Vic Firth durability issues?

Swexx

Senior Member
Good afternoon guys.

You might have heard me praising Vic Firth's durability in some threads. I've been using VF ever since I got into drumming (10 years ago) and I haven't had any issues with sticks splitting or cracking prematurely.

However, I've had problems with almost half of my pairs the last month.
All sticks seem to split in the exact same spot, which is right below the tip, and the crack then spreads halfway down the sticks. I give you pictures showing the state 50% of my VF sticks end up in, sometimes after no more than an hour.

The first picture shows a pair of VF 5AN's I've played for 45 minutes. I'm a medium hard hitter and I play indie, jazz and rock. The second pic shows an 8DN stick, splitting after an hour of practicing.

I e-mailed Vic Firth and asked for a replacement. Have any of you experienced these crack issues, with several sticks breaking just below the tip?

Have a great day
Arvid
 

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I used them a few months back, and had that same issue you are now. Except mine broke on electric drum pads which I find to be sad.. 6 pairs in less than a week actually. I switch to Vater and haven't had a stick break in 3 months. I doubt you're looking to switch but they make good quality stuff at better prices than Vic Firth. They also have a lot more tip options.
 
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I recently found 10 pair of Vater 3a Fatbacks that have been in my shed for 8 years, in the damp and through sub zero winters. They are well used also. And after all this time they are all true and straight and I am using them in a Black Metal band at the mo with no issues. I'm a very heavy hitter.
 
It sounds as though they got a batch of wood that was improperly cured or dried? I would give them a chance to make it right, given your ten year history of good luck with them.

How many actual pairs have you broken, BTW? You mention 50%, but that could be insignificant if you've only used 4 or 5 pairs.
 
It sounds as though they got a batch of wood that was improperly cured or dried? I would give them a chance to make it right, given your ten year history of good luck with them.

How many actual pairs have you broken, BTW? You mention 50%, but that could be insignificant if you've only used 4 or 5 pairs.

I think I've broken 6-7 sticks the exact same way over less than two months. Just a year ago, one pair of sticks would last me close to 10 weeks.
 
Yeah man.Maybe its a technique probably with me recently but I've noticed vic firth sticks really seemed to have went down in quality.I used to use the steve gadd signature sticks all the time and they would last about 2 to 3 months.However i got two pairs of sticks recently and both of them barely lasted under a week.I can tell from the color of the wood on the broken pairs that they really went down in quality.I now mainly use pro mark Japanese white oak sticks and they're better then the new vic firths.
 
Yeah man.Maybe its a technique probably with me recently but I've noticed vic firth sticks really seemed to have went down in quality.I used to use the steve gadd signature sticks all the time and they would last about 2 to 3 months.However i got two pairs of sticks recently and both of them barely lasted under a week.I can tell from the color of the wood on the broken pairs that they really went down in quality.I now mainly use pro mark Japanese white oak sticks and they're better then the new vic firths.

Interesting. Maybe Vic Firth have had bad luck with their wood.
For me, it's certainly not technique related. I haven't changed my technique the slightest, except possibly hitting a little softer today than I did a year ago. The sticks gotta be the problem. I'm interested to see if VF will compensate me.
 
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In 20 years I have never had that problem with the real Vic's but had it happen with almost a whole brick of their Nova sticks. Very easy to see that they have split on the grain, if your buying single pairs then have a look before you buy and make sure the grain runs full length of the stick and not crossing from one side to the other part way down. I buy by the brick so its hard to check that way but as luck would have it I never got any. I cant see why Vic would not replace them as its very easy to tell they let go on the grain.
 
On a drum set:
Never had a Vic Firth stick last longer than five minutes in my hands. No foolies, they do not work for me and I am not exaggerating the durability I've experienced with Vic Firth. I don't know why I waste money, but every few years I buy a pair to see if they're any better. They are complete garbage everytime I use them. I don't get it.

I've had completely generic sticks last months.

On the other hand, when I was playing in an orchestra and competing in ensembles and solo snare drum, I would play nothing but Vic Firth due to the multiple great options provided for that kind of music.

On a drum set however, they're worthless to me.
 
Good afternoon guys.

You might have heard me praising Vic Firth's durability in some threads. I've been using VF ever since I got into drumming (10 years ago) and I haven't had any issues with sticks splitting or cracking prematurely.

However, I've had problems with almost half of my pairs the last month.
All sticks seem to split in the exact same spot, which is right below the tip, and the crack then spreads halfway down the sticks. I give you pictures showing the state 50% of my VF sticks end up in, sometimes after no more than an hour.

The first picture shows a pair of VF 5AN's I've played for 45 minutes. I'm a medium hard hitter and I play indie, jazz and rock. The second pic shows an 8DN stick, splitting after an hour of practicing.

