Quieter Drumming with Adoro Silent Sticks?
A true innovation in quiet drumming – With the “Silent Sticks”, Adoro Drums has a special drumstick in its lineup that enables particularly quiet drumming without any compromise in playing feel.
Why play quietly? – some might ask. Maybe you don’t want to play quietly at all, and you play drums precisely to hit hard. Sure, in a metal or punk band, the topic of “quiet drumming” or “low volume drumming” might raise a smile. But in many contexts, drummers are expected to adapt to the given acoustic conditions.
In jazz, for example, you often play completely unplugged gigs in the classic tradition. That means you need to bring your drum sound down to the level of a double bass, a grand piano, or a saxophonist. In the singer/songwriter world, you’re often playing in very small, living-room-style venues. The audience is right there in front of you, so you need to manage your dynamics and volume carefully to avoid overwhelming your listeners. If you play a lot in churches — in gospel choirs or contemporary Christian music settings, for instance — you frequently deal with strong reflections that shape the acoustics of the room and often make loud drumming simply impossible.
There are various ways to play more quietly. The most important ones naturally concern your technique. Low volume drumming isn’t about power drumming — it’s about a relaxed approach that puts only the necessary energy into the heads. Thinner, lighter sticks are one option for playing noticeably more quietly. In certain styles, brushes or rods also work well, reducing volume while offering a different playing feel compared to sticks.
Adoro Silent Sticks play just like real sticks — only quieter!
What makes the Adoro Silent Sticks special is that they genuinely play like real sticks. That means they offer comparable rebound and balance, which means your playing is far less compromised than when using rods or brushes. With Adoro Silent Sticks, well-defined double stroke rolls on the hi-hat are easily achievable, as is a fast uptempo swing driven primarily by rebound. You don’t need to adjust your technique or your grooves in low-volume situations — you can play everything exactly as rehearsed, just significantly more quietly.
On top of that, Adoro Silent Sticks also sound noticeably more transparent on drums and cymbals than rods or brushes. Finer notes are not lost, and the dynamics of your playing can be controlled very well. Thanks to the robust materials, the sticks are also rimshot-capable. When accents on the snare or cymbal bell are called for, you can strike with the shaft without worrying that the sticks won’t hold up. Compared to regular sticks, rimshots with the Silent Sticks sound considerably more restrained — they set good accents while remaining within a pleasant volume range.
A construction you have to come up with first.
The noticeably quieter sound and excellent playing feel of the Adoro Silent Sticks are made possible by the unique construction of the sticks. Thanks to the low weight of the plastic tubes, the energy transferred to the heads is consistently reduced, while the special flexible nylon inserts enhance the rebound of the sticks.
When the stick hits the head, the nylon strips flex and absorb the energy of the stroke, but also spring back strongly, launching the stick back to its starting position. With a little practice, the behavior of the sticks can be controlled very well, and the rebound can be used deliberately for double strokes and fast notes.
The plastic tubes feel very robust. I play a lot with rimshots and can’t always resist doing so with the Silent Sticks either. Despite many hours of playing with rimshots, I never had the impression that the Adoro Silent Sticks were wearing down noticeably, or that I needed to worry about them suddenly breaking under a harder stroke.
Of course, like all sticks, Adoro Silent Sticks are a consumable item and will eventually need to be replaced. The lifespan, however, seems to me to be extremely respectable compared to regular rods or sticks, which is why I would also rate them as offering excellent value for money.
A true secret weapon
“Every drummer should have a pair of Silent Sticks in their stick bag.”
In my opinion, the Adoro Silent Sticks are an extremely innovative idea and a true secret weapon for quiet drumming. That’s why every drummer should really have a pair of Adoro Silent Sticks in their stick bag.
Sure, rods and brushes have their place too — in many styles, that kind of sound is exactly what’s called for — but the Adoro Silent Sticks are a genuine alternative wherever you actually need sticks to pull off your rehearsed grooves satisfactorily.
Of course, even with the Silent Sticks there’s an adjustment period, but ultimately it’s surprising how well the concept works and how relaxed and satisfying the sticks are to play.
With the Silent Sticks, Adoro Drums has — just as with their drums — taken a truly convincing idea and executed it skillfully, consistently, and to a high standard. Give them a try!
Available at www.silent-sticks.de
Growing up as a church musician, Chris now plays in various projects around Singer/Songwriter, Gospel, Jazz and Independent Music. Chris is part of the Mosaik Community Düsseldorf, which regularly organizes concerts with well-known artists in a living room atmosphere as part of their “Kulturbühne”.
