Let's talk sticks!

[ppfd]

I like the Rod Morgenstien stick, don’t see it on the Vic Firth site

What was the pro mark stick with the ball tip, oak wood, 808? Liked those?

Marvin Smith fusions - Vater
The Harvey Mason stick, real nice dark stain, small tip have some of those as well.

 

[smittyboy63]

Hey guys,
Thanks for all the feedback. I decided to give the Vaters a try.
Vater Drumsticks - 5A Classics Series

We'll see how they go. Unfortunately, I don't have a music store within 30 miles of where I live, so I don't have the luxury of picking up various sticks in my hands and trying them out. I know I always liked the Regal 5A's, so I'm going to see how I like the Vaters, as their shape looks alot like my old Regals (I still have two pair). I also still have two pairs of Regal 5A's with nylon tips as well.

I'll let you all know how I like them.
I've never even heard of Vater prior to this thread going up.

 

[DanRH]

VF or Vater 5A’s for me. I recently bought a block of 5B’s and they just feel too big.

 

[ARGuy]

Hey guys,
Thanks for all the feedback. I decided to give the Vaters a try.
Vater Drumsticks - 5A Classics Series

I'll let you all know how I like them.
I've never even heard of Vater prior to this thread going up.

Vater has been around for a long time, but for quite a while they were making sticks for other companies - they made quite a few stick models for Firth. At some point, the 90's maybe, they started making sticks under their own name.

 

[Fat Drummer]

I haven't used nylon tips for decades. Do the tips still fly off?

Generally no. I remember tips flying around the room like a heard of angry hornets when I started in the 70's. But I've not had a tip come off in 20 or 30 years! Others will have different opnions, but its a zero issue for todays sticks.

 

[Koreandrummerboy]

Believe it or not, Meinl makes some pretty good sticks. I have their 5A, 5B, and 2B models and I'm really liking them over Vic and Promarks. And they're significantly less expensive than the bigger names.

Give them a try!

I also play meinl sticks, and I think it's kinda good sticks.

 

[smittyboy63]

VF or Vater 5A’s for me. I recently bought a block of 5B’s and they just feel too big.

I can do 5B's on a practice pad, but they always felt unwieldy on a kit.

 

[bobby...]

1. Vic Firth
2. Vater
3. Los Cabos

+ 1 on the , los cabos .... i use the wood tip maple 2b , and 5a ...

 

[static0verdrive]

My wife picked out a pair of Los Cabos for her first pair, to try out playing. I like them! Considering the price difference with Pro Mark, I think I'm switching.

 

[blueasajewel]

Generally no. I remember tips flying around the room like a heard of angry hornets when I started in the 70's. But I've not had a tip come off in 20 or 30 years! Others will have different opnions, but its a zero issue for todays sticks.

Maybe I'll try sacrificing a pair then. I did like the ride sound I got from them. Didn't like them flying off in the middle of a song and turning to mush.

 

[debotcher]

I like the Promark 808, especially the oak ones but the hickory are OK as well, nylon tip. Sadly, they're out of production but I have enough of them to outlive me.

 

[hefty]

In 2016 (i looked it up) I came across a deal on Reverb for Vic Firth 5B Extremes for $2.99/pair. I don't know if someone made a mistake on that price or what.... I was a 5A guy but had been dabbling with regular 5B's but at that price I jumped in and bought 20 pairs. I'm just now on the last couple pairs after 9 years. I like the extra length and heft of them for medium to louder stuff I play like half the time. I do regular 5As for quieter stuff. I tried a couple pairs of Los Cabos 5B Intense, basically the same as the VF's I've had, and they're fine but I prefer the VF's. I may give the Meinl or Vaters a whirl next.

 

[1988fxlr]

In 2016 (i looked it up) I came across a deal on Reverb for Vic Firth 5B Extremes for $2.99/pair. I don't know if someone made a mistake on that price or what.... I was a 5A guy but had been dabbling with regular 5B's but at that price I jumped in and bought 20 pairs. I'm just now on the last couple pairs after 9 years. I like the extra length and heft of them for medium to louder stuff I play like half the time. I do regular 5As for quieter stuff. I tried a couple pairs of Los Cabos 5B Intense, basically the same as the VF's I've had, and they're fine but I prefer the VF's. I may give the Meinl or Vaters a whirl next.

Try vater or VF 1a. They are a little longer than the 5b extreme, but in between 5a and 5b in diameter.

 

[s1212z]

Los Cabos Red Hickory 5A

A little on the heavy side as far as 5As go, but they keep me from needing 5Bs wich I find have a slightly different balance point as well as being heavier.

They're also a tad cheaper and virtually inderstructible if I compare to any other sticks I've tried prior, wich adds to the overall value.

I looked on their website and appears their 5A stick is about 1mm thicker 0.575; from the comparisons I saw from VF, Meinl, ProMark they have 5A at 0.565 and 5B at 0.595; 5AB seems to be anywhere between that range.

Even at same diameter model, there are so may variables inbetween; forward vs backward heavy, tip, wood, length and the nuances of signature sticks; bummer OP doesn't have music store, that really is the best method to try a lot sticks.

 

[blueasajewel]

I'm currently using Pro-Mark Larnell Lewis signature sticks. They're Hickory and a 5AB size, which is great for me since I've come down from a 5B.

I'm not sure if their "Firegrain" treatment actually contributes to their longevity but they last a decent time for me.

 

[static0verdrive]

I'm currently using Pro-Mark Larnell Lewis signature sticks. They're Hickory and a 5AB size, which is great for me since I've come down from a 5B.

I'm not sure if their "Firegrain" treatment actually contributes to their longevity but they last a decent time for me.

Firegrain seem to last a little longer for me, but they mark up my fiberskyn snare batter with red marks.

 

[xopherhills]

I've been using Vic Firth Steve Gadd sticks for rock, which are heavier than just about any jazz stick but are on the light side for rock. For jazz, I've been using Vic Firth SD4 combo sticks, which are on the somewhat heavy side for jazz, but have a nice weight to them and I'm able to play pretty lightly with them. Both sticks are longer as I really don't like feel the shorter lightweight sticks like the 7A. Vic Firth sticks seem to have the best overall, feel and quality to them...

I use the SD4 combo as well, and love them. I recently joined a metal band, and all my wood sticks shed like crazy when playing that music, so I brought out some Ahead sticks I had tried out but not liked from several years back. They're not as bad as I remembered. So now it's the SD4 for all gigs except for the metal one, where I use the 7A Aheads.