Ahead drumsticks, your thoughts please

R

rockironwebb

senior newbie caveman
I play pretty hard and am quite the wood butcher when it comes to sticks. lots of rim-shots destroy sticks even quicker. I am typically using Pro-Mark Japanese Shira Kashi White Oak, which are pretty tough. They last longer than other sticks i've used, but at $10 bucks a pair, it's starting to add up. Has anyone used the Ahead metal sticks? I've always been reluctant because of an article I read several years back that said they were cymbal crackers. Please let me know your opinions of them.
THANX
 
I used to use them. The problem is that when the sheath is damaged, cymbals/sticks are at risk of metal to metal contact. I eventually found them not to be really worth it in the long run. If you are just looking to not break a stick at a gig's, then just use them or the expensive wood sticks for gig's. By the way, the aluminum sticks break as well with heavy rim shots. Right in half. Popped me under the eye once involving quite a bit of blood. Great for the show, not so good for my pretty face. lol.

I myself use the cheapest crap sticks I can find for rehearsal and have a stick holder mounted to my HH. I just use the good wood sticks for recording and gig's.
 
I use Pro marks, Japanese oaks like the one you mentioned, and their hickory line. The Japanese oak is great, but it breaks suddenly, as opposed to developing cracks like a hickory stick. In other words you can tell when your hickory stick is worn out and about to break, not so much with the Japanese oak. Anyway, maybe you should try a larger size, Like Zildjian Rock sticks.
 
I used them for years. I had several sets. Then the warranties ran out and they started breaking. And they'd break doing stupid shit like playing the bell of the ride cymbal. I hit hard, but I'm not wild. I don't hit rims and shit. The marks on my drum heads are all near the center. I always kept good sleeves and tips on the sticks. The cores never had dings on them. They still broke pretty much all in the same place - right where the taper starts. If you hammer a lot of hard rimshots, you might break some. Your technique has to be really good. Too much rim and not enough head might break one. I bought three sets all around the same time, and they all started breaking around the same time 3 years later. So....fuck AHeads. Gimmicky junk. I switched back to wood, and sawdust aside, I'm happier with them. I've never broken a cymbal with the AHeads though. Breaking cymbals is usually from poor technique and/or improper set up. You can break cymbals with wood sticks if you hit them like a retard.

One thing I will say though about using AHeads all that time is that swinging those heavy fuckers around for all those years has made me way faster and tighter with wood sticks.
 
I had a couple pairs. They do break and you do have to keep replacing the sheaths and the tips. The main problem when the break is the fact that they have some weight to them and a razor sharp jagged end that will fly very far and is really pretty dangerous. Broken sticks just kind of fall to the ground instead of sail 10 feet into someone's eye.

I go through sticks pretty fast too. What I started to do is just get cheap sticks and count on them breaking. I'll buy the good sticks for studio work, just to save time of takes ruined by a stick breaking.

I also agree with a previous post that you might want to go with a hickory stick that's a little softer. Those sticks tend to absorb the shock and chip away instead of suddenly break. They tend to be cheaper as well.

Also look on ebay and other places to find factory 2nds. I get vic firth and vater sticks for $25/brick (12 pair) sometimes.
 
Farview said:
I go through sticks pretty fast too. What I started to do is just get cheap sticks and count on them breaking. I'll buy the good sticks for studio work, just to save time of takes ruined by a stick breaking.
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I do this as well. Cheap sticks for practice, band rehearsals and goofing around, good sticks for gigs and recording.
 
The factory 2nds are actually good sticks, most of them just have a dark spot or they aren't perfectly straight. None of this really effects how long they last. Some 'good' sticks last longer than others anyway.
 
Get a stick endorsement deal :)

I've never really settled on a drumstick, always trying new models. Recently tried the Danny Carey signature Vic Firths and they are great. Hefty sticks that really take a beating. I've always favored pretty heavy sticks though. Chad Smith's Vater Funk Blasters were another model that had a place in my stick bag for quite some time.

Not really answering the question at hand...but I wanted to talk drumsticks :)
 
I had them for a while and liked them but they were stolen and I never bothered to buy another pair. I prefer wood sticks.
 
I know a guy who uses them in my band class, rim shots make it look like CRAP, but he's had them for a few months now and they're good as new (quality-speaking, again they look like crap now).:)
 
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