[HBdrummer1]

So much good advice from all... I wish I could have accessed information like this 40+ years ago when I first started playing so I didn't have to learn the expensive way, but I did learn... I use cymbals, a lot of them, for aesthetics I like to keep them flatter, but I keep them lower so I can come down on them and not across the edge (but it does happen occasionally). Because of some physical limitations I sit low so I do angle the drums, but just enough to miss the rims. Everything is mic'd so I get a big sound without having to kill my sticks or the drums to be heard, so I don't have to be a hard hitter either. The only thing that chews anything up for me now is my hats and the occasional oops... I still keep wood sticks around but went to the Ahead alloy sticks over a year ago, I play no less than two hours daily and only replace the sleeve's every couple months or so. I've read reviews of these sticks where people are breaking them, how hard do you have to hit to break an aluminum stick?? I can't remember the last time I cracked a cymbal, and my heads seem to last indefinitely now. No stick will last forever but proper techniques and equipment setup can keep the stick budget to a minimum along with everything else.