I started out on Ludwig 3S (these are big marching/drum core style sticks) because my local drum hero used them... so, good enough for him, good enough for me!

Then I started taking lessons and got a lot of insight from my instructor and went down in size... a bit scared to at first... but warmed up to them really quickly and it helped with the techniques I was learning to have a more "suitable" stick size for my hand/fingers.

These were the Billy Cobham 808 [0.579-D/16"-L; tip=Wood, L-Round] by Pro Mark. Billy moved on and so did I, switching to the...

Ian Paice 808L [0.579-D/16-1/8"-L; tip=Wood, L-Round] by Pro Mark. I recently wanted to try something just a tad smaller so I went with...

Simon Phillips TX707W [0.551"-D/16-1/4"-L; tip=Wood, L-Round] by Pro Mark.

My brand preference is for Pro Mark, stick preference is definitely hickory, medium size diameter (that falls into the 14mm range for Pro Mark) and tips with "large" round beads, and typically shorter to medium tapers at the shoulder. I don't have much time in with the Simon Phillips TX707W, just a couple of hours on the pad but I do like the size and when I go through the remain Cobham and Paice models I'll probably stay with the Simon Phillips TX707W. If not, then I'll stay with the Paice 808L - since I've been playing that diameter stick for so long.

For pad work I also have a pair of Vic Firth Corpsmaster MS4 Magnum, and a pair of POWER Wrist Builders PWB6-170 (red aluminum) sticks. I use the PWB way more than the MS4's... this is to help with the grip technique I use (Spivak / Wilson method) and it lets you really feel the fulcrum so when you change back to the normal stick you have a better sense of how the stick should sit in the "cradle." Also I like the extra weight of the PWB to improve strength/speed/endurance/control.

I play almost nothing but jazz at weekly acoustic jazz jams and have tried several of Vic Firth's jazz stick models along with other company's jazz models. I have not tried the Buddy Rich model sticks. There is a lot of good choices in the market place right now so it is fun to try out sticks. I tend not to use nylon tip sticks at the jam because of the sounds they get on my ride cymbal but do have some for practicing. I can also recommend that you try maple and oak as well as hickory. After you have tried the various jazz sticks by Firth, Pro Mark, and Innovative Percussion you should check out the old school sticks available from a company called Bop Works. It seems to me that there are two or three basic categories of jazz sticks based on the tip shape. I have both round and acorn and also am checking out the barrel shapes. If you find a brand and model that you really like, then buy several pair and squirrel them away for future use. I loved the Zildjian big band sticks with a taper on the butt end and as soon as there were discontinued I stocked up when the price was discounted. Have fun and go ahead and buy a bigger stick bag, just wait until you go crazy buying brushes. By the way, I use cord covered vibraphone mallets instead of timpani mallets for drum set. Try some and see if you like the sound they produce on your cymbals and drums.

Thin, Oak, wood tip. It's what I like.

So you went from big to small while I'm going small to big.

These are big sticks, Dia.= 590", length = 16-5/16, but seem to play small if that makes sense. I'm an average guy, not big, but so was Buddy. So I'm guessing if he used them, so can I. But we'll see if this holds up for me, as I'm thinking of taking lessons, and the instructor might feel the same as yours did. In any case, I might still experiment, but I want to stick with Vic Firth for now. It's to confusing to start mixing brands right now.

I like those PWB sticks. I haven't heard of them before, but I might look into them. Thanks for the tip.

A lot of good info in that post, thank you!

I will look into Bop Works for sure. They have the name for what I am looking for! The tips on the BR sticks seem to be a cross between acorn and round, but they are big! They sound great on the toms and cymbals. As for brushes, I haven't done them yet, but it is in my near future. A stick bag is also in my near future as the sticks are beginning to add up!

That's what it's all about.

How did you come to like oak though? I could be wrong (likely), but it seems less popular than hickory or maple.

Oak handles the rim shots real good.

I went out collected many branches from around the woods. I had a friend dry and mill many wood types into sticks.

Apple.....no good

Birch,... no good.

Maple, ...no good.

Cherry,..no good

Pear, ...no good

Walnut, kinda good but snap easy

Soft Pine, Ok,

Hard pine Much better than soft and last a while.

Willow,..no good.

Oak,...Excellent.

Hickory,..Excellent, (from a broken Baseball bat)

Mahogany,..OK but snap. (furniture piece).

Wow! That's impressive.

Maybe you and your buddy should go into the stick business. It seems like you've done more research than Vic Firth!

The only surprise on your list was maple. I hear pretty good things about them, lightweight, but maybe not lasting as long as the others.

The shaft of Maple holds well to rim riffs, but most of the wood's have issues at the tips. The tip of Maple feathers apart easy. Most of them look really good, but if you have knots of any kind, Apple, Cherry, Willow,Walnut they snap at the knots. It's real hard to find knotless fruit bearing woods.