Equivalent of Vic Firth Steve Gadd sticks

steverok

Silver Member
I absolutely love the Vic Firth Steve Gadd sticks. They are, to me, the perfect drum sticks. Not too heavy, not too light, my kind of shape ... just right. Problem is the black gets all over your drum heads and your cymbals too. Is there an equivalent stick out there that isn't painted ? I wish Vic Firth would sell them without the black paint job.
 
The Steve Gadd signature is L = 15 3/4" Dia = .550" with a barrel tip. (hickory)

Fitting these criteria best at Vic Firth are those 2 models:

HD4 L = 15 7/8" Dia = .530" with a barrel tip. (hickory)

and/or

SD4 Combo L = 15 7/8" Dia = .545" with a barrel tip. (maple)

You can also browse other brands, most manufacturer give a length, diameter, type of tip and wood species info for their models, select and try those with a similar tip, size and weight.

You could probably try and compare them against a SG stick in a shop once you've done the homework of selecting a few contenders.
 
I use the HD4 and SD4, and they are lighter and not as powerful. I think they have a different taper, which is probably a big part of the difference. Obviously I prefer the barrell tip.
 
I absolutely love the Vic Firth Steve Gadd sticks. They are, to me, the perfect drum sticks. Not too heavy, not too light, my kind of shape ... just right. Problem is the black gets all over your drum heads and your cymbals too. Is there an equivalent stick out there that isn't painted ? I wish Vic Firth would sell them without the black paint job.

These happen to be some of my favorite sticks too. Most of mine don't have any black paint left on the shoulders, although I never noticed them leaving deposits on my cymbals or heads.

BTW, the Dave Weckl Original or Evolution sticks are very close to the size and feel of the Steve Gadd sticks.

Dennis
 
My cymbals are mostly all beautiful ! The stick that looks the closest, from the Vic Firth web site, is the Matt Cameron, however, on MF it shows the tip as teardrop, whereas the VF site lists it as barrell.
 
There is no equal to a Vic Firth stick :)
Dip the stick in paint remover and you can remove it.
 
Then there's the original SG stick. The 737 by Pro Mark. Used to be called the 737 SG. This was the inspiration for his signature stick with Vic Firth in 1983. I did notice that the barrel tip has changed since I last played them in the 80's and early 90's. I would check them out, though.
 
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I absolutely love the Vic Firth Steve Gadd sticks. They are, to me, the perfect drum sticks. Not too heavy, not too light, my kind of shape ... just right. Problem is the black gets all over your drum heads and your cymbals too. Is there an equivalent stick out there that isn't painted ? I wish Vic Firth would sell them without the black paint job.
IMO the natural S G stick feels a hair lighter, and thinner ,because it is minus the black coating .
 
Ahh, my fellow Gretsch player, I was concerned about. The painted Gadd stick, while kinda perfect for a lot of uses, borders on being too light. Despite that, I definitely want to give them a try. Long term, I might just live with the black paint...
 
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