Carbosticks Classic Tip (5A and 7A)

[KeyserSoze]

They break way too fast.

Otherwise, they are nice but they do NOT last 3-8 times longer than wood sticks. More like 3-8 times LESS. They always break right behind the tip for me. I'm going to try one more time and get the large tip (which hopefully has a large shoulder too) and if that version still breaks, I've wasted $45 on 3 pairs of sticks. Boo.

There's no extra shock but the premature breakage kills me. I'm guessing about 4-5 hours of playing per pair. Unacceptable. Even the Innovative ES-2's did better than this.

ETA: Just called the store I bought them from and he said that out of 100 customers per month, 2 PEOPLE have problems with the sticks. He went on to imply that I have bad technique and that he doubts that it's the stick's fault. So back to wood sticks I go.

It's odd that any wood stick lasts longer for me than these "technical marvels" and somehow it's my fault.... Oh well.

[SYMBOLIC]

Ahead sticks said they were "unbreakable" when they first came out. I had some friends that chewed right through them fairly quickly, and then after a while the said that they lasted longer. I personally hate thier feel. If I wanted metal tools in my hand I'd build a house or play softball. Think of it this way, everything breaks eventually with use. Just get some regular wood sticks and call it a day. If stick breaking is a big problem for you, cut down on rim shots, or you could buy the bulk "budget" sticks. Just a thought.


James

[KeyserSoze]

I break sticks from rimshots.... after a month or more of playing, not two days.

I'm now back to my ol 727's that have months and months of playing on them. I might try to get Carbosticks # but they are in Germany and seem pretty hard to get a hold of.

[Enomai]

The bad technique comment was obviously made by someone who isn't truly a student of the instrument. Sticks break because of wear and weak points (knotted section of wood, younger harvested trees, etc). Cymbals break because of bad technique, the occasional head will as well. Pedals and sticks don't have enough ranged variables to suffer from technique issues. And if the sticks can't handle a rimshot or a whip stroke, then they completely miss the "hard hitters" demographic that they probably tried to design the stick for. How utterly lame.

[KeyserSoze]

Word! I tried to give you rep but I can't in reviews...

[BALLISTIC DRUMS]

Hey KeyserSoze thanks for letting us know about your problems with the sticks. I still want to give them a try for myself. I don't know why you couldn't leave rep for Enomai. But I went ahead and left good rep for the two of you.

[KeyserSoze]

Thanks Ballistic. Let us know how they work out for you. The guy at "the instrument store" (the only place I could find them was from your link from ebay) is the one that implied my technique was bad. Try to buy them somewhere else if possible. Now, he did offer to "replace" them but I don't think he meant for free. I told him "don't bother."

Everything is disabled in "reviews". Smilies, rep, html, everything. It's dumb IMO.

[BALLISTIC DRUMS]

Originally Posted by KeyserSoze

Everything is disabled in "reviews". Smilies, rep, html, everything. It's dumb IMO.

Ok I reset everything now. Go ahead and try it out now.

[KeyserSoze]

It's AOK now. Thanks.

[Enomai]

Thanks for the rep dudes. And try as I have, I have never found a stick that can take the beating and abuse that this bad boy can:



Just a well balanced if gigantic piece of wood.

[KeyserSoze]

^^^ what is it?

[Enomai]

Whoops sorry that is the Vic Firth Danny Carey Signature Wood tip model SDC. It looks big but due to the shaved fulcrum it feels like a 5b in your hand but is slightly larger than a 2b.

[KeyserSoze]

Those feel all wrong to me. I like a heavy tip, not a heavy butt. Plus, I like smaller diameter sticks. That's why I liked the Carbosticks at first. They are denser than wood. A 7A carbo is as heavy as a 5b hickory.

[samuraifez]

Have you guys used Regal Tip 5As? I think those are just about perfect.

[Enomai]

They're too light for me personally. I like a heavier stick to open up the drums more.

[BALLISTIC DRUMS]

Hey KeyserSoze. Do you remember Mainline drum sticks? They don't make them anymore and are quite scarce. Here are some new old stock I found on ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Synthetic-Drum-s...QQcmdZViewItem

I myself ordered two different sets from him last week. I ordered a set of 2 pair of the 620p and I ordered a set of two pair of 7a's. So I got a total of 4 pair's of sticks.
So you might want to check these out. I will post a review on them after I play around with them. I should get them in the mail soon.

[BALLISTIC DRUMS]

You might even want to check these sticks out. They are made by Aquarian.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Graphite-Aquaria...QQcmdZViewItem


Here is the writeup for them from the Aquarian website.

http://www.aquariandrumheads.com/pro...play.asp?id=26

[djibril]

sticks is not an arthur sword...break it...feel it...!!
_______________
http://www.drumsetsworld.co.cc

[KeyserSoze]

[drummingbulldog]

I don't know about you guys but a quality wood stick wins hands down. I have tried synthetic sticks and everything else like the easton/ahead. They don't bounce the same. I tend to think that the Vic Firths are good/consistent but who's to say. I lately use Vic Firth and Vater. I used to like Pro Mark oak sticks. I play a Vater 5a Los Angeles or or VF 55a both in wood tips. My favorite Pro Mark stick is the oak 808 which used to be the Billy Cobham stick. The Steve Gadd Sig stick is nice for jazz and studio tracking and so is the Zildjian Dennis Chambers Sig stick. I also like the way the Vater Power Fusion stick feels. The Vater Studio model and the Recording model are excellent balanced sticks too. In the studio and live the cross-stick rimshot sound is important to me and my playing so I like a stick to be able to do that as well for when playing a breakdown, a country song, or playing any kind of ballad or folk song. The Gadd stick gets the best cymbal sound imo.

I have yet to play a synthetic that feels right. They always feel like my sticks feel when they break. I break mine from the inside out due to playing rim-shots on the snare. Once the inner stick fractures it feels like a broken pool cue. That is the way all the metal or synthetic sticks play to me. They may in fact be better now as I have not tried them in years but I love wood sticks.

I am looking for a replacement for the Vater 5a Los Angeles stick. I really like everything about that stick except that for whatever reason I get a lot of bad ones. I think that is one of their mass produced sticks and they use cheap hickory or something. I get them in the 4 pack bundles and cannot try them out beforehand. I have been very disappointed as of late. I love the overall dimensions of the Los Angeles model stick. It's a beefy 5a. A traditional 5a for me is too wimpy and a 5b is too much stick. Anyone got any suggestions about a happy replacement? I have tried other extreme 5a's and again, not good. Too long or too heavy. I am very hard to please and this is coming from a guy who used to be a metal drummer playing 2b sticks in the 80's.