1 Natural wood striker

[Sir-diealot]

1 Natural wood striker, no manufactured stuff like Diamond wood or Frogwood, what would you choose for your all around and what wood would you choose for each surface. I know there are those of you that know much more than I do, hoping maybe to learn a thing or two from you and have some fun at the same time. Thanks for reading.

All around wood would be either Ipe or Tulipwood.

Slate of any color would be Ipe
Glass and crystal would be Tulipwood I think Maybe Macassar Ebony
Titanium I am still learning Maybe Macassar Ebony
Aluminum I am also still learning I think Tulipwood or Bloodwood
Ceramic Ipe
Copper Persimmon
Brass I just got the call and do not yet have an opinion.

[TauntoHawk]

I like Purpleheart on most all surfaces, nothing fancy or expensive just a not picky striker wood.

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[HookedonHooks]

My top 3 in each, in no particular order, and a few honorable mentions I feel are an underrated striker material.

All Surface - Snakewood, African Blackwood, Amazon Rosewood
Slate - Sarvis (Servicebery), Hickory, Jatoba
Glass - Macassar Ebony, Tulipwood, Katalox
Anodized or Slick Metal(s) - Kwila, Wenge, and Granadillo
Powdered or Raw Metal(s) - Massaranduba (Bulletwood), Purpleheart,
Ceramic - Bloodwood, Ipe, Persimmon

Honorable Mentions: Canarywood, Ash, Yellowheart, Osage

[Sir-diealot]

I like Purpleheart on most all surfaces, nothing fancy or expensive just a not picky striker wood.

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if it works than why change it?

My top 3 in each, in no particular order, and a few honorable mentions I feel are an underrated striker material.

All Surface - Snakewood, African Blackwood, Amazon Rosewood
Slate - Sarvis (Servicebery), Hickory, Jatoba
Glass - Macassar Ebony, Tulipwood, Katalox
Anodized or Slick Metal(s) - Kwila, Wenge, and Granadillo
Powdered or Raw Metal(s) - Massaranduba (Bulletwood), Purpleheart,
Ceramic - Bloodwood, Ipe, Persimmon

Honorable Mentions: Canarywood, Ash, Yellowheart, Osage

You name a few there I have not been able to try yet. I was supposed to get an Amazon Rosewood in a trade but it did not work out, kinda bummed about that because I have heard some good about it. I have never seen a service-berry striker before but my Marlin Williams Fiddlepaddle is a Alaska Yellow Cedar over Service Berry and sounds terrific. I would also like to try Kwila, Ganadillo Bulletwood, Osage and Bloodwood. I have never heard of Massaranduba before though. I would like to get an Ash striker just because it would remind me of when I was young and going with my father to work in the woods to cut firewood for home and for selling (He worked construction and there was no work in the winter and the firewood business kept us through the winter months) Ash was always one we looked for because it was a hard wood and burnt hot and long.

[ol bob]

I have a lot of strikers but have found that snakewood, hickory, yellowheart and purpleheart are all I need to carry.

[Meleagris gallopavo]

I sat down and ran all my strikers across all of my pots.  One by one, trying not to run on the same spot unless conditioned.  What I discovered was that the solid, natural wood strikers typically performed more consistently than the laminates, and I have some nice laminates.

Top performers were snakewood, tulipwood, bloodwood, ebony, and hickory.  The rosewood works well too.  The yellowheart is a little odd and seems best for soft calling IMO.  I tested across, slate, green slate, crystal, and stoned aluminum.  I have a hard time pairing one to a particular surface because most combos sound good, just a little different from one another.  I had been packing mostly solid wood strikers as they seemed to be the most consistent, but until I tested them it was just intuition and experience.

[Sir-diealot]

I have a lot of strikers but have found that snakewood, hickory, yellowheart and purpleheart are all I need to carry.

