Wood or Nylon Tips?

[theletterq]

Just curious as to who uses wood or nylon tipped sticks out there...I shyed away from nylon for years but broke them out in the studio the other day and was amazed by my "new" cymbal sound. I'll continue to use both, depending on the situation. Anyone else?

 

[pratt]

I never like nylon tips 'cause it seemed that the tip was always coming off - but that was back in the days when I thought playing hard and loud was the way to go - I've since changed my style a bit and have just recently converted back to nylon tips - ProMark 7As

I love 'em - they give such good articulation on your cymbals - and now that I'm no longer a basher (a basher could absolutely not play with 7As without spending a fortune on sticks!!) I don't need to worry about the tips coming off

 

[mikeh]

I've used nylon tips for 25-30 years. I prefer the articulation on the cymbals - and I really don't like having the wood tip wear away. The only time I ever had problems with tips coming off was in the early 80's with some ProMark sticks (not bashing ProMark - just my experiance at that time). I changed to Regal Tip and played those for a few years. Been playing Vic Firth since maybe the late 80's - never had a tip come off with the Regal's or with the Firth's.

Although I have liked the sound of wood tips in various recording situations - seems to add "warmth" to the drum sound. I normally use 5A's, or 5B's (depending on musical styles etc.) On certain jazz applications I use 7A's - and briefly in my Rock & Roll days I on rare occasion picked up 2B's.

Speaking of sticks - does anybody else think there are WAY too many styles of sticks? Let's face it, it's all a variation on 7A, 5A, 5B and 2B (plus or minus a gram or a centimeter). How many Artist Signature series do we need? At least the Johhny Rabb sticks have innovative ideas. Don't even get me started on the synthetic (or worse yet metal sticks)! If you break so many sticks that you need metal sticks, you really, really need to work on technique. I always have to bite my lip when I hear a drummer "brag" about how many sticks he/she breaks.

 

[theletterq]

I also believe there are waaaay too many "signature series sticks, heads, cymbals, bass drum mufflers, you name it". But, I guess if you've got the clout....I just feel strange (for some reason) using something with someone's name on it. I've been using VicFirth for quite a few years now. I use the maple series...I like having a big stick without alot of weight, plus the balance on them is incredible. I've been using SD1 Generals and the SD8's (for nylon tips). I rarely break sticks, only usually if I've been using the same pair for quite awhile and they're just worn out.

 

[Gear_Junky]

re: signature stuff

- These are Ralph Lauren's!
- Why would he use other people's underwear?

(from "Blast from the Past" movie, good movie, too!)

 

[Tekker]

For me, I think it depends on what set I'm playing…on my set I use wood tips because my cymbals are terrible for the most part and I want to try to keep the cymbal articulation down (I take that back…I have ONE good sounding cymbal) But on the set at my church "nylon, nylon, nylon" it has great sounding cymbals and wood tips just don't do it justice at all.

Also when I play at home I usually play pretty hard and have had a problem with the nylon tips falling off, but for church it's more mellowed out and I don't think I've ever had a problem with them (so it's not that I can't control it, I just usually choose not to )