into the hands and wrists. I would try a pair and see how it goes. Otherwise, I would suggest going to a bigger stick, as in thicker. Most of the sticks I play these days are at least 2B size. 5B feels like I am not holding on to much at all. I am still working my way through the forest of sticks by Vic Firth that I bought a while back. I told myself I would not jump ship until I burned through what I have on hand. We'll see how long that takes.

The other thing to look at is technique. Where are the sticks breaking? Is he breaking anything else? Heads? Cymbals? I hit fairly hard, but do so with pretty good technique so that I am not breaking a ton of gear. Its far too expensive and lame to break heads in the middle of a show. Shit happens, but it can be a show stopper for sure.

[AxAxSxS]

Dude you break mad sticks. I no longer need a chopstick when fucking with amps. I just grab a stick fragment. there is always one within reach. I need to clean in there again...

True story, a couple weeks ago ryder nearly killed me. Big moment in a jam and I happened to look his way right as some stick shrapnel was launched my way. Fortunately I have cat like reflexes and I matrixed that shit.

[Road Bull]

Dude you break mad sticks. I no longer need a chopstick when fucking with amps. I just grab a stick fragment. there is always one within reach. I need to clean in there again...

True story, a couple weeks ago ryder nearly killed me. Big moment in a jam and I happened to look his way right as some stick shrapnel was launched my way. Fortunately I have cat like reflexes and I matrixed that shit.

Yeah.. not digging the life-span of the old Vic Firth sticks. And just keeping you on your toes. Maybe you should wear safety glasses man.. Or start shopping for cool eye patches.

hrrrm???

[AxAxSxS]

Snake Plissken aint got shit on me. now that Pirate dude, I'm not fucking with him.

[fallen]

I just always went for the longest sticks I could find and just bought them by the box. Not super thick just long for leverage and a nice flex when you dig into the snare where you are getting the rimshot plus 4" of stick laying into the head. I tried aluminum and plastic sticks to try to solve breakage but they just suck to play with if they are too stiff and sound like shit on cymbals. If someone ever invents sticks with a carbon fiber rod down the center like a pencil lead or something that solves the breaking sticks problem they will make a lot of money, for the first month and then no money after that if they never break.

On the subject of things moving around I used to use a rack. Those things will probably never come back into style but with a small rack, one bar joining the rack to the hihat stand and one tom bar joining the rack to the bass drum mount nothing ever moved and the setup at gigs was always fast and perfect. Another method I would be tempted to try would be counter sunk hole in the hat and bass pedals heel plates, big wood screws, cordless drill.

[ShaolinLambKiller]

there are some carbon fiber sticks. just solid like that... I broke the pair I bought. I use a rack currently and plan to in the future. I have 3 toms and 6 cymbals on it.

I don't believe in that minimalistic kit. Just don't care, I can play them with no problem but if I can have more I utilize it more.

[conky]

I used to go through Vic Firth sticks like crazy so I switched to Promark. Takes a lot longer to go through them now. The Shirikashi Oak sticks last longer than the Hickory but I can't find a steady supply locally so I get them when I can but the hickory ones do well enough.

As far as making sure everything is in place, I make a mark on my rug where my pedals and bass drum will go. Everything else falls right into place. I have a minimalistic kit because I fucking hate lugging around a bunch of shit.

Speaking of need.... I need some parts for a Starcast tom mount. one of the screws got lost but I can get a replacement for it at the hardware store. I can't seem to find the rubber screw thingy though anywhere online. I also have an extra Iron Cobra double pedal that has a few missing parts and worn out springs. I can't find anything on them either. Much appreciated if anyone has a link to parts.

[Road Bull]

I used to go through Vic Firth sticks like crazy so I switched to Promark. Takes a lot longer to go through them now. The Shirikashi Oak sticks last longer than the Hickory but I can't find a steady supply locally so I get them when I can but the hickory ones do well enough.

