Vater vs. Vic Firth

I use Vater for wooden sticks. Vic's just feel more raw and unrefined to me...atleast that's the best way I can explain it. They also don't balance as well in my hand and I have a hard time finding a model I'm comfortable with. Vater's however seem like I can just pick up almost any model stick and it's comfortable in my hand.

However I do use Vic Firth Rutes. I tried the Vater equivilent and I didn't like them. Too flexy. I also have a pair of VF Jazz Brushes.
 
Vater! The future of drumsticks! I find them consistent, and extremely durable. I gave them a real thrashing with several rim shots for a whole one hour half after buying them and wow, minimum wear! They're definitely gonna last me a long time.

Actually Zildjian is more durable than Vic Firth in my opinion, but the quality seems mediocre so thats why changed to Vater. But I'll rank the three brands I've tried this way:

Quality:
1. Vater Percussion
2. Vic Firth
3. Zildjian

Durability:
1. Vater Percussion
2. Zildjian
3. Vic Firth

Haven't tried Pro-marks because where I live, the prices are really unreasonable.
 
kung_f00 said:
To put it in perspective.. my Zildjian Barker Signature sticks (Yeah yeah..) lasted longer than any pair of my VFs, and I've mentioned this before but the first time I played on my kit with my VF Steve Gadd sigs, half of the tip came off.
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yeah but the barker sticks are good...i like them a lot, and i love the white finish.
 
ive played with many stick. to many to name. right now my stick of choice is vater fusions. they have the length i want and the round tip i want. pretty much if i had a signature stick it would be a fatter version of the fusions. i have yet to brake any of my vaters but thats because when a stick gets to worn down i get rid of it. i used to have promark 5as which i loved very much thats what i played for a while but they slintered in the middle and broke fairly quick. i have had a pair of dave weckle sig sticks for almost 8 years now. i used to play em every day now i hardly ever do cause they will probly break and they were my first real sticks(i know im a loser). so ive found that since ive played the vater sticks i havent broke any but that is mainly do to the fact that ive changed my style and techneque greatly. this thread has made me decide to go to guitar center hopefuly tomarrow and grab a pair of 5as from vater vic firth and promark and ill test them each for a week and at the end of the week ill get on here and post a review. hell i might as well through some zildjians in there too.
 
Vic Firth SUCKS. I got a pair of 5A's and LITERALLY after 10 minutes of playing one of shattered into a million pieces. Im so upset with that company. Ive been using Vatar but today i bought 2 pairs. (1 pair of vatars and 1 pair of vic firth just to try them out). I will never buy them EVER again
 
pdp 9091 said:
Vic Firth SUCKS. I got a pair of 5A's and LITERALLY after 10 minutes of playing one of shattered into a million pieces. Im so upset with that company. Ive been using Vatar but today i bought 2 pairs. (1 pair of vatars and 1 pair of vic firth just to try them out). I will never buy them EVER again
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DUDE! Today I bought a pair of 5A's and the same thing happened. I won't be buying Vic Firth, Pro mark or Zildjian ever again although I did order a pair of Jojo Mayer sticks yesterday too and they are Vic Firth... It's up to Vater and Regal Tip to do me justice now.
 
rendezvous_drummer said:
DUDE! Today I bought a pair of 5A's and the same thing happened. I won't be buying Vic Firth, Pro mark or Zildjian ever again although I did order a pair of Jojo Mayer sticks yesterday too and they are Vic Firth... It's up to Vater and Regal Tip to do me justice now.
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Really I invite you to try Los Cabos stick. They amaze me every time I use them now. They remind me Vater durability and mine are somewhat like Weckl size.
 
mind_drummer said:
Really I invite you to try Los Cabos stick. They amaze me every time I use them now. They remind me Vater durability and mine are somewhat like Weckl size.
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I love Los Cabos sticks!! But I can't find them in any of the stores near me! I'm going to order some off of the internet, if that's the only way. But yea man, I do love those sticks..and they're a Canadian company too.
 
Ive used Vic firth 5B from the very begging (till i started using 5BNs) and they have never shattered at all on me (yet :p) and reading about Vater sticks is starting to convince me to get a pair of 5Bs from them. I play alot around 3 hours a day (i play really heavy metal) and my VF have lasted on an avarage of one pair for about 2 and a half weeks. The tips break on the regular 5Bs but the nylon tips are great. Yes, they do chip alot but they have a very sturdy and solid feel even on their deathbed. Anyhow if this has helped anyone, cheers!
 
