Showdown!! Nylon Vs. Wood Drumsticks

Nylon Vs. Wood, which one's better?

Let’s talk about drumsticks today! There are many different types of drumsticks out there. So much so that it can be overwhelming. Let’s break down a key aspect in order to help you choose between drumsticks with various stick materials.

You’ll often come across all kinds of drum forums and comments, where this becomes a big debate. Is one truly better than the other? Let’s find out.

We’ll start off with the tip material. There are pros and cons to each tip material. We’ll start off with wood tips first, but before I continue, I do want to preface this by saying that the shape of the tip does play a big

role in your sound. However, just for today, we’ll just stick to the most common drumstick material.

With wood, you’ll often get a darker, well rounded, warm sound when playing with wood tipped sticks. It’s a much softer material when you compare it to nylon. So with this, keep in mind that it may be easier to chip if you’re a heavier hitter.

I personally haven’t chipped many of my wood tipped sticks in the past, but it has happened. So just be aware of that scenario. And yes, it does affect your sound when you’re playing with a chipped stick.

Now, with this in mind, there are three main different wood types you can choose from: Hickory, Maple, and Oak. Each one bringing their own sound and varying durability's. So, if you are a heavy hitter, you may not want to rule out wood tipped sticks entirely. I’d maybe consider trying out Oak sticks for heavy hitters, who still want that wood feel.

You might, might be able to get away with looking into Hickory sticks as well. I’d say that’s more of a middle of the road type of stick. Experiment and see which one is right for you.

As you experiment, also take note of the difference in weight. Oak sticks, for example, will likely be a lot heavier than a Hickory or Maple stick. This will also play a part into your sound, as well as how comfortable you personally feel playing with them. So, go to your local music store and test them out, so you can get a better idea and feel.

If you’re typically a lighter player, I personally suggest checking out Hickory or Maple wood tipped sticks to start off with. Maple tends to be a lot lighter than your Hickory and Oak sticks. This material type would be a great choice for beginner players or people with much smaller hands. Also, if you like playing a lot of light and fast passages, this is a great choice in my opinion. With that being said though, it’s also more likely that your Maple sticks will either chip or break easier, so keep that in mind.

As I said before, for a more middle of the road, all-purpose stick, you can’t go wrong with a good Hickory stick. They’re more of a medium weight stick that won’t break as easily as Maple, but also won’t be as heavy as an Oak stick would be. This is another great stick for beginners as well. In fact, I personally started off using Hickory sticks and they lasted me a good 4-5 years–up until one of my buddies accidentally broke it. Silver lining, I got new sticks!

Now let’s talk about nylon tips.

With nylon, you’ll often get a much brighter sound. Your attacks will also be clearer with nylon sticks. What do I mean by this for anyone who has a hard time listening to it? It’s likely that there may be more of a “tick” or a “ping” sound at the initial strike when the tip meets the drum or cymbal, or whatever it is you’re striking.

This brighter sound is especially very prevalent when playing on cymbals. This is also the case when you’re playing on the edge of your drums as

well where it may not always produce the best sound. Some people even argue that nylon tips can start getting harsh, so good sound quality

playing becomes especially important here.

Anyways, however, for heavy hitters in mind, nylon tips are great because they’re a harder material, making its durability last a lot longer than their wood counterparts.

I’ve heard that when it comes to nylon tips, they might have the tendency to fall off occasionally. I personally haven’t had that experience because I don’t play with nylon a lot, but put a little bit of glue and you’re back in the game–so I’ve heard. Best of all, you’ll still have that same consistent sound even if it does happen, as opposed to a wood stick chipping; the sound becomes inconsistent and stays that way until you get a new pair.

However, just because nylon tips may have more durability that heavier hitters may favor, doesn’t mean lighter hitters should avoid them either.

While the tip of the stick may be made out of nylon, the core/rest of the stick will still come in either Maple, Hickory, or Oak. So don’t be afraid to shy away from them if you are a lighter hitter. There’s still that same nice, varying weight range that wood tipped sticks have. The only difference is that the tip is nylon. Test them out and see what you like.

In essence though, one type isn’t necessarily better than the other, it just all comes down to your own personal preferences, and what kind of music you’re likely to be playing.

If this is the first time you’re buying a pair of sticks for yourself, see if you can test out the differences in person, at the music store of your choice. Being able to physically feel the differences between sticks will help tremendously in order to pick your own personal sound.

With that said though, it’s more than okay to switch up your sound/sticks and/or have multiple options to choose from in your own stick bag arsenal. Just because you pick one type of stick as a beginner, doesn’t mean you have to stick with it for the rest of your life. It doesn’t even mean that’s the only stick you’re allowed to have. You can have multiple sticks! You can always experiment with different sounds.

Of course, there are still many factors such as taper, the actual shape of the tip itself, rebound, and so on that should also come into consideration when you’re choosing your first pair, but I hope this has helped you get a better idea when it comes to choosing sticks.

So, for our question of the day…

What do you prefer? Nylon or Wood?