Ahead Drumsticks and normal drumsticks.

[puppet]

hey there. may i know what is the advantages of these drumsticks by Ahead?why are they expensive?are they unbreakable or something? thanks!

 

[danial]

Here's why you should buy a pair of Ahead drumsticks.

Ergonomically designed handle Built in vibration reduction stick handles reduce hand fatigue

Precision alloy core Reduces weight balance variations to less than 1% (20% for wood)

Super-hard polyurethane cover Replaceable covers ensure long life and protect your gear

The bottom line on Ahead drums sticks is you will save money over buying wood sticks, your hands will feel better after playing and you won't have to go shopping for drum sticks every week.

here's what it says at DRMP web http://www.drumsresources.com/main.htm

 

[phantompong]

Not to put you off buying Aheads, but check out opinions on drum forums on the Aheads, they're quite split. One camp claims that they encourage cymbal breakage, and also note that Aheads can break if you do rimshots.

I personally don't really like Ahead drumsticks, they feel quite dead to me, although the anti-vibration mechanism is effective (maybe that's why). Some say that practicing with Aheads improves your chops faster, and some say that with proper care Aheads will be more worth the money than wood sticks. Basically, try before you buy, especially since they cost a lot.

 

[DCturbo]

Wow ... That's really interesting. Anyway, I'd rather buy a couple of pairs of good drumsticks rather than ploughing all that $$$ on a pair of drumsticks. Unless, of course, money isn't a concern here ...

 

[Kaniyo]

well, I've been using Ahead for about 3 years and i can tell u from my experience that they are really not too bad. if you are talking about money, then roughly, 2.5 vic firth pairs are worth a single pair of Ahead. some claims that u only break 1 pair of ahead after someone breaking 6 pairs of wood sticks which makes it seem like its worth it. BUT, ultimately, it all depends on yourself. i own a pair of wood sticks that i bought around the same time with my ahead but up to today, it hasnt broken yet. mainly cos i am not a fan of hard hitting and rimshots. so in my case, u can say that my ahead isnt worth it since woodsticks are lasting as much as aheads for me.

but i would seriously suggest that if you are really breaking wood sticks at a rate of one pair per month, pls seriously consider ahead. it will significantly reduce the amount u are spending on multiple woodsticks and its a good long term investment. regarding the claim that it breaks cymbals, it is true and not true. before u believe that claim, please do some research on how ahead is built. it has an alimunium core COVERED by a hard 'plastic' cover, which wears out over time when u play with them thus, exposing the aluminium core beneath. the reason cymbals break is due to users not replacing the cover when they wear out and letting the aluminium metal hit the metal on cymbals.

regarding the vibration reduction system (VRS), it really works. simply cos the whole drum sticks are not a single continuous solid (like woodsticks) but are made of different parts FITTED together. due to a little space in between layers, shock is lost while transmitting thru the stick and hence, less shock to the hands. basically ahead sticks (with layers) do not transmit shockwaves as good as a solid piece of woodstick.

now comes the downside that i found from experience. u wont find disadvantages of ahead sticks on the ahead website will u? they not stupid afterall. haha. metal is denser than wood and for the same volume, ahead sticks carries more mass than a woodstick of the same dimension. an average weight of a 5A woodstick is around 49.6 grams while ahead 5A model weighs almost exactly 53 grams, making ahead slightly heavier than its wood counterparts. this has several disadvantages. while u are playing 7A ahead model, u find that u are actually playing a stick with equivalent weight of a 5A wood stick. and if u play 5A ahead, u are actually playing an equivalent 5B woodstick (around there). this confuses some drummers greatly since its a total difference in 'FEEL'.

with increased weight, comes the sacrifice of speed and rebound. i played significantly faster on my double stroke rolls with my wooden 5A compared to my 5A ahead. this shows that i have greater speed and rebound (since double stroke rolls make use of rebound a large deal) with wood sticks of the same model compared to ahead.

but in the end, i am just a forum dweller who is like anyone else, just giving opinions and are not divine truths. some may find different experiences from mine since grip and hands are unique to all drummers. i can just suggest that one decides his best companion on his own 'feel' and discretion rather than based on anyone's opinion.

keep rocking!!!!!!