Low budget brands sometimes obliterate expensive brands

[Erkan]

Have you guys noticed this too?

It doesn't happen very often with advanced electrical products (amps, monitors, computer parts, and so on) but I have definately noticed it on stuff like drum sticks and such. Since my main instrument is not guitar, I can't say I have tried a lot of low budget string brands but I'm sure it might be the same there too if you're lucky.

The reason for this rant post is that I spent like 45€ on 3 pairs of Pro Mark Japanese Oak sticks and I broke the first pair within 2 hours of total play time. In the same batch I had ordered a few pairs of the absolutely cheapest brand I could find on Thomann, which was the brand Millenium. Their sticks cost like 2€ for a pair and they've lasted 3 times longer than the Pro Mark so far... and they are still in decent shape (should last another 2-3 hours of play).

It just pisses me off to pay multiple times the money for quality sticks which break faster than those that are supposed to have low quality.

RANT OVER!

So, in order to get something out of this thread... I would like to ask you guys if you have made any similar discoveries during your years in this financial black hole we call the music business (or more specifically it was the term for a studio, but I think it fits the whole music business quite well too )?

 

[updog]

well, while we're at it, Pro Mark makes the shittiest sticks ever. Try Vic Firth, I'm sure they'll last 10x longer. They're all I use now.

I still remember that my very first set of drumsticks were Vic Firths, and they literally lasted several years (not in perfect condition obviously, but good enough to train with them) and while I liked the more light feel of the Pro Mark sticks, I noticed they break very very easily. I never broke drumsticks often, just Pro Marks.

 

[Morgan C]

Vater.

Bought 6 pairs 2 years ago and still have 2 left. $40 incl shipping from the US.


Other than that, not really. I've found I often regret buying cheaply.

 

[updog]

One good but inexpensive purchase came to my mind: I use Millenium monitor stands and they're actually much sturdier than one would expect. They also have a safety splint so my monitors won't drop would the mechanism in the stands otherwise fail.

Along with the Thomann iso-pads they work well enough for me. Wouldn't probably take them anywhere with me though.

 

[DaWolf]

For drum stuff I replace usually hardware with cheap alternatives.
A few months ago my Pearl Eliminator broke at the point where the chain is mounted to the pedal. I could fix it temporary, but it didn`t last long , the pedal itself broke. I thought I`ll get the cheapest double pedal that is out there (for lefties) until I can afford the next one and that was a Fame for €100.
I was surprised that the quality was so good, it even has some details that are not on expensive pedals , and it don`t has the weak spot at the chain mount. I still play it. Or a 20 bucks trigger from ebay , works.
Even in electronics,monitors etc. you can get good nonames. I bet some roll off the same conveyor belt in Taiwan as the big brands.

 

[kladdkaka]

The thomann sticks are great. Only use their brand now. I haven't found a cheap string brand that i like though. think the ghs boomers work nicely. anyone got any tips

 

[Erkan]

It's fun to read what you guys have bought and how well they work and how cheap they were

I remember something else I bought cheaply from Thomann as well, and that is this mic stand. It's MASSIVE, weighs almost 10 kg and it's welded freakin' steel throughout the entire thing. It now serves as my new OH stand for the drum mics and I can't believe it is possible to buy this much steel for like 50€.

As for all the comments about drum sticks, I go through each and every high quality stick brand in a matter of hours. I have given up on Vic Firth, used to be a Vic Firth guy but it got pretty expensive to buy a new pair all the time. I have never really tried Pro Mark before and that is why I gave them a shot this time... and they cost a lot! So I get pretty pissed off when a pair of 2€ sticks last multiple times longer than a pair of 15€ sticks...

 

[PhilTheBeard]

Those oak sticks are garbage my old drummer recorded with those and broke them 35 seconds into a song while doing gravity blast's.

 

[Russtopher]

It's all about the drummer's hands; I've got Pro Marks that I bought in college that I still have to this day, I'm 33 now Gotta love the 747 wood tips!

I will say though, that the Vic Firth 5A is probably one of the best weighted sticks ever.

I honestly don't have much experience with owning/using top brands on a regular basis - my most expensive guitar is an Epi Les Paul and my top piece of recording gear is my Firepod. I've spent the last 3 years teaching myself how to record, place mics, work on mixes, etc. and just do it with what I've got. Still doesn't stop me from suffering from GAS all the time, though LOL!

 

[Damian B]

I like Vic Firth SD9s. They are Rock Maple so they weight less thank hickory or oak sticks, and they chip instead of splinter. A pair usually lasts me a couple months.

Technique has so much to do with it though. I used to hit hella hard, but I finally decided that it was way too expensive

After a couple months of training myself I finally found a pretty good balance between hitting strength and power.

