What do you mean by 'custom'?

Good question. A lot of people think it's for the logos, paint and cosmetic instruction our customers give. When we started out, however, the original reason for being a 'custom' shop was because the sticks themselves were (and continue to be) individually made to specification. That means you tell us you want, say, 16" in length, 0.566" in width, a short taper and an acorn tip. Then we take a block of wood and make it. Next time you want the same thing but 0.610" in width, so we make that.

What makes a custom drumstick better than any other drumstick?

A drumstick made properly allows a drummer to play properly. There is a wide variety of shapes in guitar bodies and necks, skis, steering wheels, and doorknobs. The shape and weight of something determines how good it feels and easy it is to use. With drumsticks, it's all about feel. Large drumstick manufacturers make sticks from basic templates that may or may not fit you or your style. With our drumsticks, you determine the feel by deciding how long and wide the stick is in addition to the shape of the taper and the tip. Five species of woods allow for further customization with the density.

Custom sticks for $5 a pair? There must be something missing.. like quality?

Nope. Check out our testimonials. We have the $5 option for reasonable drummers who know what they want and don't want to pay a large manufacturer excess money for something that really isn't that hard to do. Consider that the $5 per pair option does not include logos, paint or lacquer and that price is only for hickory. We also offer drumsticks in four other species of wood, priced at $7 and $8. Also, nobody is getting rich off you. We just make drumsticks.

Where do I start? How do I place an order?

Go to the custom shop. Right away you'll see the measurement options. There is a selection for our standard templates which you can then tweak as you like. Any measurements you submit on this form will be saved as a template in addition to our standards, so you can reorder easily. Below the measurements you'll see the wood selection and options for logos, paint, lacquer and some other things. Again, here, once you upload a logo and submit this form, the logo will be saved so you can pick it easily for a reorder. Below all this is a text area where you can be more verbal with what you want. Just be warned, if you specify anything here from the above options that obviously costs extra or ask for graphic layout work, you'll get a friendly email to confirm the request followed by a friendly invoice!

What's the difference between all the tapers and tips? What should I get?

We can't really tell you what to get, but we can explain (noob-style) how a drumstick functions and how these options affect that. Basically, a drumstick rests in your hand like a playground see-saw.. kind-of. It pivots in your hand and bounces off the drum head or cymbal in a controlled fashion by using your other fingers. A longer or thicker stick will have more momentum, making it more sluggish to control but also easier to drop and bounce. Shorter or thinner sticks are more easily pushed and pulled with your fingers but will not drop and bounce as easily. Having a short taper will simply give you more weight on the tip-end of the stick and also give you a heavy hammer for ride bells if you're into that. The tips are their own world.. you can see all the tip profiles on the custom shop page and judge for yourself what you think will work for you. Tips mostly affect the brightness of the hit and maybe a little of the bounce. The ones that have a sharper corner where it hits the drum will be a little brighter. Ultimately, technique and practice will bring out your ability to judge what's really going to work for you and we're not selling that.. yet!

Can you duplicate the sticks I already have?

Yes, but the taper and tip must be in good shape (almost new). The price is a one-time template fee of $15 and one full pair of the sticks in question. Order these in the custom shop normally, but put a note in the text area at the bottom that you "want a duplication". (You'll have to fill in the measurements at the top but we'll ignore those when we see your note at the bottom.) Go through with your order by submitting that form, choosing your quantity, credits, etc. on the next page just like a normal order, and then paying via PayPal.

Then mail your sticks to:

CustomDrumSticks.BIZ c/o Nick Fetzer
2896 Woodland Circle
Allison Park, PA 15101

You'll get an invoice for the $15. We'll start your order after we get your sticks and the additional payment.

Can I get a sample just to try?

Unfortunately, no. If we were overcharging our customers like the big companies do, then maybe. (try asking them for a sample)

How can I get free sticks?

The term "free sticks" can be misleading.. we like to call them "free stick credits" because you use them to add free sticks to a regular paid order. And there are lots of ways to get them (see below).. one of them is definitely not emailing us to ask for free sticks or "samples" (see above).

How do I get credits?

Follow these steps for seven easy credits:

Step #1: Sign up and validate your email address. Giving us your email address not only gets you a credit, but it's the only way you'll know about weekly specials we have for great discounts. We don't take sensitive information or sell any information we get. We just don't because we hate getting spam so we don't give it. Sign up.

