what kind of outdoor marching snare stick do you like to us?

I use the Corpsmaster Ralpie Jr. because they suit my smaller hands better.

use the search button..
i use colin mcnutts, ms4's and jim casellas theyre all great sticks

And check the reviews section... I prefer Innovative's FS-2.

Everyone on our line has to use Ralph Hardimons

Im kinda likin the Vic Firth Scott Johnsons this season.

i love the vicfirth tom aungst sticks and the ralph hardimons

i personally dislike the scott johnson snare sticks, the rebound just feels strange to me
i really like the vegas for tenors though

I use Innovative Percussion At-1 tenor sticks. Those are real nice on playing through the drum.

i just got the scott johnson sticks and they're really comfortable for me perfect tip for rolling, perfect weight and they make really good backsticks

Tom Aungst Corpsmaster for me.

i'd have to go with the Scott Johnsons, I like the weight and the beads

innovative mcintosh's, shorty's for tenors...

lets see...
Love Ralph Hardimons.. like the tenor stick even better
Tom Aungst are great.
i like the feel of some innovative products but have a hard time finding a good pair

ralph haridmon

scotties is the way to go

Ralfphys are really nice. My line uses them for the snare and somtime quads. Thay have a nice thick feel and good waght. Only prob. I have found is that they dont alway match in pitch.

I really like colin mcnutts

i prefer the hardimon's but our line only uses innovative products... kinda a downer minus the shorties, love the feel of the shorties.

Wow, the stick I use isn't represented yet so I'll put it out there. IP's Bret Kuhn.. I love the weight.

I like Vic Firth Ralphies and MS3's.

I'd have to go with the Ralph Hardimons or Jeff Queens, depending on the situation I'm in.

i actually think a whole snare line was using jeff queens.
Avon High school from avon indiana i was trying to figure it out and they looked like jeff queens.
They also had about 9 people on there line

My favorite stick would be IP Mike Mccantosh, but i also really like the jeff queens and tom aungst sticks.

i love the scot johnson's but my line uses the ralphies

i personally like the silverfox CS 16 inch, but if you want a longer stick you can try the silverfox 1001 17 inch.

For my line, I prefer Scott Johnsons. Personally, I like IP FS2s.

also, the tom hannums are sick (vic firth) great rebound and a percise articulation on Kevlar®.

Scott Johnsons all the way...

Or Hardimons...

Or maybe even some Tom Aungst...

I use Hardimons since they have a good rebound.

IMO it's all about the IP Bret Kuhns,Bought a pair the other day and i instantly fell in love, Haha imo they are better than the ralph hardimons.

Bret Kuhns
SAcott Johnsons
Ralph Hardimons
Tom Float

THat's the way to do it.

My school's snares use ralphies though,hehe

VF MS4s
VF Aungst
IP MacIntosh

Vic Firth Tom Aungst's

Ralph Hardimons or IP Paul Rennicks

i use ms2 but does anyone else have problems with vic firth sticks cracking really easy. i switched from collin mcnutts to these and both crack a lot for me. first day using a pair of ms2 and broke them on eights

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I don't have much personal experience with either stick, but the general idea I've picked up from others is that they're pretty much the two worst sticks VF makes.

There's nothing inherently wrong with MS2's or McNutts. Both models have been used by more than a handful of drum corps, and they're a lot harder on sticks than your average high schooler. (Do you play 10+ hours every day?) If you're cracking "a lot" of any halfway decent marching stick, something's wrong. Are they taped? (Aesthetics aside, a tight wind of tape around the stick helps protect from cracking.) Are you pounding the drum? Lots o' rim shots, especially ping shots?



Not sure where you got that from. I really like Colin McNutt's signature stick, as do a whole lot of other people.

as far as snare sticks go. i'd have to say
IP-BK or IP-PR

I dont really know what I like. I like the Hannums a lot but I can't really make up my mind.

Innovative's Paul Rennicks (FS-PR2) But only when taped.

Edit: I absolutly hate Ralph Hardimons they have too much rebound

tom aungst and hardimons what my line uses. yup, all two of us!

Our snares used Vic Firth Ralph Hardimon's this year.

I like the Scott johnsons for Marching.

and the Jeff Queen solo for well a solo on the drum. =]

also am a new recent fan of the Paul Rennick IP stick.

I used to use Innovative's FS-BK's, but lately the Promark DC-2's have been growing on me.



I'm not sure I see a stick that rebounds well as being a problem. I mean...more rebound usually yields a much more open and fuller sound when playing, not to mention control and speed benefits.

My line uses the IP-MM some people think there huge but i dont also we tape our sticks

Both are a little thicker than average, but McIntoshes are the exact same length and diameter as Hardimons.

