Pro-Mark - Very inconsistent stick. 5A's and 5B's in both Natural and Lacquered finishes were badly warped. I found warped sticks at a GC in Sacramento, from a GC in El Cerrito and Starving Musician in Berkeley. Most models I tried in Sig.Series were badly warped also. I do not foresee myself buying Pro-Mark again as the quality is horrible due to such bad and so many warped sticks, very untrustworthy.
Vic Firth - Great feeling stick in terms of finish. Major problem is with weight and tips. Very brittle stick, tips chip off within hours of playing leaving a well bodied stick useless and uneven. For a hickory stick, they are very lite due to Vic Firth's drying process. Shoulders of sticks are too thin for my taste. Would probably try the HD9's before finally moving on completely. However, the HD9 is .5 diameters bigger than the Vater 5B, which makes trying the HD9 a bit silly in my opinion when I can play the Vater 5B, which has a tip I prefer more over the Vic Firth HD9.
Vater - I love the 4-packs available! Great price and the sticks are very durable. I enjoy playing both the nylon and wood tip versions of the 5A and 5B stick. The Vater stick grip tape is very comfortable. I'm noticing after awhile the 5A's feel too light once they get worn a bit, but still a great feeling stick. The 5B's at times seem too heavy, but the attack is off the hook! I get a great, full bodied sound from the drums, nice tone from the ride and my crashes seem to sound better. I love the tip on the 5B's! I also feel like the weight of the 5B's helps big time with fatigue(especially after a 3 1.5 hour sets playing Rock). I think if I get tired the weight reduces fatigue enabling me to lay into the back beat and get a fat sound with out hitting too hard.
Overall it seems Vater is my stick of choice. No need to worry about warpage, they are highly durable well bodied sticks, and you can find what you're looking for at any GC or local drum shop. The 5A's and 5B's suit my playing incredibly well, whether it's Rock,Funk or World music, I can rely on my Vaters to help me get the job done!
Vic Firth - Great feeling stick in terms of finish. Major problem is with weight and tips. Very brittle stick, tips chip off within hours of playing leaving a well bodied stick useless and uneven. For a hickory stick, they are very lite due to Vic Firth's drying process. Shoulders of sticks are too thin for my taste. Would probably try the HD9's before finally moving on completely. However, the HD9 is .5 diameters bigger than the Vater 5B, which makes trying the HD9 a bit silly in my opinion when I can play the Vater 5B, which has a tip I prefer more over the Vic Firth HD9.
Vater - I love the 4-packs available! Great price and the sticks are very durable. I enjoy playing both the nylon and wood tip versions of the 5A and 5B stick. The Vater stick grip tape is very comfortable. I'm noticing after awhile the 5A's feel too light once they get worn a bit, but still a great feeling stick. The 5B's at times seem too heavy, but the attack is off the hook! I get a great, full bodied sound from the drums, nice tone from the ride and my crashes seem to sound better. I love the tip on the 5B's! I also feel like the weight of the 5B's helps big time with fatigue(especially after a 3 1.5 hour sets playing Rock). I think if I get tired the weight reduces fatigue enabling me to lay into the back beat and get a fat sound with out hitting too hard.
Overall it seems Vater is my stick of choice. No need to worry about warpage, they are highly durable well bodied sticks, and you can find what you're looking for at any GC or local drum shop. The 5A's and 5B's suit my playing incredibly well, whether it's Rock,Funk or World music, I can rely on my Vaters to help me get the job done!