I'm not sure if this is the correct forum to ask this, but here goes anyway. I have a rather collectible drumstick in my possession which the artist is known for autographing on the grip before wrapping in grip tape. Should I unwrap the tape to reveal the autograph or leave it intact as I came to possess it? My instinct says leave tape alone as I know it is a genuine piece, and it seems that altering it may affect its value.  At the same time I wonder if there is anything in the grip tape chemically that might degrade the signature with time?

I guess this is more of a music memorabilia question than a strictly music question, but input would be appreciated.

Leave it as is.  If you go to sell it later and an authenticator wants to unwrap it to verify it, that's on them.

BTW, who is it?

 
Yeah, this!

BTW, just as an aside, I'd be surprised if it had any real significant value.  Maybe I'm wrong, but drumsticks don't seem to be real high demand collectible items, and sadly drummers memorabilia aren't nearly as sought after as say famous guitarists.  Hopefully I'm wrong, cause I have a bunch of em LOL.

It's Tommy Lee.  Specifically the last one he ever threw into a crowd as a member of Motley Crüe. I don't plan to sell it, just think it's cool to have.

I have one of his too.  Yeah, it's probably worth zippy.  Unless maybe he used a specially marked drumstick for the final performance so you could prove that's the stick.  But yeah, as a personal collectible, cool to have.  Figure out a way to frame it or something.

And if you think maybe it might be possibly worth a few bucks, figure out how to establish a solid provenance now.  It only will get harder every day that passes.

I've got everything I could possibly document documented and saved for posterity. May not be worth much down the road, but I've gathered all the evidence I can to prove it is what I'm saying it is.

Look up the manufacturer and see if it's a signature model. If so, you can buy them anytime. That just makes proving its from a show your only burden. We get those sticks by the hundreds on tour. Just like our picks- they come in 500 count packs so they can be used or tossed at will. Some never even hit a guitar- I just stuck them on the stand and then tossed them out at the end of the show. Sticks are the same. Drummer gets endorsed and they're either free or close. They're usually a standard item, just with the signature printed on them.

All of that to say I'd be SUPER surprised to hear Tommy signed a stick before his tech wrapped it. But catching one from a show is definitely cool. I'd look into mounting it along with a picture from the show. That last gig had some real moments!

 
What bands do you tour with if you don't mind me asking?  What exactly is your job?

I'm currently the production manager for a sound company. My touring days are over. I met a girl, married her and decided I liked her more than touring. And I REALLY liked touring. But there are extremely few happily married touring folks.

But in my days I worked with a ton of jazz folks (David Sanborn, Marcus Miller, Dave Koz, etc etc) some rock bands (Ozzy, Kiss, Slayer, Slash, Janes Addiction, Courtney Love, Crazy Town, Motörhead, Velvet Revolver (before they were a band) classic rockers (Michael McDonald, Santana, Judy Collins and bunches more)

I've had the opportunity to meet almost all of my idols and work for a few of them. There are dozens more (there's only so many of us in this field, so we all just get passed around. It's great. We always have gigs even when the artists disappear, die, get arrested- whatever.) I was working in the studio Scott Weiland was rehearsing in when he ODd back in 99 or 2000. Rick James was also in and out. What a mess.

Anyhow, all of that to say, even the drummer in a weekend warrior smooth jazz band can have signature drum sticks. And I used to work with a guy doing artist relations and we had guitar picks made up with our phone number- kind of like the coolest business cards ever. We gave them to everyone and they used them on stage all over the world- Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit, GnR, I don't even remember. But I still have a stash of them! I considered getting picks made up as birth announcements for my first son's arrival, but you know how life just gets in the way of all the best plans. I had them designed and everything. Just never hit send. Oh well. Maybe for his birthday if he starts playing.

Very cool, man.  Didn't mean to hijack the thread, but I'm glad I asked

Especially today, where there are plenty of mom and pop shops putting out sticks and willing to slap your name on them if you buy enough (although ironically they are almost all made by one of the big companies and the mom and pop shop is essentially a re-seller of them under their own brand name.)

A true drumstick endorsement deal is the hardest to get in the business.  Now, that doesn't mean in order to get one you have to be a mega-star.  Like you said, tons of much smaller names you've never heard of have deals.  It's because they either have reach as a YouTube artist (instructional videos etc) or are a very well established instructor, and hence the stick company knows that they will be influencing a LOT of students who will ultimately buy their sticks.

There's also a big difference between having your autograph printed on a bunch of sticks, and having your own stick...i.e. unique stick design.  Those are truly not a dime a dozen...super hard endorsement to get, and yeah, you virtually have to be a household name to have one, at least from any of the major brands.  And since most of the mom and pop brands just get their sticks from the big factories, they can't design a true custom stick for you either, as they are just getting a set of the big factories designs or have a deal to make a handfull of their own stock sizes.

But yeah, in today's age of customization, if you want you can get your name slapped on damn near anything.  It doesn't mean much, especially if you have to agree to buy a fuck ton of them to get it.


ETA: One of the reasons the drum stick endorsement is the holy grail/hardest to get is because of exposure.  Gear makers sign endorsement deals for one reason only...advertising their product.  Most equipment a drummer uses is visible...drums, cymbals, even heads (that's why the logo is always on that front bass drum head).  Sticks are not that way.  You could watch a drummer at a concert for an hour and not tell what brand stick he's using.  Hell, his hand usually covers up part or all of the logo.  So really, you could be playing shows in front of 2,000 people every night of the year and a stick manufacturer has no interest in signing you up if that's the only exposure you have.  There is nothing in it for them.  However, if you have a website (instruction, forum, whatever) that attracts tons of people, a YouTube channel, etc then they are all about it because you can slap their logo on every video or your site banner, or prominently show them in your videos when giving lessons. Stick deals are mad hard to get (good ones with a major company anyways) because of this.

Not to hijack the thread, but drum kit and cymbal deals are super easy to get.  First off, there are a ton of drum and cymbal makers now.  And they love signing up new artists, because it is a sale.  They'll sign you up to a deal where you pay wholesale, or maybe a a percentage above wholesale...that's your deal.  Their product is now attached to you, and they get a sale the same as they would if a brick and mortar store sold you the kit.  You get a big discount.  Win/win.  IF you plan to buy a new kit, or IF you plan on buying and entire new set of cymbals, either for a tour, or just because.

Granted bigger stars get way better deals, or even full ride deals.  But that;s the case for pretty much all musicians and tiered endorsements.  I'm just saying getting an basic endorsement deal for drums or cymbals isn't difficult at all, if you know what you're doing.

Go find a place that sells sports trophies, like to the local softball clubs, and see if they can whip up a little hardwood display box with a clear lid, maybe a little brass plate explaining the significance-- might cost a lot less than you think.