Spot on chambana! I personally like any stick that is light and has good rebound. I'm not a fan of taping sticks for weight (for longevity, sure).

So combine my likes in a stick and marching percussion and you get the fs-1. After I play a while with those ralphies feel like magnums.

We use Corpsmaster Raplh Hardimons (Wood tipped) but we might experiment. Last year our local store was out of Hardimons right before Louisiana Showcase so we bought MS1s. I liked the control of the shorter stick but i didn't like rolls with them.

our line swears by Vic Firth Ralph Hardimon's...almost everyone in the drumline has a pair no matter what they play...

Colin McNutt's sticks are amazing. I also like the Jeff Queen Solo stick and the Innovative percussion FS-JS.
I have no idea why Hardimon sticks are so popular. They're weighted towards the back way to much imo.

my line used jim casella sticks this past year, and thought i loved them. then recently i went back to hardimons and realized that unless u plan on playing with the cavaliers, it's just not a good stick. i feel i have to work more to stroke everything out. with ralphie's it feels so much smoother. i also like mike mcintoshes

Ralphies for our line they just feel great. And i use ralphies, and very amazing underated stick TOM FLOAT'S!!!!!

First off, I want to say I haven't had much experience with snare sticks, so my advice may not be the best.

Anyway, I just bought some Pro-Mark DC11s. The best part is, they are real beefy, unlike some of the Vic Firth sticks that I have bought, which seemed to be duds (they felt extremely light.) The DC11s are definitely on the heavy side though, so I guess some people might be better off with a lighter model from Pro-Mark. But as far as quality goes, I think they are great (very consistent stick to stick.)

I like Vic Firth's Collin McNutt's. I used to like really heave sticks, but these have just the right length for it's weight. If not those, then Scott Johnson's are the way to go. Back to the heavy.

I'm going to throw out that I used to be a hard core VF guy but then I picked up a pair of Jeff Moore's Promark stick and it is my favorite stick in the world. A lot of VF stick I have used tend to be kind of top heavy (bead heavy) but the Promark stick is so evenly balanced in my hands it just feels better to play with

I like the balance of the Ralph Hardimond snare sticks. I like the way hey feel. I also like the strength of the Vic Firth MS4's the way they pound strait through the head is unreal. They feel very strong. I also like the Scott Johnson Practice sticks. You can pay on any surface and they feel great. I want to try the regular Scott Marching snare sticks (never played with them before).

Sticks can very greatly pair to pair. Seriously.
I have one pair of Ralphies that are A LOT lighter than another pair I have. So, one can say they hate a stick, but have only played with one pair one time.

I'm not sure if this was referred to me or not but I'm well aware of the difference from pair to pair. And my opinions on drumsticks are not in reference to just one pair of that stick I have used, but multiple pairs I have gone through.

Dude I know,
I found out how different sticks can be. My friend had a really bad pair of Hardimonds. I had alot of good luck choosing my sticks. Up until recently I learned about faulty sticks , but in all the time I didnt know about them I never ran into a bad pair.

It wasn't aimed at you. I just know people who say they hate sticks after playing with them one time. "They are too light" or "too heavy" although Hardimons can range as far as .5 oz. Maybe more, the 2 pairs I have range that much.

I agree hardimon's to me have been anywhere from the best sticks ive used to the worst and everywhere in between but thats why i dont like them theyre inconsistent

Until someone figures out how to grow hickory trees with a consistent density, you'll find that problem across every brand and model. Some makers like IP seem to be a little more selective about the wood they use, but I've had a few bad pairs from them, too.

I used to be a VF guy. I had the Vega tenor sticks, MS2's and some Scojo's. I just bought a pair of IP's Mike Mcintosh sticks and they sound loads better than my other VF's. Its the Arena series, which, I dont understand the difference between field and arena series (OBVIOUSLY the arena series are indoor sticks, but I dont understand the difference. Bead size?).

It varies for me. I really like MS3's and Scojos from Vic firth plus the Jeff queen solo series are nice too. And the Paul Rennicks are awesome and so are the mike Mcintosh sticks. The few Promark sticks I've played with were disappointing but some people seem to like them. I've played with Vater marching sticks and they are actually not bad.

When I was in High School I loved Hardimons for some reason, and chose them for the line, this was playing matched grip as well though. Once I got into college and starting playing traditional all the time (instead of just in lessons and at home) I came to really think they are rubbish.

At University I switched over to mainly FS1, IP Brett Kuhn, & IP McNutts. We used Kuhns on the line, but I got the IP McNutts, which I could never find after, from a Glassmen (3 Glassmen on the line, who were undre McNutt at the time) and I absolutely loved them.

