petereather
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Need some help choosing. Brushes and mallets ?
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Brushes'
- Thread starter petereather
- Start date
evolving_machine
Well-Known Member
I'm having a problem finding brushes that last. I spoke to a professional jazz drummer and asked which brand he used. He said the regal tip brushes. I played them for the first time today and the wires started falling out of them. Can anyone recommend a pair of brushes that have some quality to them? Something that even if it is made in a Chinese factory, they have some standards to check the product before they leave the factory floor.
evolving_machine
Well-Known Member
I just ordered a pair of wooden handled brushes and some epoxy. I'll add some epoxy at the neck where the wires come out. I can't have those little wires flying into my bass players eyes when I'm playing.
Were you trying the retractable MODELS?
Retractable brushes are the ones I've had the most trouble with as far as falling out. I've gone to fixed wire and keep them in the containers they come in and haven't had nearly as much trouble.
Retractable brushes are the ones I've had the most trouble with as far as falling out. I've gone to fixed wire and keep them in the containers they come in and haven't had nearly as much trouble.
The wires falling out? I've had my Regal Tip pair for over 25 years and never had that happen. Are they making them cheaper these days?
evolving_machine
Well-Known Member
Quality changes over time. The product that was made 25 years ago, is not the same as the product made today. That is why I am looking for some help finding these. The regal tip ones I just bought were retractable, so I decided just tonight to order a pair of wooden fixed ones and I will add some epoxy at the neck to keep them from falling out.
bpaluzzi
DFO Veteran
I have new Regal Tips that haven't done that either. You either got a defective pair or a counterfeit pair.
Actually, let me ask first: are you playing them like brushes, or like "low volume sticks"? If you're hitting backbeats with them consistently, then you might have problems with the wires falling out (especially if you're rimshotting to try to get more "oomph").
I've switched to using Innovative WBR-1 (which is their version of the retractable Regal Tips). Love them. Haven't had any issues with wires falling out, and I've been playing them for years now.
One defective pair of brushes does not mean that every pair will be defective. I remember a drummer friend of mine had one of a practically new pair of brushes lose all the wires during a gig. That was late 80's, early 90's? I thought it was really bizarre, then a few years later it happened to me. Hasn't happened to me since. From my perspective, it's great that the quality isn't what it was 25 years ago - it's better.
mtarrani
DFO Star
While I am a Regal Tip sort of guy I usually recommend Zildjian or Vic Firth (the purple ones) as good starter models. I am talking retractable, which is my personal preference. The reason why I recommend the ones that I do is they are fairly generic and get the job done. After a drummer gets the basics down then he or she can get a brand and model that supports their personal style. I use Regal Tip Ed Thigpen model, which suits the many brush only gigs that I've played over the past eight or so years. The wood butt end allows me to play Afro-Cuban and Brazilian grooves (left hand playing the butt and right playing the brush end) since I never bother to bring sticks to those gigs. But that is a pretty unique circumstance and for most folks the many retractable (or even fixed) models of wire brushes will work perfectly.
Matched Gripper
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I’ve been using the purple Vic Firth Heritage brushes for a while now. Great brushes! I also have a pair of the black Regal Tip brushes that are at least 40 years old. A lot of the wires are now mangled but none have fallen out.
pwc1141
DFO Veteran
I also have been using the purple Vic Firth brushes and they suit my style very well in terms of weight and flexibility. I also have some old Flix nylon brushes that I like. In my experience, wire brushes have no issues with losing bristles whereas Nylon brushes can have this problem.
evolving_machine
Well-Known Member
I used the Vic Firth ones and they did not have the problem of falling apart.
But the wires would eventually bend and not work well in the expansion and get stuck in the tube when the brushes are expanding. But that happened over the course of twelve years.
The brushes themselves are held in place when the inner sleeve is crimped around the brushes. The manufacturer would use a die that gets used over and over again that would be in the shape of a saddle. The concave shape in the saddle over time would enlarge. Once the shape enlarges to a certain point, the crimping would not be squeezing the sleeve as much as it did before. Therefore, less pressure, and a weaker joint.
To save money, a company would try to use the older tooling as long as possible. This is where quality control should step in and tell manufacturing to re-tool. But, unfortunately, this product probably comes from a country that utilizes a capital system under a communist political system, and I would venture to say that for the good of their own country, they will try to get away with producing an inferior product as long as they can.
But the wires would eventually bend and not work well in the expansion and get stuck in the tube when the brushes are expanding. But that happened over the course of twelve years.
The brushes themselves are held in place when the inner sleeve is crimped around the brushes. The manufacturer would use a die that gets used over and over again that would be in the shape of a saddle. The concave shape in the saddle over time would enlarge. Once the shape enlarges to a certain point, the crimping would not be squeezing the sleeve as much as it did before. Therefore, less pressure, and a weaker joint.
To save money, a company would try to use the older tooling as long as possible. This is where quality control should step in and tell manufacturing to re-tool. But, unfortunately, this product probably comes from a country that utilizes a capital system under a communist political system, and I would venture to say that for the good of their own country, they will try to get away with producing an inferior product as long as they can.
paul
DFO Master
I've been using a pair of RT Clayton Cameron models for more than a decade. When a wire starts to stick out I simply bend it back into place. To better preserve them I cut the tube they come in down to 6-8" long and put it in the pocket where I store them in the stick bag. Then insert the brushes wires first. It seems to help.
mtarrani
DFO Star
That has been my experience with my RT Ed Thigpen's too. I was playing 24 gigs a month for a few years and never lost a wire to having them fall out, but they would get bent and mangled. I was going through a pair of brushes every six months or so. Pretty sturdy, considering.
evolving_machine
Well-Known Member
I thought I had a little more time on those brushes where the wires started coming out. I brought it with me to practice tonight. I was using it on my left hand, doing a right to left motion in the middle of "So What" (Miles Davis) all of the wires exploded out of it. There was wires all over. I had to switch to the sticks. That was the last Regal Brushes I would ever buy.
Regal Tip Jeff Hamilton model
Ive only had them come apart after years of using them when the wires get bent I would pull those wires out with pliers. Eventually if you pull out too many the crimp cant hold whats left. It sounds to me like like you may be backbeating them. They're not made for that. Use blasticks or something of that nature. You wont find any “jazz” brushes as good as the Regal tips.
