As a professional drummer and drum teacher, I’ve spent plenty of time bashing away on electronic drums – and figuring out the best drumsticks for the job.
While most sticks are suitable for electronic drum sets, I’ve rounded up my favourite choices from my 15 years of playing, so you can get the most out of your drum set from day 1.
If you want to venture out and choose your own stick for electronic drums, that’s great too. Check out my top tips section before you start to help you get pointed in the right direction.
So without further ado, let’s get started!
Top Tips For Buying The Best Drumsticks For Electronic Drums
The first essential thing to know about buying drumsticks for electronic drums is – don’t panic!
While there are sticks which are designed specifically to feel great on electronic drums – there isn’t a “special” type of electronic stick that you must have.
There’s no type of stick that only works on electronic drums.
Any pair of high-quality wood or nylon sticks will do the job – while there are certainly better and worse choices out there, you’ll be just fine as long as your stick is well made.
It’s pretty rare for someone to damage their electronic drums with a pair of sticks – so don’t worry about it in your day to day playing.
However, to be on the safe side and to preserve the life of your electronic drum heads, you are better off avoiding any low-quality sticks that break easily.
Low-quality sticks sometimes splinter at the tip or have sharp edges, which can, given enough time, rip into your mesh heads and damage your lovely drums!
As long as you have a well-made set of sticks, the likelihood of something going wrong is extremely unlikely – and I haven’t yet heard of anyone having a problem when buying from the top brands.
In addition, if you have an acoustic drum set and an electronic drum set, avoid using sticks that have been used on the acoustic drum set.
An acoustic drum set has sharper edges, which chew up sticks over time, so even if you’re using a top-quality pair of sticks, they could still start to splinter apart.
Therefore, it’s best to keep your acoustic drum set sticks and your electronic drum set sticks separate.
Some people recommend only using nylon sticks for electronic drums, but wood sticks are perfectly acceptable too.
I personally prefer the feeling of a wood stick, which is the more traditional choice and more commonly used by the top drummers out there.
However, it’s a great idea to try out a nylon tipped stick too and see which you prefer.
If you do decide to go for a nylon tipped stick, just do a quick check by running your finger over the nylon tip to make sure there are no sharp edges.
In the vast majority of cases you shouldn’t have any problems, but if something does feel off, you can use a bit of sandpaper to gently remove the sharp edge and make the stick tip smooth.
If you don’t want to do any DIY, you’re probably better off with choosing a wood stick!
Alright, so now we’ve learnt how to take care of the drums, let’s get started!
Best Drumsticks For Electronic Drums
- Vic Firth Estick – Best all-round choice for electronic drums
- Vic Firth American Jazz 2 – Best stick for low-effort practice
- Vic Firth American Classic Extreme 5B – Best rock drumstick for electronic drums
- Vater Power 5A Nylon Tip – Best nylon tip stick for electronic drums
- Promark Rebound 5A Active Grip – Easiest drumsticks to hold for electronic drums
- Vic Firth Signature Series Steve Gadd Natural – Best drumsticks for aspiring professionals
Vic Firth Estick
While any pair of high-quality wood or nylon tip drumsticks will be effective on an electronic drum set, it is possible to find a great pair of sticks that are specifically tailored for electronic drums.
Enter the Vic Firth Estick.
If you’re not sure where to start, this would be our top recommendation for your first pair of drumsticks.
Vic Firth Esticks are like any other great pair of sticks – but with a few little twists that make playing electronic drums even more enjoyable.
Firstly, this stick features a long taper, which is the part of the stick that connects the tip and the main ‘body’ section.
This long taper increases the responsiveness of the stick, which means that it rebounds off the drum more easily.
This makes day-to-day playing easier and more enjoyable.
This stick is a little longer than other varieties, which makes it easier to reach round the drums, while also giving slightly more power.
The tip of the stick (the part that strikes the drum) is also a bit chunkier than usual.
While the shape of the tip is not going to matter much on a middle or high quality drum set – a chunkier stick tip may be useful if you’ve purchased a cheap electronic drum set.
A thicker stick tip will help to more easily activate and trigger the sounds on each drum pad.
And because Vic Firth are the most trusted make of drumsticks out there – you can rely on the fact that your sticks will be consistent, well made and reliable.
If you want to find out more about these sticks, we’ve attached a link below to Amazon.
Vic Firth American Jazz 2
Let’s face it, drumming for long periods of time is a pretty tiring game. No matter how good your technique is – it’s helpful to have a pair of sticks that make your playing as effortless as possible.
The American Jazz 2 sticks from Vic Firth are some of the most enjoyable sticks I’ve ever played with.
These sticks are based on the 5A size, the most popular type of stick available – but they have a few special features that make playing easier.
Like the Esticks, they also feature a long taper – making faster playing simpler. An improved rebound means that the stick itself does more of the work for you.
The whole stick is designed to be fast and easy to move around the kit. It’s relatively light, so you won’t be weighed down moving from drum to drum.
Traditionally, if you needed to make a lot of noise on a drum set – you’d need to buy a heavier pair of sticks.
But on an electronic set, you don’t face this restriction, because you can turn up your drum set volume in your headphones.
A stick like this allows for low-effort practice, whilst still producing a great sound.
Jazz players in particular love this kind of stick, but it’s also suitable for anyone who just wants a really enjoyable experience of playing electronic drums.
You can find out more by following the link to Amazon below.
p.s. If you are joining a rock or metal band and need to play with a heavier, thicker stick in the future – you should check out my next recommendation.
