“Years ago if a person was a skier your skis were all made out of wood. Now they’re made out of all kinds of different materials. If you were a pole vaulter they were bamboo. Now they use all different types of materials. Tennis rackets were all wood and now they make them out of all kinds of synthetics. So I feel that in the music industry there’s no reason that a synthetic stick shouldn’t be as viable as a wood product, and even more so.” This is Players Music founder Tony LaLonde’s take on Duratech drum sticks, his line of nylon polymer sticks. I have to admit, this theory makes a whole lot of sense to me!

If anyone understands the evolution of a musical instrument accessory it’s Tony, as he comes from a family of inventors. His father held several patents for musical accessories, and was also a long-time musical instrument retailer in Minnesota. Tony and his brother followed in that tradition by starting music stores in California in conjunction with Tony expanding the family’s line of patents and innovative products. Tony opened his first music store in 1976 and later formed Players Products.

In this podcast interview, Tony gives me the rundown on Duratech drum sticks. He tells me that Duratech sticks have the most “wood-like” feel of all composite sticks and explains that by avoiding wood, these sticks are carefully balanced and pitch matched, guaranteed straight + or – .005 of an inch and weight is guaranteed within 1/10 of an ounce, pair after pair.

If this sounds like something you want to try out for yourself, we’re also launching a GearPipe exclusive giveaway. I’ll be giving away two pair of sticks each day for the next week.

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