I played my first indoor show Saturday after the looong Summer outdoor tour and noticed something- my 'go-to' stick has long been the Promark 747 oak nylon tip (especially outside rocking). Not many problems if I use the stick wax and towel hands.....When inside I use a lighter 727 or 5A wood tip.... but when it is hot the 727 seem too thin and slips/( makes me grip too tight to hold on) -so rely on the 5A.... Last night (at a place called Stick's!)... I was noticing the slippage even with the 5A oak.... I grabbed at the stick bag for something else between songs and ended up with a 'spur of the moment' purchase not used much- a Vater 5A 'color wrap'- they come in sparkle and shiny wraps.... (a visual treat for the audience!- but....!)... at any rate.... NO slippage and my hands felt comfortable! They are hickory so not as heavy or durable but I played the rest of the night comfortably. I usually don't like wraps, especially the wound-around 'tape' style, but this being smooth and even was the answer. My question then is- have any of you found a 'switch' in your 'go-to' stick affected comfortability in certain situations/ (not so much considering volume/style) but rather ease and comfort-and especially FEEL... I'm interested in alternatives to wraps... maybe dips? -(I have not tried) I don't like the 'layers' you get with normal 'wraps'....I've also heard the 'old skool' methods of dusting hands with talcum, sprinkling with soda to sticky them up, and 'sex wax' for the sticks (which did work but wears off).... Thanks for any comments-
It's all in the 'Sticks'...
"Sex Wax" does work, but it wears off and is expensive. Therefore I devised my own DIY replacement for "Sex Wax."
1) Sand down the drumsticks with 320 grit sandpaper to remove all of lacquer top coat. The wipe down the drumsticks with a rag soaked in lacquer thinner.
2) Buy a box of ParoWax brand paraffin wax at the grocery store. While there, also buy a small container of solidified coconut oil.
3) Open all of the sub-containers of ParoWax and be ready to put them in a saucepan. Place the saucepan on a stove at MEDIUM HEAT. Slowly add the PAROWAX rectangles to the saucepan. The PAROWAX will melt into a transparent liquid.
4) Add 3 tablespoonfuls of solidified coconut oil into the melted PAROWAX (that is in the saucepan on the stove on MEDIUM HEAT). Slowly stir the PAROWAX-coconut oil solution until it appears to have no undissolved material in it.
4) Pour this solution into small TupperWare (or similar) plastic containers. Make sure these containers are small enough to take with you on a gig. Let cool overnight. Pop the wax out of the containers and place it in Zip-Loc sandwich bags.
5) Rub the sanded sticks with the DIY "Sex Wax" whenever you sense that they are slippery.
And who said drummers can't cook?
- Share
- Report