Vic Firth American Classic Extreme 5B
While I’d normally recommend a lighter stick for electronic drums – if you’re hoping to become a heavy rock or metal drummer – it’s good to have some practice with a heavier stick too.
When rock and metal drummers play acoustic drums, they need big and heavy sticks to produce a consistently loud sound.
If you love heavier styles of music, you should try and do some practice on the electronic kit with a pair of chunky sticks, to get used to how they feel.
Then, when the time comes and you need to lay down a powerhouse groove on an acoustic kit, you’ll be far more prepared.
The American Classic Extreme 5B is an excellent stick for rock, metal, punk and anything else that requires to have your audience not just hear your drumming, but feel it in their bones.
The 5B is the classic choice for rock music and other louder styles.
While it isn’t a gigantic drumstick, it strikes a good balance between providing a whole lot of power, without being impossible to move around the drum set.
The extreme series is a little bit longer than a normal 5B size, which makes it easier to produce even more power with each note you play.
In short, if you want to start your journey towards being able to play hard and heavy – check out an Extreme 5B stick for your electronic drum practice.
If you’d like to find out more, you can check out these sticks on Amazon using the link below.
p.s. If you’re an extremely loud player and you like to play acoustic drums – check out our most durable drumsticks article for our top picks.
Vater Power 5A Nylon Tip
You might have read some articles out there that suggest a nylon tip drumstick for playing electronic drums.
While this isn’t essential, you’re welcome to experiment with this stick type if you’d prefer to.
A nylon tip stick is the classic alternative to the standard wooden stick.
Nylon produces a brighter, more consistent sound on acoustic drums, but many drummers also use nylon tips in their day to day electronic drum set practice.
Overall, the differences in using nylon tips and wood tips on an electronic drum set are going to be minimal.
If you do decide to purchase a nylon tip stick – I highly recommend Vater as the go-to company of choice.
Vater have a really great reputation for long lasting, durable sticks – when using cheaper sticks, nylon tips have a habit of flying off randomly – and hitting you in the face.
Assuming you don’t want this, Vater sticks give you the best chance of keeping the nylon tip on the drumstick where it belongs.
The Vater Power 5A is a favourite choice of mine. It’s the most popular drumstick size in the world – but Vater has made the stick slightly longer, for just a little extra reach and power.
In terms of weight, this stick is midway in size between the lighter sticks and the heavier sticks I’ve suggested in this article. It’s not designed with one particular application in mind, but it’s a great all-rounder.
You can find out more about the Vater Power 5A on Amazon by following the link below.
Promark Rebound 5A ActiveGrip
If you have very dry hands, or if your hands sweat a lot – it’s easy to drop your sticks in the heat of the moment when playing your electronic set during a long drumming session.
Of course, you never want to have to worry about dropping a stick – so drum companies have created a number of designs which increase the friction between your hand and your stick.
This significantly decreases the likelihood of your stick flying out of your hand mid-song, which is a game-changer for your confidence and comfort level when playing.
While a number of drum companies have designed anti-slip sticks, Promark’s ActiveGrip sticks are considered one of the all-time favourites amongst drummers.
The unique coating on the stick adapts depending on how hot or sweaty you are.
As the heat in your hands increases – the stick becomes grippier and less likely to move around in your palms.
The same process also takes place as your hands get sweatier – moisture also activates the grippy coating, again increasing the level of grip on your stick.
This can be a lifesaver for many drummers who have struggled for years with all kinds of homemade solutions to improve the level of grip on their sticks.
I’ve chosen to feature the Rebound 5A sticks for electronic drumming, as they have a similar design to many of the other sticks I’ve mentioned in this article.
They are very responsive on the drums, are reasonably light for easy movement around the kit, and are manufactured by Promark, one of the most highly trusted drumstick companies out there.
You can find out more about these drumsticks and see if they’re right for you using the Amazon link below.
Vic Firth Signature Series – Steve Gadd Natural
When you’re first getting into drumming – it’s a great idea to find out which types of sticks the top drummers are using.
After all, why not choose a pair of sticks that are preferred by some of the greatest drummers out there?
One stick I love that was designed by a master drummer is the Steve Gadd signature stick.
This isn’t just any old drummer creating a drumstick – this guy is arguably the greatest and most influential session drummer alive.
When you have a master level drummer like Steve Gadd involved in the design process – you know there’s going to be something amazing to use at the end.
I’ve used this stick for many years and it’s become one of my personal favourites to recommend to other drummers.
Like many of the drumsticks featured in this article, it’s on the lighter end of sticks, with a long taper for great rebound.
These sticks are designed to sound great in a studio, but are equally at home on the electronic drum set.
They are a touch smaller than a standard 5A stick, so they’re really nice and easy to move around the kit.
These kind of sticks really suit precise, consistent playing – one of the hallmarks of a truly great drummer.
Steve Gadd often uses the jet black painted version of this stick – but just to be 100% sure you don’t get any paint on your electronic drum set – I’ve chosen to recommend the non-painted wood version of this stick.
You can check out a classic performance from Steve Gadd in the video below.
If you’d like to find out more about this stick – we’ve attached a link below so you can find the Steve Gadd Signature Series Stick on Amazon.
Conclusion
So there you have it! 6 top-tier drumsticks to get you started on electronic drums.
If you’ve enjoyed this article, feel free to take a look at our more specialised drumstick articles – featuring the best drumsticks for rock and the best drumsticks for beginner drummers.
Thanks for reading and have fun!