The opening statement from General Montgomery in his speech to the troops on the beachhead in Italy - ”Nothing is impossible!” A voice from the ranks “Try striking a match on a wet bar of soap!”
I have been making pan sticks for 30 years. For the first 20 years I only made and wrapped sticks for my own needs and inevitably the requirements of the other players in the steelbands I played in because I was good at it. 20 years of improvisation and discovery, foam rubber, surgical rubber, latex, different woods, aluminium tubing, carbon fiber rods.
Wrapping a pair of sticks or rewrapping is one thing, wrapping 5 or 6 pairs of sticks results in sore fingers and thumbs.
In 1995 while helping out at PanArt in Bern Felix Rohner asked me to make a complete set of sticks for an ensemble of pans that were being collected by a school that day. I don’t remember how many pairs of sticks this was but I know it took me over two hours to complete the task and as usual I had very sore fingers and thumbs. I had had enough.
After much research, experimentation and consultation with tuners in Europe and Trinidad a range of sticks and tips to meet the needs of as many as possible. All the aluminium tubing is made to order. Some of the latex tubing used for the tips are stock items from the manufacturer but most are made to specification.
This range of sticks and tips are the first choice of many professional panists and steelbands in Africa, Australia, Europe, Trinidad, and USA. Try them out, I know you’ll like them.
You may download pricelists for instruments and tuning and sticks and tips, but the easiest way to get the sticks or tips you want is to use our online shop.
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