What do letters and numbers in drumsticks mean?

I’m a 5B wooden tip. Sometimes nylon tip (if I’m playing metal or a style that requires a bit more punch and a cutting bell sound). I’ve been a 5BW drummer since I’m 18 years old. Before that I was a 7AN. I never really paid attention to what letters and numbers meant in drumsticks. What is A, B? Why 7 is thinner than a 5? 

I decided to look it up, here’s what I found.   

What Do Numbers And Letters Mean?

This system was first established in the early 1900s. Some of this coding still applies to today’s basic stick models. 

The letters stood for styles of music:

• The letter A stood for orchestra.
• The letter B stood for marching and concert bands.
• The letter S stood for street band.
• The letter D stood for dance band.

So, S is the largest and heaviest drumstick there is, followed by B, while A is usually the thinnest/lightest. D's weight and diameter are somewhere between an A and a B.

The number was related to the stick’s diameter. The larger the diameter, the lower the number.

They usually range from 2 to 9, but 2, 5, and 7 are the most common ones with 2 being the heaviest and thickest drumstick, while 7 is the lightest and thinnest one. 5 is the balanced middle ground. 

Having said that, some major drumstick manufacturers offer models like 1A, 9A, 8D or 3S. At the same time, a 7A from one brand might not be exactly as a 7A for the next brand, as Pat Brown of Promark says:

“(...) most companies have adopted their own individual systems for naming or numbering sticks, and usually those names or numbers are little more than generic part numbers that bear little or no relevance to the size or shape of the stick.” 

So letters and numbers can help us navigate the immense array of drumstick models across brands, but, at the end, the only way to find what best suits you is to play as many models as you can until you find where you feel most comfortable with.