Step #2: Fill out the registration survey. This is on the registration page, or after you've signed in, the 'my account' page. There's a short delay to get the two credits because we have to review the surveys periodically and award the credits manually.

Step #3: Tell a friend. On the registration form, there's a 'referrer' box. If somebody puts your full name or email address there because you pointed them to us, you get two credits. (Both their and your accounts must have a validated email address for this to work!) Just don't try to give yourself credits like this with multiple accounts because you're going to create a problem for either us or you down the road.. it's happened before.

Step #4: After you order sticks and try them out, give us feedback. Look for the 'feedback' link at the bottom of the page, and if you're signed in, you'll see a selection with everything you've ordered. Select a past order and tell us what you think about it. When we review your feedback, you'll get two credits.

What's with all the discounts and promo codes?

Sometimes we confuse ourselves in the heroic feat of giving you free stuff.. so here goes:

free stick credits

As mentioned above, there are free sticks you earn by doing a myriad of things like making an account, referring someone else to us, filling our our survey.. whatever we come up with. You can add these free sticks to individual orders on the Order Summary page which you'll see whenever you add something to your cart or click 'my cart'.

promo codes

A promo code is six digits and can give you a % discount or it can give you free sticks. You'll find these in bulletins, emails we send out, or on business cards. These are also used with individual orders on the Order Summary page.

sitewide discounts

These are for everybody! You'll see a big blue message at the top of the page telling you what you're saving (% off or free shipping). Sitewide discounts apply to your whole shopping cart and you don't need to do anything to use them.

How long will it take you to make my sticks?

Turnaround time is about 2-4 weeks. Sometimes they only take a week, sometimes they take four. If it will be longer, we will notify you on the website before you pay.

I see sticks with printing and logos.. how do I get my band logo or signature?

Go to the custom shop, fill in all the blanks and look for the logo and paint options to the left of the wood selection. See the question on "Where do I start?" for a detailed description of the custom shop page.

Can I get anything printed on my sticks?

Basically. You can upload an image file or specify text and a font name or general style. Uploaded images must be at least 600 ppi and exceed the bounds of the printable area on the stick, which is about 0.6" x 3.5". We can size the image down to fit, but sizing up may make the print blurry.

For signatures, use a thick marker and make sure the scanned image is as clear as possible.

Most importantly, if you are curious about what your image will look like on the sticks and are ordering a large quantity (100+), we highly recommend asking for a physical proof. We will send a few pairs at a nominal charge. There is a no-return policy on printed or painted sticks.

Can you engrave my sticks?

Yes. We work with some very nice people at West Virginia Wood Arts that can do amazing laser engraving. For a quote, just contact us at the email address at the bottom of this page with a sample of the artwork you want as the engraving. Please have "engraving" in the subject line.

Can I get sponsored?

Sorry, we do not sponsor at this time. You can email us at promotion@customdrumsticks.biz if you want to introduce yourself and we'll get back to you if we ever take that road.

Do you offer bulk deals?

We make our sticks one-at-a-time on a single lathe, manually. Because we don't turn on a big machine and walk away, we cannot give you sticks at fifty cents per pair. If you're interested in ordering a large (100+) quantity, we may be able to work out a small break depending on our order volume and specifically what you're looking for.

Do you have any promotional programs?

Yes, you can be a member of our street team. Here's how it works..

Basically, you give us $20 and your own design for business cards, for instance your band logo and website. In return, we'll give you 250 cards with your design on the front and a promo code (on the back) that's unique to your account. You give the cards out to.. well, any drummer that you might meet at a shows or super-cool after-party and they can use that code at the site to get a break. (see the question on discounts and promo codes)

And the answer you're looking for.. every time someone uses your code, you rack up discounts that you can cash in anytime.

Sound like a plan?

What we need (for now):

• your presskit (see submission info below)
• you to like our sticks

What we need (if you qualify):

• $20
• a business card design OR a logo
• you to run your mouth all over the place

What you get:

• 250 business cards to help promote you and your music
• discounts on your Custom DrumSticks
• to be everybody's hero

See the press kit submission details below.

submitting your presskit

The street team application requires the submission of a press kit. This should include enough information to give us an idea of the music you play, how often (and where) you gig, and the size of your fanbase.

Either email your EPK to promotion@customdrumsticks.biz or snail it to:

CustomDrumSticks.BIZ c/o Nick Fetzer
2896 Woodland Circle
Allison Park, PA 15101

I read this whole page and you still didn't answer my question.

Fair enough.

customerservice@customdrumsticks.biz