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The Best Drum Brushes (3 Great Picks)

What qualities do the best drum brushes have? Find out how these unique professional tools of the trade add style and color to your playing in our expert review!

The Best Drum Brushes

The Top 3 Drum Brush Sets in Review

Great drum brushes at a glance:

Product Feature Image Editor’s Rating Relative Price
#1 Best Drum Brush

Vic Firth Steve Gadd Wire Brush

Vic Firth Steve Gadd Wire Brush 4.5 out of 5 stars

4.5 / 5

$$$
#2 Best Budget Brush

Vater VBM Monster Drum Brushes

Vater Drum and Percussion Brushes (VBM) 4.5 out of 5 stars

4.5 / 5

$$
#3 Best Nylon Brush

Promark B600 Nylo-Brush

Promark B600 Nylo-Brush Nylon-Bristle Retractable Brushes 4.3 out of 5 stars

4.3 / 5

$$

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Musicians, just like any other practicing professionals, need the best equipment and tools. Those making music day in and day out would need their trusty musical instruments and more as they also require some tools.

For example, percussionists and drummers should have the best brushes that can produce rich sounds. Many of these products claim to be the best drum brushes, but only a few manage to deliver. It best to research first before purchasing one.

We certainly hope you benefit from the information we provide in this article! Just so you know, we may receive compensation if you use the links on this page. If you do, thank you so much!

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Who Makes the Best Quality Drum Brushes?

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1. Best Drum Brush: Vic Firth Steve Gadd Wire Brush

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Vic Firth Steve Gadd Wire Brush

4.5 out of 5 stars

Over 350 Reviews

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The Vic Firth Steve Gadd Wire Brush promises great swooshing sound with its unique design.

This brush has wires that glide across the head, letting the brush sweep smoothly and gently to produce a velvety and smooth sound.

The wires are slightly angled by three-fourths of an inch on the top of the playing end. This design reduces the possibility of having the brush snag on a newly coated drumhead, which is a common problem with many brushes.

The handles are made from rubber for a proper grip. It is also retractable. The item weighs four ounces and measures 14.5 by 1.3 by 0.8 ounces. Each package comes with two brushes.

Vic Firth Steve Gadd Wire Brush

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Vic Firth Steve Gadd Wire Brush Key Points

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What We Like

      • Made of wires
      • Slightly angled brushes
      • Rubber handles
      • Retractable
      • Two brushes

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What We Don’t Like

      • Brushes are quite stiff

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Vic Firth Steve Gadd Wire Brush

What Do Vic Firth Steve Gadd Brush Owners Think?

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Summary

The Steve Gadd Wire Brush from Vic Firth and Zildjan boasts of a unique design with its slightly angled brush that allows gentle gliding across drumhead to produce a rich sound. The brush is retractable and has a rubber handle. The brush, however, can be quite stiff, which can affect the sound quality.

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2. Best Value: Vater VBM Monster Drum Brushes

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Vater Drum and Percussion Brushes (VBM)

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4.5 out of 5 stars

Over 520 Reviews

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The Vater VBM Monster Drum Brushes promise to be a drummer and percussionist’s perfect companion for any practice or gigs.

This brush boasts of being a versatile one with its adjustable feature to allow musicians to produce a rich backbeat without much volume or smooth swishing sound.

The brush is from wavy polymer strands while the drumsticks are wooden. It has a large and yet comfortable grip. The item is retractable.

The product weighs four ounces and measures 15.8 by 3.2 by 1.5 inches. There are two brushes in the package.

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Vater VBM Monster Drum Brushes Key Points

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What We Like

      • Adjustable feature to produce a rich backbeat without much volume or swishing smooth sound
      • Made from wavy polymer strands and wood
      • Retractable
      • Large but comfortable grip
      • Two brushes in the package

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What We Don’t Like

      • Too bulky
      • Hard to get the wire out once retracted
      • Brushes become wobbly easily

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Vater Drum and Percussion Brushes (VBM)

What Do Vater Vater VBM Monster Drum Bush Players Think? >>

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Summary

The VBM Monster Drum Brushes from Vater Percussion is a retractable brush made from wavy polymer strands and wood. It is large but promises to produce a versatile sound and provide a comfortable grip.