As far as making sure everything is in place, I make a mark on my rug where my pedals and bass drum will go. Everything else falls right into place. I have a minimalistic kit because I fucking hate lugging around a bunch of shit.

Speaking of need.... I need some parts for a Starcast tom mount. one of the screws got lost but I can get a replacement for it at the hardware store. I can't seem to find the rubber screw thingy though anywhere online. I also have an extra Iron Cobra double pedal that has a few missing parts and worn out springs. I can't find anything on them either. Much appreciated if anyone has a link to parts.

I know Tama hardware can be a bit tricky as I have had to hunt down an item or two over the years. I went to their website and found a parts section. >> http://www.tamadrum.co.jp/world/parts/d ... dex_u.html

Hopefully you can identify the part needed. From there... a wonderful journey awaits. Good luck. The parts you describe should not be too hard. I was trying to replace a lug on a long-since discontinued snare. I found it years later.

Also, try the Tama forum. There are a lot of knowledgeable people on there that can help.

Good luck.

[Vuvuzela]

I'd just like to say, that sessioning for another band always sounds fun. then when you get into to the studio and realize that none of them can "relate to the drummer", everything just gets stupid. why can't other musicians learn to talk to drummers like we're not retarded or something?

[terminator]

i have some drums.
28 kick - 80s yamaha marching
18 floor - the dw in the pic is a studio drum. mine is a $10 percussion plus.
15 snare - 1920s ludwig & ludwig marching snare
28 zildjian ride - hack saw fix holding strong
15 zild hats
in between crashes atm. usually a 20. that theres a sweet ride in the pic, iirc.
2b sticks. 2x4 bolted to a rug. extra boards are for double 28 kick action.

kit electrical.JPG (127.22 KiB) Viewed 4555 times

kit side electrical.JPG (160.59 KiB) Viewed 4555 times

[AxAxSxS]

[Road Bull]

@ Vuvuzela, I have had those moments. It suddenly feels as though either I am on acid, or THEY are, but we are not making sense any longer. The guys that I played with before I hooked up with John and Tony in Infinite Flux sounded OK when I played with them one on one. But man... when they got together, shit got stupid quickly. This was partly to do with the bassist's vision of making stuff SO complex, that it BLOWS people's MINDS! Oh it blew alright. They wanted to start off as a new band writing very complex time signature stuff. I was like, we can get there, but we need to get to know one another first and feel things out. Anyway..

I can't imagine trying to walk into a studio and make that happen when you are not feeling it.

i have some drums.
28 kick - 80s yamaha marching
18 floor - the dw in the pic is a studio drum. mine is a $10 percussion plus.
15 snare - 1920s ludwig & ludwig marching snare
28 zildjian ride - hack saw fix holding strong
15 zild hats
in between crashes atm. usually a 20. that theres a sweet ride in the pic, iirc.
2b sticks. 2x4 bolted to a rug. extra boards are for double 28 kick action.

kit electrical.JPG

kit side electrical.JPG

Them some big drums man! And that's coming from a guy with big drums and cymbals. Looks cool. Got anything to listen to with that kit on it?

[Muff_Diver]

Awesome kit...even more awesome you got to record at EA.
I've been considering doing a 28" marching band bass conversion but the size scares me a little bit. Care to share any words of encouragement?

[terminator]

I have some noise jams from my other band I'll look for. This session was for bludded head. I only played on this one tour/recording. The tracks should be available soon. It's mostly doom.
As for the big bass drum, I love it. With the board bolted to the drum rug, you don't need spurs. So, no real conversion necessary. You'll need an extra long beater and a heavy foot.
I've only been able to get a good sound using temp power stroke 3 batter and a single ply resonant head. I'd love to try more types of heads, but at this size, they's expensive.
Recording a 28 is it's own hassle. Definitely needs a batter side mic as well. Not easy to get just a regular kick sound. Because you don't get a huge drum just to muffle the shit out of it.