I e-mailed Vic Firth and asked for a replacement. Have any of you experienced these crack issues, with several sticks breaking just below the tip?

Have a great day
Arvid

Just looking at the marks on your sticks, if you've got that many dents after 45 minutes of playing I can't imagine how hard you hit or how accurate your hits are. How do you play? Are you a bit of an animal?

I did switch to Vater because I got sick of chipping the tips on my Vic firths and throwing away otherwise good sticks.
 
I buy and play a lot of Vic Firth sticks and their durability has always been spot on. I used to break a lot of sticks across all of the brands until I made slight changes in my technique. Now, I use less arm and more wrist. My sticks last me a long time now from most of the companies as a result.
 
Just looking at the marks on your sticks, if you've got that many dents after 45 minutes of playing I can't imagine how hard you hit or how accurate your hits are. How do you play? Are you a bit of an animal?

I'm no animal for sure. It's a lot about the sticks. I have a pair of 8D's that I've used for three months and they don't look nearly as worn as the 45-minute sticks. I do rimshots on all my drums (snare and toms) which contributes to the ragged look of the sticks, but doesn't affect the durability (until now maybe).

Funny sidenote: VF's seem to have this soft outside but a hard inside (they look worn pretty quick, but they usually hold up good for a long time). The sticks I've gotten lately have a soft outside and a soft inside, which might not be ideal for drum sticks.....
 
Maybe you need something thicker, they look like skinny sticks.

Most drummers rimshot with the same area of the stick, it looks like you do it up and down the entire length, and hard. Why do you rimshot your toms? What style are you playing?
 
Maybe you need something thicker, they look like skinny sticks.

Most drummers rimshot with the same area of the stick, it looks like you do it up and down the entire length, and hard. Why do you rimshot your toms? What style are you playing?

Rimshots on toms sound incredibly funky IMO. I also cross stick a lot, with the tip of the sticks outside the snare drum rim (= cross sticking with the stick "backwards") which can explain why my sticks are worn in many different places. Also, on VF's one simple hihat hit often leads to a little mark/cut on the stick.

Thicker sticks do last a lot longer for me. I had a pair of Zildjian's Taylor Hawkins' signature sticks that lasted me freaking six-seven months of constant playing before they broke. The only problem is that I've never gotten along with the feel of beefy sticks. Anything thicker than a 5A is like playing with cucumbers for me.
 
I too was going to mention about the marks on the shoulders of the sticks just after forty five minutes of play. Mine might start to look like that after a few days, but I do switch my sticks a lot while playing. It's been years since I broke a stick at the same place you have. The problems that I encounter and it has been with Vic Firth sticks, is the tips prematurely chipping. As soon as the tips chip in the slightest, the stick gets thrown away.

This is the last pair of sticks that I've broken back about three years ago and it really surprised me when it happened. I believe that they were Vic Firth 7A and that was probably the same time period that I completely gave up on nylon tips.

DSC_0146-1.jpg


Dennis
 
This is the last pair of sticks that I've broken back about three years ago and it really surprised me when it happened. I believe that they were Vic Firth 7A and that was probably the same time period that I completely gave up on nylon tips.

DSC_0146-1.jpg

Are those really 7A's? The tip doesn't look right.
Anyways, that very split is the exact way my VF sticks break.
 
On a drum set:
Never had a Vic Firth stick last longer than five minutes in my hands.

Very strange as I have found Vic to be the most durable out of every brand I have tried.



This is the last pair of sticks that I've broken back about three years ago and it really surprised me when it happened. I believe that they were Vic Firth 7A and that was probably the same time period that I completely gave up on nylon tips.

DSC_0146-1.jpg

Thats not a Vic stick, the tip is not shaped the same as what they use, refer to the OP's pic to see the Vic tips, but it is possible those could be a Nova. BTW if you had problem with Vic's nylon tips they will replace sticks for any and all nylon tip failures, I have only had one tip come off in 20 years and they sent me a new set of sticks even tho the sticks were old and just about worn out.
 
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Hmmm, I haven't had any problems so far.
I like Vic's sticks and I use them as my main brand.
I am sure the they will fix the quality control issue.

I do find that Vater sticks last longer but I also find them heavier in weight to same sized VF sticks.
That is why I prefer Vic.
 
Revisiting this thread, it could be you are putting the stick through more than it was designed to handle. You don't see people slamming down HD4's.

Also, I have had two year+ old stick break like that from hitting the bell of my ride with the body of the stick, don't know if that helps. Keep in mind this sticks were well worn and chipped and practically begging to be killed anyways.
 
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