 

[crosstalk]

I've been stuck on using Pro Mark Mike Portnoy Signature Series for years. They're pretty thin and lite and I use them forever. Months later they'll finally snap after there's hardly any shaft left from hitting the hats or whatever for a long time.

I don't have any discernible technique, but I've always made sticks last forever, never cracked a cymbal, and never dented a drum head. I play pretty hard.

I've played with drummers that snap the thickest of sticks constantly. I don't comprehend it.

That said, I think a drummer brought a pair of Oak sticks in once and they chipped away after hardly any playing.

 

[Erkan]

Yea seems like those Oak sticks are good for nothing... well, I'm glad I didn't order more than 3 pairs then. Anyway, regarding technique and such.. I used to think of myself as one of those who play well and never crack a cymbal but actually, I've been cracking quite a few cymbals lately and the sticks are just getting chopped like mad. Maybe I'm starting to hit harder, but the thing is that it is necessary to get a good drum tone too, ESPECIALLY when recording. I think this has been in the back of my head all the time, which has caused me to start hitting harder so that I will be prepared once I go into the studio to record stuff. I don't regret cracking the cymbals and stuff but damn... it's getting expensive. I always, ALWAYS make sure I hit cymbals much softer than the actual drums though. I've cracked a crash recently but I had it for quite a few years so I guess it wasn't unexpected... and a splash was cracked recently but I think it was just too tightly tightened. Now I have this disgusting feeling of my ride cracking any day now, I'm always paranoid when I play the drums now... it really feels that my ride is next, and that is one EXPENSIVE ride (Bosphorus Gold 22" to be exact)!

Anyway, the Millenium sticks I mentioned in this thread got raped at tonight's jam They didn't last for another 2-3 hours as I initially wrote... but still, they lasted 3 times longer than the expensive Pro Mark oak sticks. I think the cheapest solution is to buy a ton of low budget sticks really, it doesn't pay off for me to buy Vic Firth, Vater or stuff like that. Hell, I have even used AHEAD's aluminium drum sticks (with replacable plastic covers) and broken the aluminium itself, but it took me a year to do so.

 

[DaWolf]

It's fun to read what you guys have bought and how well they work and how cheap they were

Well nowadays I`m actually forced to get the cheap stuff...but I always looked for the best bang for bucks stuff.
Your Pearl Export falls into that category I guess, as well as my old Yamaha PowerV.
The things I never would compromise though are the snare and cymbals where cheap and good is rare.

 

[updog]

Hell, I have even used AHEAD's aluminium drum sticks (with replacable plastic covers) and broken the aluminium itself, but it took me a year to do so.

Nice job either way! Those sticks are hard.


They're also fucking horrible, but that's a whole another rant.

 

[DaWolf]

I had a pair of the plastic version, they vibrate so hard that my fingers were getting numb after a few minutes.

 

[Proggm]

I use Vic Firth's SD1 General and SD2 Bolero. Amazing sticks. They last for more than half a year of constant (3 day per week) use. In fact I have a pair of SD2 that are like 3 years old.

 

[Erkan]

Nice job either way! Those sticks are hard.


They're also fucking horrible, but that's a whole another rant.

Yeah they sucked real bad. They were really heavy on the top compared to the bottom, so it felt weird to hold them. Nothing like good old wooden sticks.

I once tried wheat sticks for fun Yup, made from wheat... they process it somehow so the wheat becomes a hard mass, then press it into sticks. It seriously smelled bread when I sniffed the sticks. They also vibrated horribly and just felt plastic-y.

I use Vic Firth's SD1 General and SD2 Bolero. Amazing sticks. They last for more than half a year of constant (3 day per week) use. In fact I have a pair of SD2 that are like 3 years old.

That is a VERY long time for wooden sticks man! I used to be able to pull stuff like that off when I was younger, but as I said... lately, it's been like a forest massacre behind my kit

 

[phatfil]

my Blackheart BH5H fits the category. it is a one channel Class A head, 3-5 watts, with a closed-back 1x12 cabinet. it is built like a tank! the amp gets great clean and overdrive tones. but the cab is even better bang for the buck. it's 75 watt Eminence is very versatile, and you can easily swap it out for your speaker of choice. i got the head and cabinet for $250 brand new. i love that little amp more and more every time i play it.

 

[Metal Overload]

This happens to me on strings.

I used to buy ernie ball but they are getting really expensive here (like 8 or 9 dlls) then because i need to change strings very often (i play in a rock covers band in a bar) i switched to yamaha strings, but they are shit, so i know buying a really cheap strings, like 3 dlls, and they last a lot more than yamahas and even ernie ball, and they sound equally good.

 

[Metaltastic]

What's the brand Antonio? And FWIW I've always found D'addario to last longer than Ernie Balls (tone-wise I mean, I haven't broken a string in years), though I doubt they'd be much cheaper...