drumstickguy
5th April 2008, 09:49 PM
Sorry for taking the handle 'drumstickguy'... I noticed someone else post with that as his sig... I'm not him.
Warm up:
I just started getting into making bamboo rutes a.k.a bundle sticks a.k.a. Hot Rods. I've been doing a lot of shows lately that require a lower volume, so I've been using rutes a lot lately. Only they're kinda expensive and not that durable, and I have a lot of bamboo growing in the yard, so I started to experiment with making bamboo sticks for myself.
I've 3 different kinds of bamboo... one is Black Bamboo, another I think is Giant Bamboo, and the 3rd has been @ the house for decades. I don't know the name, but it is quite small, groing to be about 10 ft high and only 1" in diameter.
I've made rutes out of the Black Bamboo, which is thick, by cutting off a section the length of a drumstick (about 45 cm) and playing, which splits the bamboo down to the node. This splitting, however, is desirable for rutes. It seems to be pretty strong just like that - no other preperation, over than to tape up the handle. (I didn't sand anything down because I'm just expirimenting with durability) I really like the tone, as it is much briughter than a traditional wood dowel rute, giving a much clearer attack, especially on the ride cymbal. I played a 4 hour show, a few practice sessions, and at least 30 minutes on a cement block (which just eats up sticks - I wanted to see the durability, like I said). One stick is fine, and the other is dust ... the latter accidentally being caught in the wrong place@ the wrong time and having a few slats broken off it ... the rest of it went within minutes.
I also made a pair out of the thin bamboo. They are quite flexible, which is fine for me. I can play quite quickly with flexible sticks and actually like having a flexible snare stick so I could dead stick to change up he snare sound w/o killing my arm. However, one self destructed withing minutes, and, although the other lasted and is still fully playable, its days are numbered. (won't last another show)
I did not do ANYTHING to either type, and I was playing the drums with them within an hour of cutting them down.
So, heres a couple of questions:
My main goal is durability - how can I obtain the most durability out of my rutes?
*flexible vs. stiff?
*green vs old?
*heat cured vs not?
*varnished vs oil vs raw?
*gluing? I'm thinking that adding a little gorilla glue for structural support and to keep the together might help (especially in the handle) - anyone have any experience?
*Any other advice/suggestions/etc? Thanks!
P.S. I understand the various concepts, and have read through the guides that I have had time for, so a short answer would probably do fine :) However, I'm a complete and total newbie.
Thanks!
Warm up:
I just started getting into making bamboo rutes a.k.a bundle sticks a.k.a. Hot Rods. I've been doing a lot of shows lately that require a lower volume, so I've been using rutes a lot lately. Only they're kinda expensive and not that durable, and I have a lot of bamboo growing in the yard, so I started to experiment with making bamboo sticks for myself.
I've 3 different kinds of bamboo... one is Black Bamboo, another I think is Giant Bamboo, and the 3rd has been @ the house for decades. I don't know the name, but it is quite small, groing to be about 10 ft high and only 1" in diameter.
I've made rutes out of the Black Bamboo, which is thick, by cutting off a section the length of a drumstick (about 45 cm) and playing, which splits the bamboo down to the node. This splitting, however, is desirable for rutes. It seems to be pretty strong just like that - no other preperation, over than to tape up the handle. (I didn't sand anything down because I'm just expirimenting with durability) I really like the tone, as it is much briughter than a traditional wood dowel rute, giving a much clearer attack, especially on the ride cymbal. I played a 4 hour show, a few practice sessions, and at least 30 minutes on a cement block (which just eats up sticks - I wanted to see the durability, like I said). One stick is fine, and the other is dust ... the latter accidentally being caught in the wrong place@ the wrong time and having a few slats broken off it ... the rest of it went within minutes.
I also made a pair out of the thin bamboo. They are quite flexible, which is fine for me. I can play quite quickly with flexible sticks and actually like having a flexible snare stick so I could dead stick to change up he snare sound w/o killing my arm. However, one self destructed withing minutes, and, although the other lasted and is still fully playable, its days are numbered. (won't last another show)
I did not do ANYTHING to either type, and I was playing the drums with them within an hour of cutting them down.
So, heres a couple of questions:
My main goal is durability - how can I obtain the most durability out of my rutes?
*flexible vs. stiff?
*green vs old?
*heat cured vs not?
*varnished vs oil vs raw?
*gluing? I'm thinking that adding a little gorilla glue for structural support and to keep the together might help (especially in the handle) - anyone have any experience?
*Any other advice/suggestions/etc? Thanks!
P.S. I understand the various concepts, and have read through the guides that I have had time for, so a short answer would probably do fine :) However, I'm a complete and total newbie.
Thanks!