Point being, I stopped playing for a few years, but still have all my stuff, and was starting to play again. I still have some decent chops even, after a few days. I was looking for McNutts and found the Vic Firth ones, and was a bit sad that the IP ones are non-existant anymore.

The Firth ones look the same, but we'll see when I get em.

Anyone else ever play the IP McNutts? and or compare them to the Firth ones?

They are completely different from each other. You can still get the IP McNutts, they are just called the FS-2 now. I love the old IP McNutt/FS-2, it had a great feel, although IP had some questionable durability during that period. They seem to have addressed that as of late. (Could have just been a bad batch I got from).

Every line I've marched on/tried out for has marched Hardimons.


Most of the pairs I've had were good, though recently I ran into a pair that was significantly heavier than the other pairs, and very noticeably deeper (by nearly a major 4th in pitch). I also noticed that when I switched between them and another (good) pair, I had to alter my technique quite a bit, and would be crushing my diddles. Needless to say, I quickly stopped practicing with them.

On a side note, my friend bought some IP Paul Rennicks, and I really liked the weight distribution on those.

I recently became a huge fan of DC-11s capital regiment lol they allow for so much dynamic control but in the past i like Dc-4s and idk maybe fs-2s but for a line deffiantly dc-11s

We marched Hardimons before I was on the snare line and I didn't really care for them, but when I got on them we started using Innovative Percussion FS-MMs and I really really like them. I also bought a pair of FS-PRs that were almost perfectly balanced I thought. They were my favorite pair of sticks until I loaned them to a friend and he destroyed them.

I do no recall anyone mentioning the IP-PR2. I think it's a very well-balanced stick.
I also like the beefyness of the Promark System Blue DC50.

We are using system blue now but the drumline used to use rennicks.(we got an endorser) i still like rennicks better.

My HS line uses Innovative Macintoshes. But I like Cassellas.

Our line is marching the Lee Beddis sticks this year. In the past we've used Hardimons.

What do you guys look for in a quality drumstick? What matters to you?

I use Innovative's FS1s

You should really try

http://www.vicfirth.com/product/buynow/product.php?button=MS4

I love these sticks, there durable, you don't even have to tape them. They take such a beating with rim shots.

For personal use I use Vic Firth Ralph Hardimon sticks, taped all the way down with white stick tape. Thinking of trying out some new sticks though pretty soon.

Our drumline actually uses Vater Percussion sticks as our new Drum Instructor is endorsed by them, though I'm not exactly sure what model the snares' use.

Thom Hannums and Hardimons. I like the weight of the Hardimons but I love the articulation of the hannmus.

Thom Hannums are good for indoor and paul Rennicks and Brett koons are good for marching.

My favorites are the Jeff Queen's and the innovative fs-PR2's. Gotta love em!

hardimon jr's (i have tiny hands), or jeff queen solo sticks, depending on the application obviously.

Gotta love the Scott Johnson Scooters and the Jim Casella's, also the Thom Hannum indoors. Love those three.

i had use
-ralph hardimons
-jeff queens
-ms2
-lee beddis
-scott johnson snare sticks

i think lee beddis is quite good for me althought it only take 2 weeks to broken..:P

Our line uses Ralphies, but i think next year we might use ScoJos, maybe Jeff Queens. i dont know yeat, ill probably pick the sticks out.

I absolutley loooooooove Tom Floats by vic firth. they have a great feel and really make the drum sing. Also, if your playing on an extremely tight drum, they help ease the pain on your hands and in turn make more impact on the drum(instead of vibrating after a hit, they channel the force into a good, solid rebound and help you get a good attack) They are very durable too.

I love corpsmaster Ralph Hardimons. the weight feels just right, good length, great sound. there's a reason it's the most popular marching snare stick.

I love Ralph Hardimons. DC 50s are just as good. Another stick that is alright but not my favorite is the Thom Hannums.

my band is use SSJ, and it can fit my hands (:

I've used varied sticks from Vic Firth, personally. Mainly because that's what I've always used, I've enjoyed the feel more and they try to cater to every size and need out there.

Now to answer the post in question, the snare line at Baltimore's Marching Ravens has changed stick selection three times this year leading to our current stick of choice.

Initially we started this past season with the Vic Firth Ralph Hardimon Wood Tip Sticks. At around the beginning of the preseason, we were informed that the new stick of choice was the MS2 from Firth. It was around that time we were also informed of an endorsement that the Ravens organization and VF agreed to.

