My favorite sticks

Vic Firth 5B (Wood Tip)
"More substantial than a 5A, but not overpowering. Medium taper for a great balance."



T.
 
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Vic Firth 5B
"More substantial than a 5A, but not overpowering. Medium taper for a great balance."



T.

Have you tried the new Vic Firth Freestyle sticks? They are a bit longer, with a longer taper and, I think, a better shaped tip. I'm using the FS55As and I love them.
 
Los Cabos, I tend to use the 5A, 55ab, and 5B's and even the 3A's depending on the gig and how i'm feeling. I have some power maples too which I can FLY on but they are much lighter.

I have no idea why, but I DO NOT break these sticks. After buying a few bricks I still have soooo many.
 
My current favorite is the Vic Firth Stanton Moore Signature sticks. > http://vicfirth.com/products/drum-sticks/signature-sticks/stanton-moore/

Before that I liked the Promark Carl Allen Signature sticks. I really loved how they were in 2007/2008, but then they went and made some changes to them that I didn't like so much. Then they went and discontinued them which led to me trying to find a drumstick that resembled the earlier version of the Carl Allen sticks. It took awhile but I eventually found it in the Stanton Moore sticks... They are very similar (about 98% the same) plus I don't get as many warped sticks with Vic Firth. ;)
 
Recently fell in love with the Vater Sweet Ride's ! I use to sway between the Promark Elvin Jones and the Vater Manhattan 7a's and decided to give the Sweet Ride's a try and BAM ! New favorite stick; they seem perfect to me :) !
 
Vic Firth 5A Extreme, longer than regular 5A's. Been my go-to sticks at least for the last 10 years, if not longer. Helps reaching around on a big kit. Could have wished they lasted longer, but haven't found something I liked the feel of as much/better yet. Usually I buy a 12-pack of these once every year or so.
 
Could have wished they lasted longer, but haven't found something I liked the feel of as much/better yet. Usually I buy a 12-pack of these once every year or so.

That's pretty good mileage for a pair of sticks, especially if you play regularly, no?
 
The search for one pair of sticks to do all my gigs is still on . If I had to choose one stick right now it would be the Regal Tip 8a Maple .

My favourite brushes continue to be the Regal Tip Ed Thigpen model .
I do use a number of other models as well .
 
My favorites used to be LA Specials 5A, Hickory Wood tip. They were the flaws from Promark, and you were able to scoop the 12 pair bricks on the cheap. Since they are no longer available, I really like the Goodwood hickory 5As. Occasionally GC will run a sale, and they are inexpensive. I gig about 6-8 shows a months, so I need plenty of spare sticks. Those Goodwood sticks are slightly longer than I would like but they held up under rimshots(on a diecast snare hoop) surprisingly well. Other than that, Promark Oak 5a or 747s were my all time favorites. $10 per pair just doesn't cut it, though.
 
Used to be: Regal Tip Jazz nylon tip
Currently: Zildjian Super 7A wood tip
 
I practise a lot with low volume cymbals which seem to destroy sticks so its Nova 5A's for the moment...I've got a pair of old heavy sticks, 5A thickness which are just perfect but I don't use much for fear of wearing them out.
 
All of my current favorite sticks are weighted toward the bottom and .550 or .555 in diameter:
-Vic Firth Keith Carlock signature stick
-ProMark 5A Rebound balance (the .550 version) sticks
-Zildjian John Riley signature concert series sticks
 
I recently bought the Vic Firth Signature Steve Gadd and Buddy Rich sticks, then the Promark Fire grain classics. All 5As. And I honestly like all of them and a cool idea to harden the wood with burning with the Promark ones (I'm not usually a Promark fan). Makes we want to take a butane torch to some other sticks and try hardening them. Maybe start with a 5B burn it then polish it down to a 5A LOL.
 
I actually have about 50 different pairs of sticks now. lol It seems the more I progress, the less sticks/equipment/shoes/etc... matters. I do think it's a good idea, if your a session player, to have a few different type sticks with you (large/small/wood/nylon) to get whatever sound someone is searching for. I personally prefer nylon over wood, which I know goes against 99.99% of drummers. I don't care. Anyway, since I starting trying out carbon fiber sticks, I think I prefer them the most on cymbals. Yeah, I know, sacrilege.

p.s. I started off with larger rudiment (corps) type and rock type sticks. Set sticks were just too fast for me. They would get away from me. However, I now prefer set sticks.
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For the last year or two I've been using Vic Firth 2B's. Played in rock band that required a bit more solid stick, but recently i found that when i played on my Masters BCX the sound of the toms and snare were choked. I figured that perhaps the force and weight of the stick had something to do with it, so i still had 3 pairs of Vater 5B maple sticks lying around (which i used before that and the Todd Sucherman sig stick before that) and decided to give those a try again. And it really opened up the sound! Not to mention that i noticed i played more fluently and that quick snare buzzrolls were a lot more tighter, so i'm back to these sticks again hehe. Might give the Wincent 5B maple sticks a go after i run out of the Vater sticks.
 
I have about 6 different pairs I switch back and forth with. Right now, I'm back to diggin on the Buddy Rich sticks. Perhaps this will always be the case? (One day I favor one pair, the next day I favor another). Dunno.gif
 
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