Hickory has a natural feel, takes an average amount of punishment, and is the most versatile of the three wood types. The bottom line is that oak will last the longest. The extra density means oak sticks can withstand more intense playing styles. Promark’s Japanese Shira Kashi white oak sticks are 10 percent heavier than those made with American hickory. Hickory is also fairly resilient and can absorb the shock of a hard-hitting drummer. Hickory is a harder wood and will last longer than maple. Maple is 10 percent lighter than hickory, which allows drummers to use a larger-diameter stick without it being too heavy. The most common types of wood used today are hickory and maple. What’s the difference between sticks made of hickory, maple, oak, and plastic? As Pat Brown of Promark puts it, “Beyond that, most companies have adopted their own individual systems for naming or numbering sticks, and usually those names or numbers are little more than generic part numbers that bear little or no relevance to the size or shape of the stick.” So in order to keep your customers from getting overwhelmed by the options as they search for the right stick, consider having pairs in the basic sizes nearby to help guide you in the right direction. Most stick manufacturers still offer the classic models: 2B, 5A, 5B, and 7A. 7A is the most common size for a thin stick.2B is the most common size for a thick stick.The letter D, used by Gretsch, stood for dance band.The letter B stood for marching and concert bands.Here’s a breakdown of what the companies used back in the early 1900s, when this system was first established: Some of this coding still applies to today’s basic stick models. The larger the diameter, the lower the number. The letters originally stood for styles of music, while the number was related to the stick’s diameter. The history behind the numbers and letters stamped on drumsticks is a little foggy. Here are some of the questions you might be asking. This article originally ran in the May/June 2010 issue of Drum Business.ĭrumsticks aren’t overly mystifying, yet there is information that you should be able to draw from when choosing a particular size or model.