We get to around mid-season and we were informed that instead of the MS2's, the snare line were going to use the Murray Gusseck "M-dawgs" snare stick due to more balance in weighting within the implement and overall feel. So for now and until it's up for a re-evaluation, the "M-dawgs" are the snare stick for us. We also have the Scott Johnson practice sticks available for us if we are inclined to purchase but they are not required as of yet.

Personally, I like the IP Paul Rennicks, for the line I teach, we use Casellas, and at college, we stick with the ol' McNutts. Of course at Crown, we have to use Beddis's logs.

Im only 14 and we r told to use ralphie jrs, but i use jeff queens, and paul rennicks.

Hardimons and McIntosh's all the way!!

Fo sho. great stick, when you get a nice pair. but they are kind tough to find

DC-50s!
great stick, I've owned multiple pairs and they're all consistently well balanced and give good rebound

I also like the Tom Aungst sticks. The weight works well for me and something about the teardrop head works well with me.

A few months ago, I got to try out the Scott Johnson Promarks when they were in development. Im going to get a pair soon and give those a shot.

I have been using the Pro Mark DC 17`s for a while now and they are not the same stick as the VF Scott Johnson. The BD`s are using both the DC 50 and 17`s not sure which ones they have chosen. I would say the DC 17`s are a cross between VF Johnson`s and the Hardimons.

I'm really into the Thomm Hannum VF stick. I love the sound the tip gives, nice and articulate. Not a bad feel either. Our indoor line used Thomm Hannum indoors for half the season (and then switched to McNutts because they were pansies) and I loved those. I may get a pair sometime soon.

I just got some of the DC 50`s and they are very nice. Heavier stick but works good on high tension heads. I also got the IP PR2`s just to see what Phantom is using and they are not bad either. There are so very many good sticks out now, I could never pick a favorite.

Hardimons, and now Pro Mark Sco-Jo's

ms2's all the way. I have used a lot of sticks and ms2's are the best in my opinion. The line i teach uses them. Vega's for tenors.

system blue Scott Johnson DC 17's Promark

For myself it is Vic Firth! Primarily Hardimon's! I have not seen the hammer that you speak of, I must check these out.

I went to see the Johnson model sticks and I went through 8 pair and could not find a good pair either in pitch or with out any inconstancy in quality. I find that all too often with pro Mark. Or maybe it was because it was a Scott Johnson tag on them?

SCV!!!!! BABY!!!!!

The hammers is a pair of Ralph Hardimons made out of Stac Pac wood like the Magnums. Imo, they feel better then the original Hardimon's. I've had a lot of inconsistency with Promark too. Even got a split tip on one of the pairs of snare sticks.

I looked them up on Vic , I didn't like what I saw but it wasn't that great of a pic. they remind me of a stick that Ludwig put out called PLS. They came out in the late 80's, they were like plywood or a laminated wood beam. I would have to see the Hammer's first hand. It will be hard to get me away from the Hardimon white sticks,I love that taper and you dont have to tape them. But I do collect sticks so I will probably get them. I am a life long Vic fan and that is all I use with the exception of the Pro-mark lighting rods. They are the only thing that Pro-mark makes that is any good in my book.

Innovative Fs-Pr2's Good for my hands, nice bead. Also like Promark Dc-50s

We use the Ralph Hardeman for snare

For marching on a line I like the Vic Firth MS5 (previously the Scott Johnson signature stick), also a good pair of Hardimons feel great but I find them a little to light weight for my taste. For solo Snare drum I really like the Vic Firth MS3 stick. They have a great weight in my opinion and I enjoy enjoy them a lot. I do like the IP Tim Fairbanks too.

The MS 3`s Vic Firth work nice for solo stuff. I found a few I like that I could play well with and sound good on the High Tension heads. The old Tom Float sticks are good for fast solo playing also the Jeff Queen solo sticks. Innovative has a couple of pairs that work good the FS 2`s old Colin McNutt stick and PR 2`s Rennick aren`t bad.

The MS 3`s are the old Cassella models when he was with Vic Firth.

I was real big on Ralph Hardimons till I pick up a pair of Innovative's FS-2 and I cant see myself using anything else these days

I`d have to agree with the FS 2 by Innovative, I have been playing on a gum rubber pad with some Pro Mark DC-17`s and just noticed they are very warped. Maybe I got a bad pair but if a few more try them out and find the same thing I would suggest not getting them.

I just started using the Tim Fairbanks sticks by Innovative. They're a new model from last year I think. I picked up a pair at WGI last year. Not only do they feel great, but they sound amazing. They have a very distinct dark sound that makes it near impossible to sound like you aren't playing with enough velocity. By far, my favorite sticks ever.