Stick Taping Preferences

[RLLRRR]

Just wondering what everyone else's taping preferences are?

Explanations:
Full Tape: from bead to butt
1/2 Tape: from bead to 1/2
2/3 Tape: from bead to just above the grip
Missing Hand: from bead to just above grip, and below the grip

[GangstaBeats]

I definitely prefer 2/3 almost all the time. But on a few of the head heavy sticks, I like the missing hand. That gives some balance to the weight.

[Buranri]

On snare sticks I like taping the whole thing, but on quads and bass I usually do 2/3.

[Lwheeler4]

Usually I like 2/3, but it really depends on the stick.
This year we're using mike jackson's and we tape them "missing hand" as you put it and I really like how they feel.

[WHSnare]

Missing hand for one pair of my casella's except I tape to right above grip, then heavily layer the last tape width on the stick over and over.

[KJennings]

Missing hand was the ONLY way to do it this summer.

Taping 1/2 or 3/4 looks tacky, but it was too humid and hot to fully tape if we wanted to be able to hold sticks by the closer... so we taped missing hand

[dlinebass5]

I mostly agree with Mr. Jennings. At the high school level, I have my kids tape everything. They're not at a super-intense level, and mostly for continuity's sake, it's much easier. 1/2 or 2/3rds looks tacky, yes. I don't mind taping around the fulcrum or taping all the way. Really depends on the larger preference of the line I'm in - I'm indifferent between the two.

[drums4life]

I used to go 1/2 but I recently taped my Mac's with the missing hand, and I like it a lot better. I'm guessing it has to do with the balance, but somehow the feel appeals to me just a bit more.
However I still feel like 1/2 or 2/3 is still a good method, and I wouldn't go as far as to say that it looks tacky. Either way I think the cosmetics of each one all look fine.

[sxetnrdrmr]

I personally prefer hand missing, but I let the kids decide on what they want since they are the ones playing. They tape up to the fulcrum, but not behind so I put 2/3

[WHSnare]

As mentioned before, I tape missing hand and a missing hand variation, but the thing I don't like about missing hand is that my right hand fulcrum is a little further back on the stick than my left hand, and it's kind of awkward to play like that.

[KJennings]

As mentioned before, I tape missing hand and a missing hand variation, but the thing I don't like about missing hand is that my right hand fulcrum is a little further back on the stick than my left hand, and it's kind of awkward to play like that.

I've always been taught that this is a bad idea. You're giving yourself no chance of producing a similar sound hand to hand if you don't place fulcrums in the same spot or very near the same spot.

[bltsponge]

1/3! For quads, that is

[yoshikinto]

As mentioned before, I tape missing hand and a missing hand variation, but the thing I don't like about missing hand is that my right hand fulcrum is a little further back on the stick than my left hand, and it's kind of awkward to play like that.

I've always been taught that this is a bad idea. You're giving yourself no chance of producing a similar sound hand to hand if you don't place fulcrums in the same spot or very near the same spot.

It also seems like if anything, the left would be a little further back.

[cunninghamkid]

On my practice sticks I do 1/3 because it feels better and to save tape, but in a line or solo and show off setting I prefer the missing hand cause the sticks aren't slipping everywhere.

[nochops94]

Sorry but whats "missing hand"?

[SolidSnake1162]

Our drumline does a candy swirl using our school colors. On all sticks and mallets minus keyboard mallets, we do a solid black base all the way up and down the stick. Then we do a candy swirl with purple stick tape. It looks pretty sharp. But I've noticed the less tape the stick has on it, the better sound it gives the drum and etc. That's why I'd kinda like to start doing what most DCI groups do. Use one color of tape and wrap only the upper half of the stick.

[alochsta]

Our drumline does a candy swirl using our school colors. On all sticks and mallets minus keyboard mallets, we do a solid black base all the way up and down the stick. Then we do a candy swirl with purple stick tape. It looks pretty sharp. But I've noticed the less tape the stick has on it, the better sound it gives the drum and etc. That's why I'd kinda like to start doing what most DCI groups do. Use one color of tape and wrap only the upper half of the stick.

Stick tape should always be white... period. I don't mean to be an ass here, but every time a competitive line sees another line come out with colorful stick tape and/or striped tape-jobs, negative judgements are passed instantly. I've NEVER seen a drumline use striped tape-jobs that could play. If yours actually can, congratulations, but know that most other lines that see it will assume that you can't. White is the most professional and visually appealing in a competitive scenario.


