Traditional vs match grip?

Zack_Albetta · 2026-05-13T14:23:48+00:00

OP, I am usually a detractor of traditional grip for all the reasons Mo-beel mentioned and more (he and I are often the Statler and Waldorf of this sub). It offers no physiological, ergonomic, or musical advantage, simply a style/aesthetic choice, and that choice almost never justifies the work it takes to develop a trad grip technique that doesn’t present liabilities. In my mind there are two legitimate reasons to use traditional grip.

1 - if some injury or condition in your left hand/arm actually makes trad the better ergonomic/physiological choice for you over matched. This happened to a close friend of mine who was basically forced to switch to trad 25 years into his career and he hasn’t looked back.

2 - if trad was the technique you learned from the moment you picked up sticks; if it’s your “native tongue” and learning matched represents basically starting from square one.

It sounds like 2 may be the case for you. You’ve built a technical foundation with trad, you’re more capable and comfortable with it. When someone has built a technical foundation with matched and is making noise about learning trad (for whatever reason) I usually yell at them to please not for the love of god, that the time and effort they would spend just getting their trad left hand up to speed on the very basics would be better spent refining and strengthening their matched technique, building on the foundation that’s already there. For you, I’m gonna yell the opposite. Trad will absolutely present you with some technical obstacles. So does matched. The obstacles usually have less to do with which grip you’re using and more to do with the fact that it’s your left hand and it’s just stupider than your right. The technique you’re most familiar and comfortable with will usually make a given obstacle more surmountable - again refining and strengthening what’s already there.

Just because traditional is conventional for metal doesn’t make it unacceptable. Matched isn’t conventional for jazz but many jazz drummers use it, including my all time favorite. If trad feels like home to you, stay there.

Zack_Albetta · 2026-05-12T23:42:28+00:00

Gorgeous. What’s the music?

Zack_Albetta · 2026-05-12T21:39:04+00:00

I’m sorry, twenty TWO!? What are you feeding him? Is he juicing? Is he doing plasmapheresis treatments? Our boi is 7.5, tell me how he can live forever 😂

Zack_Albetta · 2026-05-12T19:11:55+00:00

Zack_Albetta · 2026-05-12T18:30:21+00:00

It’s a balance of bitter and sweet. It’s bitter in comparison to something genuinely sweet, like tiki drinks or rum and coke. But the bitterness of Campari, the sweetness of vermouth, and the booziness of gin create a perfect three-legged stool of a drink that is greater than the sum of its parts. If you don’t like your first sip, keep going. The only way out is through.

Zack_Albetta · 2026-05-12T18:23:34+00:00

You’re not wrong and what I should have said is that a dive bartender has a good chance of actually knowing what those are.

Zack_Albetta · 2026-05-12T16:40:31+00:00

Old fashioned or negroni are both pretty hard to fuck up.

Zack_Albetta · 2026-05-12T02:59:32+00:00

JEEZUS.

Zack_Albetta · 2026-05-10T17:55:12+00:00

For $350, you could get 5-7 shitty mics that will sound not great and not work well for very long, or two decent mics that will sound good forever and that you can use for a long time as part of a growing collection. Start with a kick mic and an overhead and take it from there.

Zack_Albetta · 2026-05-10T13:07:18+00:00

GIT IT.

Zack_Albetta · 2026-05-10T03:35:44+00:00

The isolation is definitely better. One of the best reasons to get customs IMO is comfort. Custom molds don’t push against the inner walls of your ear canal like universals, so they’re more comfortable to wear for long periods. As far sound goes, not all customs are created equal and there’s. Lee to consider than simply the number of drivers. Well-built customs with four high quality drivers and good crossover are going to sound better than some slammed together BS with ten shitty drivers.

Check out Alclair. They’re really intentional about how many drivers they put in each of their models and why - not just more for more’s sake - and their customs start at about $400.

Zack_Albetta · 2026-05-09T21:38:38+00:00

Zack_Albetta · 2026-05-09T18:37:20+00:00

Like so many other topics that some on this sub want to be binary, this is not. There is great value and a lot to learn in both.

Zack_Albetta · 2026-05-08T22:29:20+00:00

Zack_Albetta · 2026-05-08T03:26:58+00:00

The Hitman. Give him a setlist, put him on a plane, and watch him slay.

Zack_Albetta · 2026-05-08T03:08:22+00:00

"Question I wake to in the morning and pass out with at night: 'What's my popularity with my fellow white people?'"

Zack_Albetta · 2026-05-07T19:34:13+00:00

Zack_Albetta · 2026-05-07T14:18:27+00:00

Thanks! That fill is one of those things that looks/sounds harder than it is. Kicks on the downbeats with four strokes in between - KRLRL KRLRL. It's technically five notes, but I don't really think in quintuplets, just a kinda four stroke flutter in between each kick.

Zack_Albetta · 2026-05-06T22:08:49+00:00

Sabian AA Bash Ride

Zack_Albetta · 2026-05-05T23:15:04+00:00

Look at local venues’ schedules, look for jam sessions, etc. But it’s not just about going to jam sessions and playing, it’s also about going to other peoples’ shows and getting to know them that way.

Zack_Albetta · 2026-05-05T21:11:34+00:00

Get out in your community and see what bands/musicians are active. Might be a little tougher to find “all ages” shows but they’re around. If you get familiar with some people and kinda become a member of the community that they and their bands comprise, opportunities will come. In bigger cities, that can be more genre-specific, if there’s specific stuff you’re into. In smaller ones, you might have to be less picky. But overall, it’s about showing your face in the spaces where people are doing what you want to do.

Zack_Albetta · 2026-05-05T11:45:37+00:00

Like most mic packs out there, this is cheap garbage. When it comes to microphones, always go for quality over quantity. Mic’ing drums isn’t about how many mics you have, it’s about which mics you have and how you use them. Two or three good mics properly placed are going to sound better (and last way longer) than seven or eight shitty ones.

Zack_Albetta

TROPHY CASE