I use a 5bn and have had the best luck with VF except for the lower priced nova line witch broke easily but have never had any complaints with the american classic line, with Vaters, Promarks, and Zildjans I have had problems with breaking, loosing tips, unbalanced sets and several sets being warped when buying by the brick. I have not had any problems with the quality or durability since switching to VF. I have never got a warped set, they are always perfectly matched, I have never had an american classic just brake they usually wear thin from the hats and the ends fall off or rim shots pulverize the wood till it gets spongy but only after many hours of playing. I have only lost one tip and even tho the sticks were over half worn out they still replaced them. For me VF is my stick of choice and know that I can buy a brick online from any supplier with the piece of mind that every stick in any brick I get will be top quality and l doubt very much that I will be switching brands any time soon. BTW on a side note I bought a VF wearable drum key back in august and while tuning a snare for a friend with a stiff lug the key split on the side, I emailed them a couple times with no response and when they finally answered my email several days later they were very apologetic for not responding earlier and not only did they replace the drum key they also sent me a new stick bag, clamp on stick holder, 1 set of sticks and 2 rudiment posters for my music room. In my opinion VF customer service is 110% just like the customer service Roy Burns gives with Aquarian heads and just one more reason why companies like these will be getting my business for many years to come.
 
I used VF's for years. I have switched to Vater in the past year and I find them a bit more durable. I am a hard hitter and I chip sticks and break them fairly regularly. So the extra durability helps.
 
I prefer Vic Firth by a mile. I have tried Vater sticks on multiple occasions (Power 5A, 5A, 5B, Manhattan 7A, Chad Smith Funkblaster), and they do make very strong, durable sticks. However, I've found them to be extremely inconsistent in weight from pair to pair, and they always feel heavy and somewhat 'clubby' to me. My first priority when it comes to sticks is feel, and Vic Firth sticks just feel better to me, and I haven't had any durability issues with Vics either. One stick I do like by Vater is the Manhattan 7A, and I also have a fondness for Regal Tip sticks.
 
I will break any Vic Firth stick within minutes of touching it. I don't know why, but VF and my hands just do not agree. I could be playing a ppppp snare drum solo and I would break them, so obviously I avoid VF sticks at all costs. I normally split them longways right along the grain, like they're laminated, not cut from a single block. Bizarre. I do not have this issue with any other brand of sticks, even generics. I think it's my general disdain for anything Boston that causes the problem.

I really like Vater. I think they are matched very well, weight and grain is very consistent. I've been using the Sugar Maple Fusion wood tip as well as the 5B Gospel - both are outstanding sticks. They feel good, sound good, and they last. I must admit though, that I mostly use Aquarian 7As - they last 12 months per pair and I don't have wood shavings all over my house.
 
lovemysonors said:
what would your preference be and why?

i have used VF and like them, but a friend has told me the Vaters don't chip from rimshots or break in general as easily as VFs...
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That is absolutely true in my experience!
 
I've tried only a couple models from Vater, and they were ok. For some reason they seem to feel better in the shop on a pad than they have on my kit so far, maybe the balance is too far toward the butt for me? I just use 5A or 7A, nothing too fancy, maybe you have a Vater recommendation?
 
I'm going to give the Vaters a go sounds like there tough stixs which I need sick and tired of having wood chips I currently use VF and the good side of it all is the Vaters are 8 bucks cheaper than the VF.
 
I read all the same about durability of the VFs vs Vaters. Then I tried VFs and…can’t tell a difference. I get 6 months out of each and both get too thin by then. Neither have snapped in over 2 years.
 
Tiges said:
I'm going to give the Vaters a go sounds like there tough stixs which I need sick and tired of having wood chips I currently use VF and the good side of it all is the Vaters are 8 bucks cheaper than the VF.
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Tiges, I remember my son telling me about Vic Firth drumsticks when I first started drumming so of course that would be my very first pair of sticks and I knew right off what size I would like because I felt them in the store. I can't tell you how many pairs of Vic Firth that I chewed up or broke and chipped with tiny pieces of wood chips all over the place.

Then Al Strange from The Drummerworld Forum mentioned Vater sticks so I already knew that I like 7A and when I went down to the Drum Center of Portsmouth my son reminded me and said why don't you try Vater so I picked up a pair of 7A's.

Since then I fell in love with Vater sticks... the feeling is so smooth I feel like I have more control and I hardly see any wood chips. Only recently unfortunately the wood acorn tip chiped.

What I have noticed is they last longer, they feel smoother, I have more control, they're cheaper, and I'm not going through them like I was with Vic Firth. I am definitely a Vater fan!

Yesterday just for the heck of it I went on YouTube and watched exactly how Vater makes their sticks and they really do put their pride into making them.

We would really like to hear how you like them, let us know.

Cheers!
 
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Vater.

Why?

For the 11% moisture content as per the striking tool industry as opposed to 6% moisture content as per the furniture making industry for VF.

VF is a great stick. I like the balance. Same with Vater. A great stick and I like the balance. Vaters feels just like VF's to me in the balance department.

But Vaters last twice as long as VF's, so Vater for me please.
 
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