Sticks-do you break them?

[drummingbulldog]

I started playing in 1982. For the first ten years in broke a fair amount of sticks. Usually at the tip/shank area. Once in a while I would break in the middle or by the grip but usually that was due to defective grain. Most of all when my sticks break now it is from internal fracture like a pool cue. I never break them the normal way anymore. Have you seen anything similar in your time playing drums. I can definitely seen a dropoff with refinement in my technique over the years. I also use much lighter sticks than I did 30 years ago. Nowadays, a 5a is probably the heaviest I use.

 

[multijd]

I cant remember the last time I broke a stick. I usually retire them when they start to splinter because Ive had too many nasty slivers in my fingers.

 

[Rotarded]

I play 7ANs and Funk/Rock. My sticks last me 3-4 gigs. Usually a tip failure, or an occasional shoulder crack.

 

[cochlea]

I rarely break sticks like I did when I was in my teens. Today, if anything, it's the tip that breaks. However, today I'm more apt to get rid of beat-up sticks sooner than I did when I was young and had very little money available to purchase new ones.

 

[blikum]

Can't remember the last time I broke a stick. Once the tip gets worn, i retire them.

 

[Doof]

Occasionally, but I’ve been playing maple sticks over the last couple years.
When it happens they usually split along the grain, and often quite a long split.

 

[thejohnlec]

Until covid, I've been doing 70-85 gigs a year. I use Vater 5B wood tips for 95% of those gigs, and one pair will last for months. They'll fray, but they never break. Best sticks ever.

 

[Nacci]

I used to but don’t anymore so something happened there. I go six or eight months on the same pair then end up retiring them because noticeable weight difference.

 

[unregisteredalien]

Like you, I used to break quite a few but now not so much. I went through a phase where I broke a 5A every few songs. Now I use bigger sticks (Vater 2B and the sadly discontinued Tama 216P) and only break a few a year. I mostly retire them when chunks have broken off the tips or they've shed too much sawdust off the shoulders.

 

[Houndog]

I rarely break or drop a stick .

 

[trommel]

Haven't broken a stick since the late '70s. I use nylon tips, round ball type, an mine just wear out, sawdust all over the place. I use Vater nylon tipped 3A Fatback, and/or Promark hickory or oak(ouch!) 707/747 nylon ball tip.

 

[hsosdrum]

Break sticks: None in the last 25 years. I think this is mostly because modern sticks are much better made than sticks used to be.

Wear-out sticks: Around one pair every two months — all the rimshots break down the wood fibers and they start to feel "mushy".

Drop sticks: Once every day or two. (Damn arthritis...)

 

[5 Style]

No... I don't really break sticks and mine seem to last forever. I used to just play jazz with those lighter sticks with the skinny tips but now I even play rock type music with those and I'm fine with using them until the tips are all but worn off. I have a maybe odd philosophy in that I feel that it's possible to play a really fat type sound at a lower volume. I feel that by playing lighter and with lighter sticks that I can relax more as I'm dealing with less fatigue and that means that my playing can sound more relaxed and ultimately more groovy. The folks in the band that I'm playing with don't have to turn up and fight to hear themselves so the mix is cleaner and everything is easier to hear... and all of this means that I go through sticks very slowly...

 

[drummerfriend]

I haven't broken a stick nor a head in at least 35 years.

When I was a kid and had zero clue what I was doing? About every 10 minutes...

 

[mpungercar]

Rarely, but I don't play with anywhere near the intensity I used to. If you hit hard you'll break sticks.

 

[mtarrani]

Never. A few years ago I switched from nylon tipped to wood tipped and have been lucky in that I am still using the original wood tipped ones. Most of my drums use stickchopper hoops too. Sticks last me years and years.

 

[SpinaDude]

Still break them frequently. I generally don't give up on them until they split.

 

[footbeat]

When I used to play gigs (in a previous life) I would make extensive use of the rim shot on the back beat. This would lead to breaking at least one, maybe more, sticks per gig. At one time, I bought a whole box of no-name 2B sticks. I broke every one of them. Now, I barely dent my sticks on the rim, let alone break them.

 

[JDA]

I've never run out of gas, had a flat tire, or needed a jump start.

kidding.
any one over the past 5 decades, says they haven't broken a stick, hasn't worked, has ever worked, or isn't working hard enough

 

[Rick]

Can't remember the last time I broke a stick. Once the tip gets worn, i retire them.

Ditto. I use Vic Firth X5A's. The first thing that wears out for me is the tip. It's nothing you can see, but I start to hear a little less articulation on the ride cymbal. It's like the tip has dead spots on it. That's when I replace them.