Break'n sticks

My drum teacher says he doesn't remember the last time he broke a pair of sticks, and hes not a soft drummer or anything, he actually was in a punk band for 5 years, and still plays punk. But iv had a drum set for 6 months and iv broke 3 pairs of sticks already. He said its my style and the way my drum set is set up that is causing my sticks to break. so i was wondering if my style will just develop good over time, or if i need to change something now. Also what part of my drum set could possible be hitting my sticks the wrong way:confused: thanks.

That question would be alot easier if we had a visual of how your set was put together. I learned the hard way as well. Make sure your snare is right inbetween your legs so that you don't hit the rim too much. I set up my toms so that none were facing slight direction change or height difference. Do a 90 degree test, or however large your set is, to make sure that you can rotate on the spot without contorting your body too much to strike a drum, that should help you find what changes need to be made.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lafirin

...what part of my drum set could possible be hitting my sticks the wrong way:confused: thanks.

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:confused: Hey, Lafirin, I've never heard it put that way before! :icon_lol:

Seriously, dude, if you're hitt'n the drums so hard you're break'n sticks, you might check the angles of your toms...if you're hitt'n the rims, you might be hitting at just the right angle to cause the stick to break. If the top of your rim looks like this ------ (that is, flat like a tabletop), a hard rim shot could do it.

Most drummers tip their toms away from them (sorta like this \, with the backslash bein' the drumhead) so the lower edge of the rim doesn't take the full brunt of the stick. Sounds to me like you're a hard-hitt'n drummer...try back'n off a couple of notches. It's always easier to start at a lower level and crank it up when you need it than to play at 11 all the time. Easier on the sticks, too...

My drum teacher (who's been teaching for at least 40 years), still has a pair of sticks that are close to 50 years old...and he started tak'n lessons as a young dude. They're a little thin, but they're still goin'!

Good luck, man...

well I took a picture of my drum set up, so heres the link
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/inde...mageID=3911238

A couple suggestions:

-Lower the floor tom, maybe angle it toward you
-Angle the toms more. With my kit, there is no height difference between the lowest edge of the small rack tom and the upper edge of the snare. If you looked at the side it would be like this: [tom]\ ___ with a bit less angle, about 45 degrees.

well my sticks never hit any of the rims of the toms, so i don't see why it would make a difference really :S

Where do you notice you're breaking sticks? After you hit a cymbal? While hitting the hi-hat? You're noticing that you're not hitting rims is there anything you're noticing about hitting cymbals? Have you tried thicker sticks?

well i don't notice right away, thats the problem, i haven't tried using thicker sticks.

AHEAD sticks

theres the answer

AHEAD

is there anything they cannot do?

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Originally Posted by amputechture

AHEAD sticks
is there anything they cannot do?

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Yea, they can't feel like normal drumsticks. I hate the damn things.


:icon_mrgreen:

LOL

ya I've never even tried them haha.

LOL I just heard they were great.

They are great Amp. A lot of heavier hitters like them because they last longer. They're just not for me.

I used them, but I switched back to wood. They just don't give me the feel I want, and the rim-shots sound like crap.

HB58

Ya well, you get the fact that they last long, but with that you must give something right?

I guess that's it

Nothings perfect right

hmm...unless.....Christ Stix

I'd buy those:icon_mrgreen:

Ya...I also think it is a combination of how you play as well as how your set is arranged.
I 've been playing for two and a half years and I have only broken like...5 or six pairs of sticks (but of course I play like every day like band was there)
I have been playing with a pair of like 2As for a few months now.
I always notice when my sticks are going to break becuase the start to split, and play different, then they fully snap after the last chord of "Hanger 18"!!!! YEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

Sry i'm getting excited...

Even something like hi-hat height or cymbal angles could shorten the life of a drum stick. Hate to say it but I haven't broken a stick in years, but then again I'm not getting to hit as hard as I used to.

well i recently read about the sweeping motion on the symbol because i think i have been pushing my stick in the rime of the symbol. but here are some pictures of my hitting my high hat and cymbal, and maybe someone can give me some pointers on what i need to change.

well i recently read about the sweeping motion on the symbol because i think i have been pushing my stick in the rime of the symbol. but here are some pictures of my hitting my high hat and cymbal, and maybe someone can give me some pointers on what i need to change.
http://www.drumzzz.piczo.com/?cr=4&rfm=y