Regal Tip - Calato Manufacturing - Percussion FAQ

History

Necessity is the mother of invention. No one knows this better than Joe Calato, who revolutionized the drumstick industry in 1958. Prior to that time only wood tip sticks were available. Although the sound was great, many drummers were frustrated when their wood tips wore out too quickly. That’s when professional drummer and woodworker, Joe Calato, decided to try to make a stick that would last longer and would offer a new, cutting edge sound.

After much experimenting, Joe perfected the idea. A drumstick with a nylon tip that stayed on, didn’t shatter and produced a sound pleasing to the ear. In fact, the sound was so pleasing that it helped define the musical styles of the day with its signature clarity on the drumheads and ride cymbals. His contribution to the percussion industry was recognized by the Percussive Arts Society when the organization inducted Joe into the Hall of Fame in 2001.

Joe’s invention marked a revolution in percussion manufacturing and design that continues today. Joe took it as his mission to upgrade the lowly drumstick, beginning with the quality of the wood; the drying of the wood; the famous Regal Tip finish; inspection for straightness of grain, weight, knots, warp; and finally the matching and pairing of the sticks. To this day the drum world credits Joe Calato with establishing modern standards in drumstick crafting.

Regal Tip remains the only one of today’s major drumstick companies to have always manufactured its own products. All manufacturing takes place on the premises in Niagara Falls. This allows the personnel to control quality, innovate new products in the state-of-the-art machine shop, and design and build machinery to ensure consistency.

The creativeness and innovation of Regal Tip continues today. At the Percussive Arts Society Convention in 2003 Regal Tip introduced Joe’s revolutionary new nylon tip drumsticks, the “E-Series”. For years Joe had been determined to invent a nylon tip stick that would offer a darker, warmer sound on a cymbal…a wood tip sound. Just as the original nylon tip drumstick was the significant development for the 20th century, Regal Tip’s new “E-Series” just may prove the same for the 21st century.

This is but the beginning of a long history of innovation. The company has secured numerous patents and, as we speak, there are patents pending and many new ideas on the drafting table. The Regal Tip line has grown over the last to years to include the world’s most popular line of drum brushes. Just as Regal Tip is credited with establishing the quality of the drumstick as we know it today, it is also credited with defining the quality of today’s drum brush. Regal Tip’s “Classic” model, which is probably the world largest selling brush, has set the standard by which all brushes are judged. Regal Tip’s growing line now includes Saul Goodman timpani mallets, practice pads and the most impressive line of specialty sticks on the market today.

In 2003 Regal Tip was honored with the international “m.i.p.a.” Best Drumstick award for it’s “X-Series” line. In 2005 Regal Tip received the same award for it “E-Series” line. The international recognition was voted on by representatives of 55 magazines from 40 countries around the world.