Picking the right striker for the right pot?

[upnorth]

 

It is tough for a person who maybe doesn't have the guidance of hunting buddies who also may know very little also.

What would be your pick of striker for slate,glass or crystal. I have had very poor success with a wood striker on glass and crystal. Fair luck with a carbon rod with a wood head.

Are the expensive strikers more for looks than good quality sound?

How much does the type of head contribute to sound? Hollow vs solid material.

I am learning calling is a art and instruments are so critical but sometimes good comparison of what to use is hard to find.

[backwater]

Just checking, the glass and crystal surfaces are conditioned right....meaning roughed up?   

[mmclain]

For a wood striker on glass  bubinga is excellent

Black locust is a great low cost wood plays on anything

Dymondwood is a favorite for many but the resin will load up in the glass....this is only a problem if you are stage calling and it slips making an odd squeak. 

Expensive strikers can be great and cost of the wood is the $$ factor but when it comes to performance ......pretty wood with humps and bumps all over don't mean crap.

The weight of the striker balance and direction of the grain of the wood are important.  Using The striker should be almost effortless to produce a great tone.  Light pressure or hard.

if your pot call is dull sounding with most strikers there is only so much life a great striker can add to it

[Hankyorke]

There's a search feature for the site, use terms like "best striker" + slate or "favorite striker" and you'll get a weeks worth of reading material.

The hard part is that different calls of the same surface like different woods and the same woods by different makers will sound very different.Then add in that everyone's ear is different & everyone likes different tones, raspiness, etc... 
So experimentation is really the only answer, find what you like and are confident in. 

That said there are woods that generically sound better than others (Black Locust, Purpleheart, Hickory, Dymondwood...)  Buy quality used strikers, and if you don't like them there's always somebody else who is experimenting.

[SteelerFan]

For a wood striker on glass  bubinga is excellent

Black locust is a great low cost wood plays on anything

Dymondwood is a favorite for many but the resin will load up in the glass....this is only a problem if you are stage calling and it slips making an odd squeak. 

Expensive strikers can be great and cost of the wood is the $$ factor but when it comes to performance ......pretty wood with humps and bumps all over don't mean crap.

The weight of the striker balance and direction of the grain of the wood are important.  Using The striker should be almost effortless to produce a great tone.  Light pressure or hard.

if your pot call is dull sounding with most strikers there is only so much life a great striker can add to it

^^^^ That's 30 minutes worth of conversation wrapped up in 6 sentences! 

[mmclain]

Thanks!!!  I've made thousands

[mgm1955]

Thanks!!!  I've made thousands

Great advice!!

[upnorth]

also wonder it seems like pot and striker type are effected by outdoor temps and humidity that day?

[yelpy]

also wonder it seems like pot and striker type are effected by outdoor temps and humidity that day?

Without a doubt.

Also placement of the striker on the surface has a lot to do with how well the call will sound. Some calls like to be run closer to the edge of the pot where others are just a bit farther away from the edge. It doesn't take much to be running the call in the wrong place.

[KYHeadhunter02]

I got a rosewood, bacote, and cocabola from Fred Cox they sound great on glass and Crystal. I also got a zebra wood that runs great on slate.

[upnorth]

Any new great advice.

[Bowguy]

If you're getting custom calls most makers match the striker to that exact call. Certain woods run better on certain calls but it can vary. Dymondwood, tulipwood n snake wood run on almost everything. It's gonna depend on the kinda sound you want as well as what the Turks wanna hear.
You want one good striker imo get the dymondwood

[Gobbleandgrunt]

Contact jimmy Schaffer. Oak ridge turkey calls. Get his two piece dymondwood. Leave the wrap on the peg. Should run anything.

[Ol Yelper]

Get yourself a Matt McLain Black Locust striker. I have two, my buddy has a couple and so far we havn't found any call that they don't sound great on. And they're only 10.00, can't beat that.

[joker]

#1) check the conditioning of the surface. On glass try different grits of sand paper

#2) check the conditioning of the striker. I like to condition the striker by setting a piece of sand paper (about 220) on the top of my leg and turn the striker on it like you are trying to start a fire. This cleans the tip and puts the shape that "I" like on it.

#3) Different strikers are going to make calls sound different. ex. laminate, yellowheart, zebrawood tend to make the call higher pitch with more rasp. Ex. maple, hickory, persimmon tend to make the call lower pitch and a little cleaner sound. Just try different strikers and see what you like.

#4) By changing strikers, location of where you are playing on the call, pressure, motion, finger placement on the striker, hand placement on the call... You will be able to get many, many different sounds from a call.

The more you play the more you will learn.

Steve