Carbon Fiber Drumsticks; Crap?

[Apendecto]

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/sid=040614210738204039226096035570/g=home/search/detail/base_pid/449608/

 

I saw an ad for "3-8 times stronger" drum sticks in musicians friend.

 

I'm a pretty heavy hitter and I destroy sticks all the time. I would buy these sticks if they were any good, but I can buy 3-8 pairs of sticks for the cost of one of these.

 

Anyone tried these carbon fiber sticks?

 

Are they crap?

 

Check out the link for more info.

Thanks!

[technik]

I would still prefer the wood "normal Sticks", U cant play rimshot for the carbon, thats what I heard. Bu it does last longer..

[SweetCpike]

I'll keep my woody sticks I think.

[Old Steve]

I figure that the weakest link in the chain will be the first to break. For me, that's sticks....they're expendible and only cost a few bucks. If you get tougher sticks, I've always thought that it would equate to giving your cymbals and heads a harsher beating...and cymbals and heads cost more to replace.

 

As for carbon fiber sticks, I suppose they're ok. Golf club shafts, fishing poles, and all kinds of other stuff is made out of the same stuff, so it's not suprising that drumsticks would appear. I imagine (again, I haven't tried them) that the could control the weight distribution pretty well in the manufacturing process, and as a result, they'd be really consistent. When they did begin to wear, the 'basketweave' nature of the carbon fiber would probably first show up as 'shaggy' fibers jutting out, and the thing would lose it's structural integrity long before it would actually crack in half.

 

Anyway, that's just theory.

[Apendecto]

So far, it sounds like they are crap.

 

Anyone use them?

 

Thanks.

[chorter]

I've tried everything, and I still use wood. Maybe some other material is stronger, but I've never used them long enough to find out because to me they all felt like crap and sounded like crap on the ride. I buy all my sticks from www.customdrumsticks.com Quality is as good as any wood stick out there, and they will even put your name on them for about 1/2 or even less than name brand sticks. You can even order customized sizes and different tips. I like 5A's but I don't like acorn tips. No problem. I have 5A's now with beaded tips.

[Xplora]

 

Originally posted by Apendecto So far, it sounds like they are crap. Anyone use them?

So without actually LISTENING to them, you've decided they are crap.

 

Just buy the damn stick, try it out, and go back to wood if you aren't happy. Simple.

 

If you are going through THAT MANY STICKS, well, it shouldn't make a difference to you? Report back with your findings.

 

The wise man asks for advice and adds it to his own knowledge. The fool blindly accepts anything given to him.

[Old Steve]

 

Originally posted by Xplora Just buy the damn stick, try it out, and go back to wood if you aren't happy. Simple.

 

 

Good point. To me, it looked like everybody kind of leans toward good old wood sticks, but nobody who posted (myself included) actually had any first hand information to share about the specific sticks you're talking about.

 

Who knows, they may be great and you may really like them. It's a relatively low-risk option to buy a pair and check them out. If you do, please report back on what you thought about them.

 

I'm sure that Carbon sticks have SOME advantages over wood (probably don't warp, probably more consistent due to the manufacturing process and not using inherently inconsistent natural wood), so just assuming that they're crap is kind of a stretch. It's more a matter of whether the advantages that Carbon fiber provides outweigh whatever disadvantages they may possess (higher price, possible different sound/feel). One thing's for sure, wood is far from a 'perfect' material. With that in perspective, I'd certainly look at any alternatives with an open mind.

[Sanchez_24]

I honestly feel that they are good. The sound a grate and they save me a lot of money. I don't need to buy new stick every time