Pro-Mark......Your Thoughts?

For the last few years, I have used either Pro Mark or LA Backbeat sticks. Peace and goodwill.
 
747s here, always been a good stick for me. I do like the Vater equivalent as well. I have always disliked the balance and feel of Vic Firth sticks so have never bothered with them again.
 
I used their 5B sticks(don't remember the exact model) for the longest before going with Vic-Firth. While admittedly I should've tried other sticks before switching, there was always something about the sticks that didn't feel right to me. The best I could explain it was how comfortable it was just to use/hold them. When I got my first Vic-Firth pair(the Classic 55As) It was a complete 180. I loved how it felt when I hold/use them. Again, it's unfair to make this judgement because I only owned one pair, and can't remember if I'd ever used any more from Promark. But my first impressions were meh at best, and not something I'd go back to at the worst.
 
I like their maple Jazz Cafe sticks for being really light and durable. (I found Vic Firth hickory got chewed by cymbals very quickly.) I bought my last batch years ago. Sad to see they are discontinued.

If someone can recommend an alternative, that will be great.
 
I used to play Pro-Mark a lot in the early 2000s and remember liking them. Moved over to mostly playing Regal Tip and then Vic Firth for reasons I can't remember now. I'll also often play Wincent. I'm not picky about sticks at all.

Bought a brick of Pro-Marks again a couple of years ago, but was pretty shocked at how awful they felt. A lot of them were definitely not straight, and they varied substantially in weight. With any other brand, I'm perfectly comfortable just dumping a brick of sticks into my stick bag and then just grabbing random ones as I need them. With the Pro-Mark brick I really had to keep them in pairs, or at least audition each stick before selecting it to avoid playing with what felt like two different stick sizes.

Maybe I got a bad batch, but I haven't bought a Pro-Mark since then.
 
I used the Mike Portnoy 420 sig sticks for quite some time (2004 till 2012). Liked the thinner stick and nylon tip because i was chipping off wood tips like crazy. Then after the same stick for years I wanted to go back to a wooden tip stick again, because i do like that sound more. I also wanted a beefier stick, so i started using the Todd Sucherman maple 5B stick. Really liked it; almost same weight as the MP, but it's a 5B and has a wood tip. Got some Vater Maple 5B's after i used up my stash of TS sig sticks since they were cheaper. Since 2017 or so i went back to hickory 5B's again for more weight (later 2B's and since a month or 2 back to the Vater Maple 5B). Haven't used Promark again, mainly because my preferred stick is cheaper.

Just popped to mind that i also had a pair of Oak 700-something sticks. Something like a 5A with a ball tip. Fairly heavy and because of the ball point really loud! Never used them after a session, but i like how they look and kept them. Also had a pair of 5B's which i can't find anymore, guess i donated them to another drummer.

But also because it's, like stated before, hard to find your stick. Promark works with stick coding and lot of variants (747, 777 etc). I'm a simple man, i just want a 5B made out of maple :p
 
personally, I've all but moved over to Pro Mark. I Love the Forward 5A&B's and also love the rebound's as well.

I also have been buying them in Oak and they last even longer for me. The Carl Palmer Sticks are great too

Personally, feel that pro mark is the only company really innovating in drumsticks or at least trying to.


That said, I do love the Benny Greb Signature sticks from Vic Firth.
 
ALSO... Can Promark just release the Carter McLean sticks already. I really really want them
 
IBitePrettyHard said:
The Firegrain thing isn't really a gimmick. Using fire to harden wood is actually a real thing. It's mostly used for hardening arrows and spear heads though, and I'm not sure how well it works for drumsticks.
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I've tried them and can tell you it made no difference what so ever. I actually find the standard sticks last better. Firegrains also leave little poo stains all over your cymbals.
 
Stevedot2 said:
I've tried them and can tell you it made no difference what so ever. I actually find the standard sticks last better. Firegrains also leave little poo stains all over your cymbals.
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Hmm mine still haven’t broken. But I just don’t Like the way they feel
 
hawksmoor said:
I only use Pro-Marks 5As. They just feel right in my hand. Never had a pair break on me.
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I just picked up a 5A hickory pair, my first pair of Promarks in many years (except for a firegrain pair). I bought them online and they are perfectly straight. I liked the overall feel of them. I’m very happy with them. ??
 
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I can’t wait for pro mark carter McLean’s.
But the Carl palmers are great too
 
After trying and wasting a lot of money for a long time on various models from various manufacturers I find that I like the Pro Mark 747 best for my playing. I like them even better since the change in ownership and find that they are much more consistent now.
 
ProMark lost me as a Customer when they stopped making their sticks with the glossy lacquered finish and went to their Millenium II finish they currently use . I find it too slick and slippery . I far preferred the tackiness that comes with a lacquered finish like Regal Tip or the Vic Firth double glaze finish .
 