This brush, however, is difficult to use as the size is too bulky and the wire is hard to get out once retracted. Plus, the brush seems to suffer from durability issues as it tends to become wobbly easily.

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3. Best Nylon Brush: Promark B600 Nylon Brush

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Promark B600 Nylo-Brush Retractable Brushes

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4.5 out of 5 stars

Over 200 Reviews

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The Promark B600 Nylon Brush promises a great construction that can produce pronounced sounds. This brush has white nylon bristles that are thicker than usual making it a more responsive product. Its bristles are longer than many similar brushes on the market.

It has a retractable design so that it will be stored conveniently when not in use. The handle is made of plastic that is impact-resistant. The item weighs 5.6 ounces and measures 16.5 by 1.5 by 1.5 inches.

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Promark B600 Nylo-Brush Nylon-Bristle Retractable Brushes

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Promark B600 Nylo-Brush Brushes Key Points

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What We Like

      • White Nylon bristles
      • Retractable
      • Longer bristles
      • Impact-resistant plastic handles

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What We Don’t Like

      • Hard to pull and push bristles out
      • Plastic handles break easily

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Promark B600 Nylo-Brush Nylon-Bristle Retractable Brushes-(1 pair)

What are Promark B600 Nylo-Brush Brush Users Saying? >>

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Summary

The B600 Nylon Brush from Promark has a unique design with its longer bristles for better melody making. It has longer and thicker bristles made from white nylon. The handle is made of plastic that is impact resistant. It is also retractable.

This product is not without its flaws. For one, the bristles are hard to pull and push when they are retracted. Plus, the plastic handles tend to break quickly.

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What to Look for the Perfect Drum Brush

The drum brush is not your ordinary brush. After all, this tool is used to make rich and beautiful sounds.

When purchasing one, keep in mind that these brushes vary in design, material, and durability. Some brushes are made from metal wires that help create snappy and crisp sounds while others are made from either nylon or plastic, which produces duller and more subdued sound.

The materials of the handles differ as well. Some are made from plastic, and others use wood or rubber. The material of the handles is also essential to consider as one may favor a particular kind.

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Some musicians prefer having rubber grip handles since they have better control while others may prefer the wood or plastic for a smoother touch to the skin.

The length also matters as some brushes have long or short bristles while others have varying length of the handles. There is no formula when it comes to the length of either bristles or handles.

Some percussionists like having longer handles because of their hand size while others feel they have better control with shorter handles.

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Recommendations and a Clear Winner

The Vic Firth Steve Gadd Wire Brush is easily the best of the three due to its durability and unique design. This product has slightly angled brushes and rubber handles that let musicians come up with great swooshing sounds. The unique design also prevents snagging of the brush against a coated drumhead.

All three products promise to be the drummer or percussionists’ perfect companion for making music. However, not all are created equal, and there is only one that seems to deliver on its promises.

Unfortunately, both Vater VBM Monster Drum Brushes and Promark B600 Nylon Brush cannot be considered as the best drum brushes of this review because they suffer from significant flaws.

For example, the Promark B600 Nylon Brush seems to have some durability issues as its handles tend to break easily and their bristles are hard to move once retracted.

On the other hand, the Vater VBM Monster Drum Brushes is too bulky, and its brushes become wobbly over a few weeks of use.

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Our #1 Pick!

Vic Firth Steve Gadd Wire Brush

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Vic Firth Steve Gadd Wire Brush

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What Do Vic Firth Wire Brush Users Think? >>

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Editor’s Rating:

4.5

4.1 out of 5 stars

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Chief editor Jay and his writing team have helped thousands of musicians make real progress towards their musical goals with informative articles and playing tips.

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