Hornet drumsticks???

branflakes992 said:
I wouldn't recommend them. When I went to a jazz camp some of the biggest goober kids in the world used them. They certainly don't make you better. I'd just stick with a respectable looking pair of sticks. I wouldn't pay more for them, they're just a gimmick.

But that's just me.
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They're NO gimmick believe me at least from my opinion and experience with many different drum sticks. Yet to find another perfectly balanced pair of sticks like these in all my years of travels....they're are the real deal for this longtime pro jazz player and produce a wonderful defined woody stick click on a nice ride cymbal from not being the usual front heavy in mass and design drum stick which can quickly cause a cymbal to build up in the wash and overtake some thin rides especially used for acoustic jazz playing these days.

Canadian distributor introduced me to these i'm hooked. After a trial run period over many months I offered the distributor my honest findings which you'll find up on his website on the original post in this thread...i'm not an official endorser either by the way, just really dig these sticks in question.

The high quality hickory models stand up the best from my experience and the tips stand up for a long time with the Hornets 7A's I use... which was an "issue" that came up in the other Hornets threads GD linked with another member. Haven't tried the maple versions yet for the record but the one pair of blue handle 7A hickory ones i've been using for all work have stood up very well over the last few months of regular group playing situations...no tip chips have come off yet.

Great sticks!
 
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I had a pair and loved'em. they really played well but the tips chipped pretty quickly.

Now I use Vic Firth Classics but I'm tempted to order some more hornets.
 
Cottontop said:
I had a pair and loved'em. they really played well but the tips chipped pretty quickly.

Now I use Vic Firth Classics but I'm tempted to order some more hornets.
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I know that I'm repeating myself, but I wholeheartedly agree with the tips chipping. The entire length of the Hornet stick had a lot of life left, but cymbals never really sound very good with a chipped tip stick. When my Five Star shop's inventory is gone, they won't be carrying them again. I would rather the entire stick would break in two. With a chipped tip I feels as if I'm throwing money away, especially with the price of Hornet sticks.

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Dennis
 
audiotech said:
I know that I'm repeating myself, but I wholeheartedly agree with the tips chipping. The entire length of the Hornet stick had a lot of life left, but cymbals never really sound very good with a chipped tip stick. When my Five Star shop's inventory is gone, they won't be carrying them again. I would rather the entire stick would break in two. With a chipped tip I feels as if I'm throwing money away, especially with the price of Hornet sticks.

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Dennis
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I'm wondering if some of these are from a different batch of wood...maybe from a run of maple {or hickory} for shops in the USA? All I can say again is Dennis i've had MUCH better luck with them. Are they sending a different batch to Canada?...I don't know. I could take a pic of the pair i've been using the last few months and you'd see the laquer on the blue handles is seriously marked up as are the shanks on both sticks but both tips are still in one piece with no chips yet. I've broken a few with clean splits in the middle grain at gigs and the tips have starting to chip and wear after many months of constant use but this is the same with any sticks i've ever used not just the Hornets for the record.

Seriously different owner mileage {not taking anything away from other's experience with them} for some unknown reason going on here in the Great White North with these sticks for me........
 
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I don't know if it is a different batch or what's going on. I just know that where I bought mine, the shop has had a lot of complaints either with the tips chipping or the "O" rings breaking. When I first started using the Hornet 5As I thought they were the best invention since sliced bread. I bought just one pair and then a week latter I bought another four pairs because I was pleased with their feel and performance. This was about a year ago. Just yesterday I found another chipped tip on some Hornets that I've had in my stick bag that I haven't noticed the problem before. This makes a total of five sticks that are unplayable. If I can find another distributor, I would again like to try another pair just to see if things have changed. I never played the Hornet sticks exclusively, but they were a nice change to my hands to intermix during a show. I would have liked to try some 7As, but the shop that had them only carried 5As and 5Bs.

If I have better results with Hornet sticks in the future, I will again post with more positive results.

Dennis
 
audiotech said:
I don't know if it is a different batch or what's going on. I just know that where I bought mine, the shop has had a lot of complaints either with the tips chipping or the "O" rings breaking. When I first started using the Hornet 5As I thought they were the best invention since sliced bread. I bought just one pair and then a week latter I bought another four pairs because I was pleased with their feel and performance. This was about a year ago. Just yesterday I found another chipped tip on some Hornets that I've had in my stick bag that I haven't noticed the problem before. This makes a total of five sticks that are unplayable. If I can find another distributor, I would again like to try another pair just to see if things have changed. I never played the Hornet sticks exclusively, but they were a nice change to my hands to intermix during a show. I would have liked to try some 7As, but the shop that had them only carried 5As and 5Bs.

If I have better results with Hornet sticks in the future, I will again post with more positive results.

Dennis
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Fair enough Dennis.........I bought another 5 pairs of the blue handle 7A's for the long haul since the Canadian distributor ran out of the 7A Raws I used for the first year or so. If I have some issues come up with those after the first pair packs it in i'll post my honest findings here. I don't get a special deal on these either so they're certainly more bucks than other choices I could make.

By the way I found one old one where the tip didn't chip but I wore it down evenly into a sharp acorn shape from steady use and another one with some bigger chips missing off the tip. My experience so far has been to retire them when the grain breaks open on the shafts...not into wood splinter slivers in my hands from any stick :}
 
I've managed to break one hornet (my only ever breakage in 6 years playing) but it had been used for almost a year prior to that. The O rings do break but I've not had problems with the tips. I have 5 sets of sticks.

I think they are fantastic sticks and have a wonderful feel. I went back to them after a period of using Vater fusion sticks and I immediately thought just how well they felt and how one handed rolls seemed much easier etc. Good for jazz for sure. If you're a basher then maybe there's little point?

Davo
 
I tried a pair and liked the feel but they just didn't last so I have not bought another pair and don't plan to. I like Ahead sticks now.
 
Tip chipping also has a lot to do with what cymbals you're playing on, how hard you hit etc.




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Since you copied my photos anyway, lol, I hit the same cymbals with my Vic Firth, Zildjian, Regal Tips, Pro-Marks and Silverfox sticks and none of them ever chipped the tips like the Hornets did. All my sticks wear mostly at the shoulders more than other areas. I'm heading to the drum shop tomorrow and I'll see if they started carrying them again. If they have them, I'll try one more pair.

Dennis
 
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