As for the original topic. I'm OKAY with tenors and basses using 2/3 because the extra weight on the end can actually help with utilizing gravity for legato movement with a matched grip; however, from a snare perspective, I can't stand anything but full tape for weight-balance reasons. 1/2 or 2/3 tape-jobs completely change the weight balance of the stick and how it performs, which completely affects your technique. You can achieve proper weight balance with "missing-hand", but I don't honestly see the point. I don't personally find that I get a better grip on the stick without tape than I do with tape, so I don't see the point of not just taping all the way down. I've seen people tape the whole stick EXCEPT for a small strip on the traditional hand to act as a guide for how far to choke-up on the left hand, but you shouldn't really need a guide. Not to mention you end up using the same sticks in the same hands every time you play, and I personally like to switch up so that I don't have one stick with more rim-shot damage than the other (typically right).

The issue with tape that I typically have with my students isn't how far down to tape or not, it's how thick of a layer of tape they use. I generally allow for only about 1/16" overlap at most. Anything more is too much tape. And the old-school criss-cross pattern (up once, down once) is entirely too much as well. I don't like playing snare with tree trunks.

[dgaking]

Stick tape should always be white... period. I don't mean to be an *beep* here, but every time a competitive line sees another line come out with colorful stick tape and/or striped tape-jobs, negative judgements are passed instantly. I've NEVER seen a drumline use striped tape-jobs that could play. If yours actually can, congratulations, but know that most other lines that see it will assume that you can't. White is the most professional and visually appealing in a competitive scenario.

One of my lines typically pulls out the green tape and does stripes for school events like homecoming and parades. I decided this competitive season to use all yellow tape (all yellow, no stripes) because it fit the theme of our show really well. They play a tough book very clean, regardless of what color the sticks are. They were complemented on the yellow tape at contests this year, and I think when people saw it on the field, it really made sense why we had it. We had a lot of yellow in props and flags that mostly stayed in the back of the field. Our drumsticks were one of the few yellow accents that made its way to the front of the field. The yellow looked pretty sweet, fit the show, and didn't change the fact that they were the best drumline at their regional site out of 20 bands. The yellow made every stick visual look amazing.

If I'm not mistaken, the Cavaliers pulled out some neon orange sticks in the middle of XtraordinarY, and the visual effect of the color change was stunning. They threw down some ridiculous licks and visuals with the orange tape, and they won top drums for DCI. I would definitely consider alternative stick colors in the future if it fits the show. However, I would stick to solid colors and avoid stripes in a competitive show (stripes can create optical illusions when in motion), and I would try to have the stick color contrast the colors of the drum heads and uniforms.

[alochsta]

You make a valid point. I could understand a specific segment of a show calling for an appropriate change of sticks to something colorful for General Effect points. I would do it sparingly though to make it more effective and couldn't see doing it for an entire show. Anything appropriate for the sake of a show theme is okay, its mainly the "ive got school spirit, check out my striped sticks" look that drives me nuts.

[dgaking]

You make a valid point. I could understand a specific segment of a show calling for an appropriate change of sticks to something colorful for General Effect points. I would do it sparingly though to make it more effective and couldn't see doing it for an entire show. Anything appropriate for the sake of a show theme is okay, its mainly the "ive got school spirit, check out my striped sticks" look that drives me nuts.

I'm with you on the striped thing. The whole school spirit thing has a lot less value in marching band today than it did decades ago. It's a lot more about the art today, and I think that's a healthy evolution.

[SolidSnake1162]

Our drumline does a candy swirl using our school colors. On all sticks and mallets minus keyboard mallets, we do a solid black base all the way up and down the stick. Then we do a candy swirl with purple stick tape. It looks pretty sharp. But I've noticed the less tape the stick has on it, the better sound it gives the drum and etc. That's why I'd kinda like to start doing what most DCI groups do. Use one color of tape and wrap only the upper half of the stick.

Stick tape should always be white... period. I don't mean to be an *beep* here, but every time a competitive line sees another line come out with colorful stick tape and/or striped tape-jobs, negative judgements are passed instantly. I've NEVER seen a drumline use striped tape-jobs that could play. If yours actually can, congratulations, but know that most other lines that see it will assume that you can't. White is the most professional and visually appealing in a competitive scenario.


