In the Stayfree Spares Shop we sell Chord Maple 2B 5A 5B and 7A. So what does it all mean and which one is best for your drumming style?
There are plenty of other sizes but we sell the most popular. The number of the stick indicated the thickness of the stick, the lower the number the thicker the stick. That being said 5 is the medium option.
The letters stands for:
A – ‘Orchestral’
B – ‘Band’
The most popular stick will sell is 5A – which makes total sense as this is considered a well-rounded stick, good for most genres and ideal for beginners.
The heaver 5B is a heavier weight version, for heard rock and metal bands the 2A is thickest we sell. For lighter genres we sell the 7A, the thinnest stick. So the general rule is the thinner sticks allow for better balance and speed whereas the heavier sticks allow for a larger, louder sound. They also don’t break as easy! Some drummers will rehearse with a 2B to build up muscle and then play live with a lighter stick, this is entirely a personal preference though.
All of our drumsticks are wooden tips as from personal experience, on cheaper drumsticks the nylon tips fall off pretty quickly. Wood tips offer a deeper natural tone whereas the nylon tips are brighter with more of a cutting sound.
We sell Maple sticks, which is a flexible, lighter wood than something like the popular Hickory that is denser and absorbs shock well. Other wood used are Birch and Oak, which is densest and great for hard rock metal bands.
So what stick is best for you? Well drummers go through a lot of trial and error to find their perfect sticks. In fact great brands like Vic Firth work with very famous drummers to produce bespoke sticks to their liking. These are known as signature series, so if you love how your favourite drummer sounds, why not try out their sticks?
The sticks we sell are low budget at £4 a pair, they are great for rehearsal and spares, and whilst writing this I just sold 5 pairs of 5Bs because the customer liked them so much. And hey, where else are you going to buy sticks at 8pm on a Sunday?