form are also made from metal, carbon fibre, and other modern materials. The tip or bead is the part most often used to strike the instrument. Originally and still commonly of the same piece of wood as the rest of the stick, sticks with nylon tips have also been available since 1958. In the 1970s, an acetal tip was introduced.

Tips of whatever material are of various shapes, including acorn, barrel, oval, teardrop, pointed and