I've always had a soft spot for ProMark; I used the 5a for most of my teenage years and since then have tried almost every drumstick company under the sun (I am a bit of stick geek). I've been using the Elvin Jones' for the last 5 years on and off; they've always felt just right.

Never got along with Vic Firth. They do feel good when you pick them up, but their balance feel off. Never liked their tips either., and the fact that one pair of 5A can weigh like a maple stick and the next pair weigh like a 2B Birch stick always annoyed me. I'm exaggerating, but that's what it feels like. Also, their tips don't last AT ALL. I mainly play jazz, hip hop and psychedelic rock, and never break sticks or tips; only wear them for months. The only Vic stick I have in my stick bag is the SD4 Maple; it just doesn't feel like a Vic stick.

The last year though, I have been playing Vater a lot, mainly the Manhattan 7a's and Sweet Rides with the occasional LA 5a for practicing and they do last the longest out of everything I have tried (although a buddy of mine tried the Swiss Agner sticks, and apparently last even longer). Generally though, Vater sticks are quite denser sticks, so heavier than PM and Vic Firth.

I also enjoy Regal Tip and Zildjian, but their quality controls are quite poor IMO. Although, that could be because we get all bad batches here in Europe.

But everytime I come back to ProMark, it feels like coming home. I don't have the weight issues like I do with Vic, and the quality control really varies like ANY brand out there, if we're honest. 90% of the time though, perfectly straight and pitched paired; no issues there. They just feel like a drum stick is suppose to feel like. My main issue with any other brand, is that I feel the stick plays itself more than me playing it; which is probably why I have enjoyed the more "front heavy" feel of their 5a and 7a. I enjoy their tips the most as well; when recording, my sound engineer always prefers the promark tips for cymbal and drum sound. Like I said, they just feel and sound like a drum stick should feel, IMO.

As for the D'Addario marketing, yeah, it kind of sucks, and yeah, I also wish they would just put the actual specs of the stick on their site instead of "dumbing it down". Like many of you, I also LOVED the Jazz maple series and am sad they're not around, but my go-to's are the classic 7a's, Elvin Jones and classic 5a's, so I'm good. Don't care too much for "forward/rebound" marketing either, because they don't have the classic promark tips that I like, and I generally don't like rebound balance sticks, from any company. Don't care much for the firegrain train either. BUT I do fully support their Reforestation program, and just for that, am really happy to buy promark. Don't think other companies are doing that ATM.

All in all, I love promark, and even their little "defaults" don't bother me because they give me the most satisfying experience on my kit and cymbals. This, of course, is all personal preference; Vic Firth are number 1 worldwide for a reason, and it's by far my least favorite brand.

Drum on everyone ! Peace :)
 
I’ve been testing and buying a lot of sticks lately.

my 2 favorite sticks are the Vic Firth Benny Greb and Matt Garstka

but the issue is... Vic Firth sticks break so damn easy. like within 3 daysof playing.

If I compare that to my Carl Palmer signature from ProMark, I literally cannot break those sticks if I tried.

promark makes better sticks imo justfor longevity
 
ive used a few pro-marks over the years, theyre ok, nothing special. my GF bought me some firegrain 5Bs and some matt halpern signature model cause i said i was thinking of trying them, so far i havent used them at all save for on a practice pad, and they feel ok, not terrible, not great.

i used to use the joy jordison signature model for a fair time before i swapped brands and deals.
 
I really like pro-mark sticks NOW - which is funny because OP think they've gone down hill.

My biggest problem with ProMark had always been that a majority of their sticks had the forward balance as a signature part of the Pro Mark feel and I never cared for that feel.

I actually love being able to get the same model of stick with different balances.

As far as marketing goes - that simply doesn't effect me on the gig, so if they have ads or whatever - I don't see them anyways and it wouldn't effect me one way or another.

I currently use the Michael Carvin's on the regular (Which is actually a very un-promark feeling stick haha) - I also use the rebound balanced 5A long with the round tips when I need a little more umph or for bigger venue and I use the Bob Gatzen's on the pad. I have a few models I'll pick here soon to try out as well: the acid jazz, 7A pro rounds, Will Kennedy.

I super dislike the firegrain - but not because of how it's marketed - but it's such a hard stick that it almost sounds like a nylon tip on my cymabals and it makes makes on my heads and cymbals.

I'm also really hoping the release the Carter McClean sticks soon too.

I dunno - everyone makes good stick these days though - it's really a matter of what feels good in your hands and sounds good on your kit...there's no reason to rail against any one brand unless they've done something seriously wrong and D'addario is actually excellent all around.
 
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