Take a cymbal... ANY cymbal... I don't care who made it.
Put it on a stand... ANY stand... ANY angle you desire... any washer, felt, cymbal sleeve or spring.
Now, take a drums stick.... But not just any stick. I'd say grab yourself a 7A for example... any wood you choose, nylon or wood tip... doesn't matter.
NOW HIT THE CYMBAL AS HARD AS YOU LIKE.
The cymbal isn't gonna break. If you it it too hard, eventually the stick will break.
NOW... head out to your garage and get yourself a baseball bat.
HIT THAT CYMBAL GOOD AND HARD....
Bye Bye Cymbal!
Do you get my drift here?
Sticks are WAY cheaper than cymbals, and if you're breaking cymbals, go to sticks that will break INSTEAD.
2B's and 5B's are snare drum sticks... originally for orchestral and concert band playing. Back in the day, drumset players used sticks in the "A" range. "S" sticks were for street drums. Yes, you can adjust angles and do glancing blows, and whatever you like to minimize the damage of an over-sized stick... but if you simply got used to sticks that break... and learn how to use them to MINIMIZE on the breakage... you'll save a lot of dough!
Feel free to disagree... I'm happy to go to your house and do the baseball bat demonstration on one of your cymbals so you can see for yourself what I'm talking about!
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I never thought of the difference between the plastic sleeves and metal washers. I might consider the washers for more freedom for the cymbal to breath!
