Breaking sticks. Need advice

[lalapancakes]

Okay so I've been breaking my sticks recently and it's starting to get expensive and annoying. It's odd though because I told my teacher this and he says my technique is totally fine. He says I have a great technique and I let the stick bounce and come up immediately. But for some reason I still break my sticks really often. I break only the tips to. The tips of the stick just break eventually.

 

Here's the sticks I use I love them

http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/product/Vic-Firth-Peter-Erskine-Signature-Ride-Drumsticks?sku=447094

 

They're great for jazz and I like play to Rush with them to because their very bouncing and slim so I can play Tom Sawyer and other crazy things Neil does without much effort.

 

Whenever I play jazz I never break my sticks because well jazz is about control so I play softely and control myself, but whenever I play Rush that's when my sticks break. But honestly I'd be surprized if I was hitting too hard and making the sticks break because A. I'm not a big guy B. I don't bash the crap outta my drums like metal and punk drummers do and C. Really if I am hitting too hard that's really dissapointing because that means these sticks can't take that much force.

 

So I'm asking am I hitting too hard or should I find new less expensive sticks or should I buy more durable sticks?

 

The problem is I love these sticks. But I am curious if I could find a stick that is way cheaper and basically the same thing, but it doesn't have Peter Erskine's signature on it (because I think that plays into it's price). Also I have seen metal drum sticks before. Are metal drum sticks legit or no? I'd be kind of worried that metal would crack my cymbals or something. Any advice really weither it's technique or a certain drum stick will be appreciated.

 

EDIT: Also if I make grammar errors, ignore them. I'm terrible at grammar on the computer

[manoeuver]

don't buy metal sticks.

 

those sticks are perhaps too flimsy for rock playing.

 

you shouldn't be playing rush anyway. Wait, is it 1983?

[lalapancakes]

 

don't buy metal sticks. those sticks are perhaps too flimsy for rock playing. you shouldn't be playing rush anyway. Wait, is it 1983?

 

 

Rush>everything

[manoeuver]

definy 1983.

[the DW]

I'd say you need to use a heavier stick when you want to play Rush. Those Peter Erskine sticks are probably too light to be used for Neil Peart kind of stuff, know what I mean?

 

It's perfectly legal to have a number of different sticks in your bag to suit different styles of music that you play. On certain gigs, I'll even change stick sizes from song to song.

 

Something to think about.

[Eyehearya]

Sounds like you might be chopping away the stick a bit on the HH and not using enough tip and then perhaps using the section of the stick just below the tip on the bell of your ride too much....that,....or you're just a FRICKIN CRUSHER!

 

Almost everything in drumming is perishable. It sucks but it is what it is.

[Buckin Fastard]

 

Rush>everything

 

 

Except Mahavishnu Orchestra...believe dat!

 

Like the others say try switching out to a stick designed for rock drumming. Got bunches of different types in my bag for different styles of music. If anything, using different sticks will only increase your rhythmic flexibilty.

[Longshanks]

i'd suggest trying out some of pro marks oak sticks.

actually come to think of it you could use pearts signature sticks, i'm pretty they're oak.

[cearleywine]

The erskine ride stick is by far my favorite stick. But their tips are some of thinnest out there so they definitely wear faster than most. For heavier stuff I prefer a thicker stick made from maple so it's not too heavy. My favs are sd2 boleros and sd10 swingers.

[boxofrocks]

Hows the kit set up, angles and stuff.. Got pics of that?

[1001gear]

Herein lies another folly with traditional bouncy chops. Obviously if bouncing was the solution, noe dingzees, no breakies. What's going on is you effectively load up the front end of the stick. (Place duh ha experience here) Solutions include deliberately lifting every stroke, using more arm, and the easiest adjustment, more stick. By holding the sticks longer, you get better leverage (tip speed etc...) AND the impact shock gets distributed along the length of the stick greatly relieving the tip shoulder weak spot. An added plus at work is, because your hands have less leverage forcing the stick, they will come off the heads less stresfull, AND, the biggest plus, more tonefully than the comparatively straining bouncy stroke.

 

There are many other factors; notably tuning for maximum resonance and simply not over hitting but others can pick that up,

[the DW]

Herein lies another folly with traditional bouncy chops. Obviously if bouncing was the solution, noe dingzees, no breakies. What's going on is you effectively load up the front end of the stick. (Place duh ha experience here) Solutions include deliberately lifting every stroke, using more arm, and the easiest adjustment, more stick. By holding the sticks longer, you get better leverage (tip speed etc...) AND the impact shock gets distributed along the length of the stick greatly relieving the tip shoulder weak spot. An added plus at work is, because your hands have less leverage forcing the stick, they will come off the heads less stresfull, AND, the biggest plus, more tonefully than the comparatively straining bouncy stroke. There are many other factors; notably tuning for maximum resonance and simply not over hitting but others can pick that up,

 

Damn showoff.

 

 

 

 

[1001gear]

Been rehearsing that post for months.

[danrothmusic]

You just need a beefier stick when you play Rush--keep the Erskine for your jazz playing, but try something like a 2A, or rock size for Rush. Go to a music store and play with different sizes, see what still feels good in your hands (actually play for a little bit with each one because it will feel different, but you can get used to it) and see which one you like best

[cdawg]

i dunno. i play some aggressive stuff. i use 7a's. maples. go figure that one. when i first got them, i was snapping them like crazy. i was also having wrist pain and numbness. i adjusted my grip, held more relaxed. i haven't broken a stick ever since. i've been playing the same pair for three weeks now. they're splintering, but not breaking.

[melvinspeed]

 

i dunno. i play some aggressive stuff. i use 7a's. maples. go figure that one. when i first got them, i was snapping them like crazy. i was also having wrist pain and numbness. i adjusted my grip, held more relaxed. i haven't broken a stick ever since. i've been playing the same pair for three weeks now. they're splintering, but not breaking.

 

 

You do have nice technique with your grip. A firm but not too tight grip that really appears to lessen the trauma to your hands and wrists.

 

 

 

But I attributed that to your hours of private lessons with Marko. :poke:

[cdawg]

(speaking w/lisp,) it'sss all in the grip, hunny.

[melvinspeed]

:lol:

[twosticks]

with the others, may need to get beefier sticks even if it's just 5A's. Also learn to play more ON TOP of your hats and cymbals and less on the edge. I chewed up plenty of sticks from having my hats and cymbals too high and playing them on the edge too much. I loved 7A's for the same reason at first but learned that they were just too narrow in the shoulder and when playing harder rock like Rush you tend to lay into it more often.

 

Also watch your rim shots and such, hope this helps.