Vater Sticks (quality?)

Grace :)

Senior Member
I have a question about vater sticks. i've never used them before. and yesterday someone let me use a pair they had just bought, and the finish on the sticks and the overall feel of the stick felt fantastic.

The finish was something i particularly liked because i prefer a smoother stick and the vaters feel better than the sticks i currently use (zildjian 7a wood tip) -BUT. i have an issue with sticks, as the tips always seem to crumble- particularly my pro mark ones (i prefer wood tip in sound and feel to nylon, so i'd rather not use nylon) but the tips on all the sticks i really like just seem to fall apart. i'm not a particularly hard hitter, but i do play a lot. (maybe 10 hours a week?). and i cant afford a new pair of sticks every week. which means ive been stuck to the zildjian 7as which won't fall apart on me for months.

has anyone used vater sticks and found the tips to chip and fall apart easily? or would you say they are relatively long lasting?
thanks!
 
Grace,

You may want to try out some sticks made using maple. I find that with maple I get less tip chipping than with hickory. I used Vater 8A's for a couple years. I liked their sticks & I was happy with their 8A Sugar Maple model, much more so than the hickorys. As with all wood sticks the maple tips will wear out, but maple tends to soften with wear rather than chip.

Currently I use a few of the Vic Firth SD/American Custom models & I play around 10-15 hours a week. I have been on the same pair of SD4's for a couple months now. The tips are soft and well broken-in but my cymbals and drums still sound good.
 
I find the tips are pretty chip-resistant. But then again, I now use nylon tips. Vater also makes maple sticks, however, which are a softer wood. I don't know if this would prevent chipping, but Vater does make good sticks.

In my experience.. Zildjian just doesn't make quality sticks. I'm talking from experience from ~3-5 years ago, when I bought a few pairs that snapped like twigs. I've heard a fair few complaints about them, but maybe they've improved since then?
 
I just started using Vater 5A's and I have to say they are pretty nice... different feel than the Vic Firth's that i usually use - great finish, nice balance. And they seem a little more durable than the VF's as well.
 
I'm happy with my Vater 5B Hickory sticks. Pick up a pair; they are a relatively inexpensive item.

GJS
 
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