In defense of traditional grip!.

[Schizoid Man]

Well...my take on things...

If you ask me, matched is the better grip overall, because both hands are equal. It's more ergonomic for complicated licks, and allows you to play the hihats with your left hand more easily (which I do more and more these days).
I do use trad, though, for playing styles such as jazz and funk which have busy snare comping. It feels more natural playing little buzz rolls, ghost notes, and so on with traditional grip.

It also depends on how your kit is arranged. For example, check out Bill Bruford's Tama kit he's been using for the past couple of years. It's completely symmetrical; you cannot really play traditional grip on it. It'd be very difficult and uncomfortable to try.

So I use traditional on occaisional, but overall I feel matched is better.

[FuseU1]

FT quote: "IMO no grip is better or worse for anything. It all depends on the player"...

My sents exactly. To me, it doesn't matter if u play trad or match - if u play the kit well...
I seriously doubt one could tell JUST BY LISTENING to a player [w/out EVER having seen them play/pics of em] what grip they use..maybe you'd get it right some of the time, but there's no way you could tell 100% of the time...there are players i swore were playg trad who were act. playg matched - & vice-versa...Weckl, Vinnie, Virg, Dennis, Gary N...all have blazing singles for trad grip [AWA use doubles effectively]...jes my 2....

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ November 16, 2003 09:28 PM: Message edited by: FuseU1 ]</font>

[dum-dum-soc]

Just wanted to say my two cents. First, I have been playing for quite some time (match) and FOR ME, it seemed as though the direction I wanted my playing to go in required me to change to traditional. Like most I thought, hell I can't get the same kind of back beat snare CRACK that I have been trademarked for (one of the few guys that doesn't need mics). I changed to traditional about 3 months ago and it has been the best thing for me and has invigorated my playing. I am comming up with tastey combinations left and right. I agree with Steve... The question of the weaker backbeat....... WRONG...... Now that I have had some more time with the grip I actually get a louder back beat than before (and I'm in 2 gigging rock bands)and my arm is not tired afterward because I am not HAMMERING away at the snare. I do use both cuz for the majority of my developement I have played match so in some ways there are still things (like Tony Williams, Billy Cobham, Dennis Chambers type stuff) that can only be done FOR NOW with match. I can't wait to chart my development and see how far I am in a year [img]biggrin.gif[/img] . Anyway to sum it up traditional is good.... REAL GOOD. But it depends on the phrasing you choose to play with. Your back beat can be just as good or better with trad grip WITH the right Moeller driven technique.... And I play gospel [img]rolleyes.gif[/img] [img]rolleyes.gif[/img] [img]rolleyes.gif[/img] ..... That's my rant.... I feel this had to be said because for years I was scared of trad grip. Now I am the biggest fan.

[FuseU1]

Phat-azz trad RnR backbeat crack -
- two words:

..."Stewart,"... and..."Copeland"....

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ November 16, 2003 10:48 PM: Message edited by: FuseU1 ]</font>

[dum-dum-soc]

Here, Here. Fuse. Hey, have you noticed we always talk about great drummers and Vinnie, Dave, Virgil, Tony, Buddy.. All trad...

Nuff said....

[peter c]

Tony was trad but wanted
and tried to go matched.

[img]cool.gif[/img]

[FuseU1]

...Actually, I'm predominantly a matched player [img]redface.gif[/img] [img]wink.gif[/img] ...i switched over to trad a few months ago...because, er, for 1...uh...i think it "looks funny playing jazz w matched" to the "drummin' snobbery" [img]wink.gif[/img] , and... i didnt want any1 here at HOD-HB to make fun of me 1 day - "phhfftt" - [in my best Plaidster "phhfftt"! [img]tongue.gif[/img] ]

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ November 18, 2003 05:11 PM: Message edited by: FuseU1 ]</font>

[royerin]

From what I've seen it seems that Vinnie played match most of the time until the 90's, but even then would still switch occasionally....when I saw him with Sting in '97 he played matched the whole show.

[ladanny]

I've never really thought about the idea of matched=singles and trad=doubles. For me, I play matched AND I don't have fast singles and very much play doubles. I think I've been playing matched for such a long time that when I TRY to play traditional, I feel like a idiot! Traditional does not feel natural to me at all.

Again, this is what works for ME.

Danny

[FuseU1]

I have been "forcing" myself lately to play trad quite a bit, largely in practice when i get the chance...still do 99% of live work w match [incldg SA jazz & fusion]...i've been sheddin' trad again for many months now...i orig started playg matched, then started learng trad aft getting a good teacher; then switched back to match [yrs. ago] because it was just more comf playg match [obviously because it's "what i started w" for so long & was comf playg w it]...it seems natural that it's way easier to switch fr trad to match than vice-versa, once you've learned that way...trying to play trad w your snare positioned/tilted for your match grip approach just plain bites....

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ November 18, 2003 02:40 PM: Message edited by: FuseU1 ]</font>