I like hickory on slate, that's for sure. I am still playing around with yellowheart and snakewood so I do not have an opinion of them yet. I have a old Mad Super Crystal that came with a 2 piece purple heart striker that I loved the sound of. I fell and lost that striker a few years ago and have not liked any other purple heart striker on it, I do have a Halloran purple heart coming though, maybe that will work, I love his Ipe that I have.

I sat down and ran all my strikers across all of my pots.  One by one, trying not to run on the same spot unless conditioned.  What I discovered was that the solid, natural wood strikers typically performed more consistently than the laminates, and I have some nice laminates.

Top performers were snakewood, tulipwood, bloodwood, ebony, and hickory.  The rosewood works well too.  The yellowheart is a little odd and seems best for soft calling IMO.  I tested across, slate, green slate, crystal, and stoned aluminum.  I have a hard time pairing one to a particular surface because most combos sound good, just a little different from one another.  I had been packing mostly solid wood strikers as they seemed to be the most consistent, but until I tested them it was just intuition and experience.

I like both 1 piece strikers and 2 piece strikers but I guess it is just the part of me that knows I am a klutz that makes me prefer a 1 piece striker as I think they will be less apt to break, though with me anything is possible.

I know what you mean about having a hard time pairing them, I own a ton of strikers.

[NCL]

Snakewood seems to work well for me on several different calls. Recently got a tulipwood and had a Durham ceramic sitting on the table and that pot loved that strtiker

[Tom007]

Snake wood and Mac Ebony work the best on my calls. I do see that Mac Ebony is really good on glass. Snake wood seems to play on everything.....

[Sir-diealot]

Snakewood seems to work well for me on several different calls. Recently got a tulipwood and had a Durham ceramic sitting on the table and that pot loved that strtiker

Tulipwood and Ipe are two of my favorites, I was recently given a snakewood and am still fooling around with it.

Snake wood and Mac Ebony work the best on my calls. I do see that Mac Ebony is really good on glass. Snake wood seems to play on everything.....

I have one Mac Ebony I like and one I do not. As I said above I have a snakewood I am messing around with now, I do not have an opinion of it yet though. I would like to try Black Locust and I understand that Katalox has a very tonal quality.

[Greg Massey]

Clay Townsend , persimmon top, snakewood striker , it will play on anything ...

[Sir-diealot]

Clay Townsend , persimmon top, snakewood striker , it will play on anything ...

I hope to get something from Clay next year.

[Spitten and drummen]

Clay Townsend , persimmon top, snakewood striker , it will play on anything ...

I have 8 of his strikers including the one you mentioned as well as a snakewood with osage top. I have ran about any striker from most of the better known makers and I noticed that Clays strikers sound good on about anything you put them on. Most of the time I run a striker on several calls to figure out what I need to run them with. As far as versatility , I find Clays more consistent on more surfaces. Just my experience. That being said , I favor his bloodwood with persimmon top. It runs on everything from gray slate to Aluminum and everything in between. Again , thats with my playing style and my ear judging it.

[Sir-diealot]

Clay Townsend , persimmon top, snakewood striker , it will play on anything ...

I have 8 of his strikers including the one you mentioned as well as a snakewood with osage top. I have ran about any striker from most of the better known makers and I noticed that Clays strikers sound good on about anything you put them on. Most of the time I run a striker on several calls to figure out what I need to run them with. As far as versatility , I find Clays more consistent on more surfaces. Just my experience. That being said , I favor his bloodwood with persimmon top. It runs on everything from gray slate to Aluminum and everything in between. Again , thats with my playing style and my ear judging it.

That really is an important thing, the way a person hears it, I was told by a few members to get a striker by a particular maker, very well known and respected, but to my ear the striker does not sound very good at all. I have put it against others made by other makers and the exact same wood, all one piece construction and to me it finished last in the sound category. That said I would like to try more of his because everybody can put out a bad striker.

[WildTigerTrout]

Hickory if forced to pick just one.  I also like Purpleheart.