Choosing a Drumstick

By definition, drumstick is a stick for beating drum. A drumstick has some part in its body, the tip, the soulder, the body, the balance point, the model and size, the butt.

Part of a drumstick (click to enlarge)

There are many kind of drumstick. Start from the brand (Vic Firth, Pro Mark, Vater, etc), the size (7A, 5A, 5B, 2B, 3S, etc), the kind of the tip (oval, accorn, teardrop, round/ball, barrel, nylon, etc), and the type of the wood (White Hickory, Red Hicckory, Maple, Oak, etc). In this post, I will discuss it one by one.
Basically, choosing a drumstick is up to the user of the drumstick. The point that should be noticed in choosing a drumstick is the size of the palm of your own hand. If you have a small palm, I recommend you to use a small-sized drumstick. If your palm is large enough, I recommend you to use large-sized drumstick. One more point that should be noticed in choosing a drumstick is the straightness. Don't ever choose a stick that is bent. To test it, try to roll it on a flat platform. When it rolled smoothly, so the stick is straight. However, if the stick roll unsmoothly, the stick is bent.
Now, we will discuss the size of the drumstick. Drumstick mostly have numbers and letters as size. Four which are the most widely used is 7A, 5A 5B/2B, and 3S. 7A is the small-sized drumstick, it usually used for music that is calm, and soft like jazz or pop, 7A size is also ideal for a new drummer who just learn to grip a drumstick and who has never held a big stick. 5A that the most widely used measure for rock music, but it also can be used in almost any genre of music. 5B/2B size is very large and heavy. Usually much stronger and more durable than that of small stick. 3S is the largest size of all drumstick. It produced heavier and thicker sound. There is also customizable drumstick sizes that vary greatly. This size can be adjusted according to your needs. The numbers that are used to label the size is showing the diameter of the stick. If the number is bigger, the smaller is the diameter. There are also 4 letters that are often used to label the size of a drumstick. The 4 letters are A, B, S, N.

A: Used for a smooth music (jazz usually) and band. The smallest size of all the letters above

B: A medium-sized stick. Usually used for band, symphony, and live concert.

S: Drumstick with a large diameter. Usually used for marching band.

N: Drumstick with a nylon tip.

The size of a drumstick (click to enlarge)

Next, we will discuss about the tip of the drumstick. In earlier times there was only Wood Tip sticks. The problem is the tip is too often broken and chipped. In early 1950 Joe Calato make a Nylon Tip sticks that now become one of the standard in a drum stick.

Nylon Tip is suitable for electric drum, it can protect our electric drum from scratches and debris.

Wood Tip is best for rock music. However, it can also be used for other types of music.

Drumstick's tips come in various shapes, so you need to experiment to see which one is best for you.

OVAL TIP: dark, warm tone suitable for all musical genres and it can make the drumhead more durable *a drumhead is a membrane stretched over one or both of the open ends of a drum

ACORN TIP: dark, ringing tone. Suitable for acoustic perform

TEARDROP TIP: full, rich tone. Suitable for the type of rock and full band play

BALL/ROUND TIP: bright, clear. Suitable for a beat that much wear cymbal bell

BARREL TIP: Width / broad, solid tone, ideal for live performance.

Type of drumstick tips

The last part is choosing the type of the wood. There are three main wood, Hickory (White and Red), Maple, and Oak. These are a brief description off each wood:

White Hickory: Wood which is most widely used, strong, responsive, withstand vibration, clear voice, can also absorb large amounts of vibration (shock resistant), and can reduce hand fatigue and wrist.

Red Hickory: Almost the same as White Hickory, but Red Hickory was founded closer to the center of the tree and slightly denser and heavier than the White Hickory. Approximately 85% of all wooden drumsticks made of Hickory (Red and White).

Maple: Not so heavy and flexible, suitable for a big stick without the weight. Maple widely used for rapid play with small volume. 14% of all drumsticks are made of maple.

Oak: The wood is hard, solid and heavy, very durable and usually last longer than other types of wood.

And that is the guide to choose a drumsticks. Hopefully this can help you to make a better decision in selecting a drumstick. :)