A new B-stick is born
When Claes Antonsen joined the B-stick family, he had a special request for us: The creation of a Claes Antonsen Special Edition B-Stick.
The first step was to find the right shape and size of the stick, based on Claes’ wishes.
Although he did enjoy his old Vic Firth Steve Gadd sticks, he was not entirely pleased with the design of the tip. He approached me, Michael Brink (B-stick CEO), with an idea to a similar stick, but improved to his liking.
Claes wanted a special tip; he wasn’t too pleased with the classic barrel shaped tip of the Steve Gadd stick, because it created dents and scratches in his drum heads. We developed a tip based on the shape of the 4a tip, rounded off to make a teardrop-like shape, which gives a distinct sound, but does less damage to the drumheads.
In addition to the new tip, he also asked for a longer shoulder that thinned out towards the conical point, shifting the balance towards the butt of the stick. We kept the circumference of the stick much like the Steve Gadd Model, which is a bit thinner than the 5a model.
The second step was creating the first prototype of the stick.
Claes approved the design of the stick, and then it went into production.
But…why stop at shape and length of your very own special designed stick, when you can have it made exactly to your liking?
Colour it in
Claes had always dreamt of a stick in his all-time favourite colour, a certain shade of pink, which he of course requested.
We spent a lot of time trying to mix the exactly right shade of pink, but something wasn’t quite right, even though the colour was very close to what he had wanted. Suddenly he remembered that he had a pillowcase with the right colour, in his summer cottage. He rushed over to his summer cottage, and brought back the pillowcase. With that in hand, we went to Sadolin Glostrup, where they created the perfect colour for the Claes Antonsen B-stick: Pink S0540-R.
We developed a special coating made with wax that we mixed into the paint, to give the stick a better grip.
Then followed trial and error on creating an efficient and easy way of dipping the sticks in the paint. I ended up having to dip them all one by one, by hand. What a process. I had to coat each stick twice, drying the first layer, before applying the second layer. It took time, but it was worth it. The result is one stunningly pink stick, with a great grip and distinct sound.
The final step
Claes is very pleased with the result of the prototypes, which he is already actively using. However, the sticks are not quite finished just yet.
Because what is a B-stick, without the B-stick print?
Of course, a special stick like this needs a great design, which is currently under development. The stick needs Claes’ signature, and the B-stick signature red stripes.
We are having a special silkscreen print frame developed for this purpose.
Once it is ready, we will reveal the final design.
To be continued…