As for the original topic. I'm OKAY with tenors and basses using 2/3 because the extra weight on the end can actually help with utilizing gravity for legato movement with a matched grip; however, from a snare perspective, I can't stand anything but full tape for weight-balance reasons. 1/2 or 2/3 tape-jobs completely change the weight balance of the stick and how it performs, which completely affects your technique. You can achieve proper weight balance with "missing-hand", but I don't honestly see the point. I don't personally find that I get a better grip on the stick without tape than I do with tape, so I don't see the point of not just taping all the way down. I've seen people tape the whole stick EXCEPT for a small strip on the traditional hand to act as a guide for how far to choke-up on the left hand, but you shouldn't really need a guide. Not to mention you end up using the same sticks in the same hands every time you play, and I personally like to switch up so that I don't have one stick with more rim-shot damage than the other (typically right).

The issue with tape that I typically have with my students isn't how far down to tape or not, it's how thick of a layer of tape they use. I generally allow for only about 1/16" overlap at most. Anything more is too much tape. And the old-school criss-cross pattern (up once, down once) is entirely too much as well. I don't like playing snare with tree trunks.

I told my Instructor about your comment. And apparently having all white sticks at a competition is a bad thing because then the judges, especially the percussion judge will be able to see every single little detail we do with our sticks. So he said that's why we wrap them with dark colors such as black and purple.

[eatsleepdrum]

I prefer missing hand for snare. However I was watching Cavies this year and was wondering has anyone tried out their style, which appears to be "missing fulcrum"? It's basically missing hand but only appears to be enough for your fulcrum point, not the whole hand spacing. Perhaps only an inch/inch and a half wide.

[petrolika]

Our drumline does a candy swirl using our school colors. On all sticks and mallets minus keyboard mallets, we do a solid black base all the way up and down the stick. Then we do a candy swirl with purple stick tape. It looks pretty sharp. But I've noticed the less tape the stick has on it, the better sound it gives the drum and etc. That's why I'd kinda like to start doing what most DCI groups do. Use one color of tape and wrap only the upper half of the stick.

Stick tape should always be white... period. I don't mean to be an *beep* here, but every time a competitive line sees another line come out with colorful stick tape and/or striped tape-jobs, negative judgements are passed instantly. I've NEVER seen a drumline use striped tape-jobs that could play. If yours actually can, congratulations, but know that most other lines that see it will assume that you can't. White is the most professional and visually appealing in a competitive scenario.


As for the original topic. I'm OKAY with tenors and basses using 2/3 because the extra weight on the end can actually help with utilizing gravity for legato movement with a matched grip; however, from a snare perspective, I can't stand anything but full tape for weight-balance reasons. 1/2 or 2/3 tape-jobs completely change the weight balance of the stick and how it performs, which completely affects your technique. You can achieve proper weight balance with "missing-hand", but I don't honestly see the point. I don't personally find that I get a better grip on the stick without tape than I do with tape, so I don't see the point of not just taping all the way down. I've seen people tape the whole stick EXCEPT for a small strip on the traditional hand to act as a guide for how far to choke-up on the left hand, but you shouldn't really need a guide. Not to mention you end up using the same sticks in the same hands every time you play, and I personally like to switch up so that I don't have one stick with more rim-shot damage than the other (typically right).

The issue with tape that I typically have with my students isn't how far down to tape or not, it's how thick of a layer of tape they use. I generally allow for only about 1/16" overlap at most. Anything more is too much tape. And the old-school criss-cross pattern (up once, down once) is entirely too much as well. I don't like playing snare with tree trunks.

I told my Instructor about your comment. And apparently having all white sticks at a competition is a bad thing because then the judges, especially the percussion judge will be able to see every single little detail we do with our sticks. So he said that's why we wrap them with dark colors such as black and purple.

White sticks look nicer.

[alochsta]

I told my Instructor about your comment. And apparently having all white sticks at a competition is a bad thing because then the judges, especially the percussion judge will be able to see every single little detail we do with our sticks. So he said that's why we wrap them with dark colors such as black and purple.

So you're hiding imperfections?

First of all, you're not hiding anything. A well trained and qualified judge will know exactly what he's looking at and listening to. You aren't fooling him/her with purple stick tape.

Second of all, you shouldn't want to hide anything! Play clean beats. Problem solved.

I WANT judges to see "every single detail". That's what sets us apart from mediocre lines.

Sorry if I'm being an ass, but tell your instructor to raise the bar on his expectations.

[padmadness]

I answered the poll wrong but i like 2/3 for snare, but on quads, with tim jackson 2's, its 1/2 all the way