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Drum City Original Stick Part 6 Big ear Mark1
There are countless types of sticks in this world, but what kind of sticks do you use?
There are many things to consider, such as length, thickness, weight, balance, tip shape, and material.
Stick manufacturers and drum manufacturers offer many options, and the lineup is constantly expanding and contracting to meet the needs of everyone.
However, we often receive a variety of opinions, such as ``If only things were a little more like this in that model'' and ``I want that model that has been discontinued.'' Meanwhile, Drum City has prepared several types of original sticks that are carefully selected to reach those itchy areas.
Drum City Original Stick Review Part 6! !
This time as well, we would like to ask Mr. Uichiro Ichikawa, an instructor at Asakusa Drum Dojo, to give us a review and tell us about its usability and key points.
We hope you will find this helpful in choosing your stick.
*This article has been added and revised from the one published in "JPC No. 173" published in July 2022.
▶ This time we will introduce Big ear Mark1
The name comes from a phrase used by a famous jazz drummer to describe a person with a good ear. We created this product with the hope that players will understand sound and be able to choose sounds.
It has a fairly narrow grip and a small oval tip, so it has excellent expressiveness in delicate plays. In addition, by setting the taper part short, the center of gravity is balanced much closer to the tip (relative to the tip), allowing you to feel the appropriate weight and ensuring power when you need it most. It is also recommended for people with small hands.
▶ Mr. Uichiro Ichikawa tried it out and asked him what he thought about it, including how it felt to use.
Anyway, it's a nostalgic stick. The first time I encountered this stick was over 40 years ago, at a music school studio in the back of Harajuku. I don't know who it belonged to, but there was a stick that this stick was modeled on sitting on top of the bass drum of the drum set in the studio. I put this to use without permission and came across a famous jazz drummer model made by a certain company.
Now, when I shake it for the first time in 40 years, maybe it's just my imagination, but it feels a little thinner overall and the tip has gotten smaller. After all, it's been a long time since we met again. During that time, I've used many different sticks and my tastes have changed, so maybe that's why it felt so thin.
Despite this difference in impressions, after playing with it for a while, the familiar feeling returns to your hands. Straight-line feel from a short stick. The feel that directly conveys the movement of your arm. These characteristics are caused by the lack of "play" between the arm and the stick. In other words, this type of stick is better suited for hitting linear rhythms rather than soft, curved rhythms.
I don't know how the famous jazz drummer himself held this stick, but if he had held it a little longer, it would have been possible to create flexible and sticky rhythms even with this short stick. In this way, you can get both the maneuverability of a short stick and the flexible rhythm.
When I measured the weight, the light one was around 40-43g, the medium one was around 45g, and the heavy one was around 48g. It seems that the easiest weight to swing is around 45g, but I deliberately chose two sets that were heavier (48~50g). This is because you can expect a thick, solid sound.
When I try using it, I am concerned about its thinness. The chip also feels quite small. I usually use the 5B class, so the model I introduced this time feels thinner and shorter in each step. I must have played with it for an hour, thinking, ``Maybe it doesn't fit after all.'' Suddenly, I noticed that my hands and arms didn't feel that strange. The fact that you think it doesn't suit you is just your conscious mind, and your body is comfortable accepting it.
I guess I knew in my head that this kind of stick was right for me. Irrespective of this aspect of consciousness, the body remembers things. I remember what sticks are easy to swing, my arms, wrists, and fingers without any logic. I made such a discovery when I held this stick for the first time in a while.
Tools are interesting. You use tools with your body, not your head. This model once again taught us this obvious thing.
執筆者：市川 宇一郎 、ドラムシティ（木澤）
