share on:
"We've taken the approach that we have to listen to the voice of the players, and this journey has lead us to completely re-do our manufacturing process from top to bottom and it starts with the raw material supply."
Pro-Mark is the only drumstick company that owns its own sawmill and is purchasing its own logs. The company is now also using a method to saw logs that is quite different than anyone else in the drumstick industry. In the quarter-sawing method, the log is literally cut into four quarters. The log is cut vertically, then turned and cut again, so that grain line is straight up and down. Continues Mike:
"At Pro-Mark, we have the most stable piece of wood going into our stick manufacturing facility here in Houston, Texas. Pro-Mark used to turn their drumstick on a lathe, and it wasn’t as accurate as it could be. The centerless grinding is a method of high precision turning with a profile of what you want in the stick imprinted in the stone, and we have the highest precision centerless grinders in America."
Jim D'Addario, ceo of the D'Addario company, says:
"If the grain is perfectly parallel to the stick, it's going to be stronger, it's going to have less of a chance of warping, and it's going to be a more reliable stick."
In addition, Pro-Mark has invested in new weight-sorting and tone sorting equipment to create drumsticks that have the tightest specifications in the industry.
Select balance
Drummers essentially prefer two types of stick balance: forward or rebound. Pro-Mark's Select Balance line was designed to give you the option of both in 5 diameters. Now you can find the balance you prefer for any playing style you prefer. With exclusive technology, 100% quality control and the tightest specs in the industry, according to D'Addario:
"In order to create the Select Balance line, we went back to the drawing board. We identified the key elements of drumsticks in order of priority: diameter, taper, tip shape, and tip material. We then took the 5 most popular diameters and made them the core of our Select Balance line."
Environment
In partnership with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, Promark plants five trees for every single used manufacturing drumsticks. Within five years, we will have replaced every tree ever used by Promark, since its inception in 1957.
Wilco drummer Glen Kotche, one of Pro-Mark's many endorsing artists, comments:
"Knowing that the entire process of manufacturing these sticks is completely new and retooled... every little detail is being considered, it's just a game-changer."
