My favorite sticks

I love the Vater 5A Sugar Maples and had someone (on this site) recommend the Fusions. I tried them, and switched back and forth between the Fusions and the 5As for a few months and now, the last few months, I been using exclusively the Fusions (Sugar Maple). RGS (really great sticks). ;)
 
Just bought some Vater Fatback 3A's today, and I absolutely love them! Same length as a 5B and a little bit thinner, great sound, very well balanced. I used Vater 5B for almost 12 years, but now I think I may have found my new favorites.
 
I ordered four pairs of Regal Tip Groovers like two and a half months ago... they sent me unlacquered sticks after three weeks, which was not what I ordered. I mean, if you're looking for an unfinished stick, why go with Regal Tip? I wanted the gloss lacquer.

I was hoping they'd fit the skinnier-than-a-5B-in-a-gloss-finish bill I've been searching for over the last fifteen years, but they still haven't come in yet and nobody seems to know what's going on at Regal Tip.

I used to use the wood tip Regal 5As, but I didn't love the sound of them.

For the love of God, someone please make a gloss-finish 55A.
 
I prefer a stick that is between a 5A and a 5B, which has come to be known as a 55A. In the last several years, I have used these:

Vic Firth 55A
Vater Fusion
Vater 5A
Pro Mark Select Balance .580
LA Backbeat .580 (my favorite)
LA Backbeat .595

LA Backbeat sticks are made in Lafayette, Louisiana by a guy I am acquainted with. Peace and goodwill.
 
Was using promarks forever.. a friend talked me into trying some Vaters recently and i am just totally in love with them, i didn't think there would be much difference in sticks of the same spec from different companies but the vaters just feel amazing to me..

Was using the Hickory Fusions, but last time i ordered i was in a hurry and accidentally grabbed Gospel fusions.. they showed up and are a little thicker and about 3/8" longer than my normals.. decided to try them, at first it felt like swinging baseball bats, but after a few hours i feel like i have more speed and am actually more articulate. Picked up the old sticks and they feel like air and just kind of spongy now. Just my recent experiences with sticks :)

Vater Gospel Fusion
 
For years now I’ve been relatively middle of the road in my choices, mainly using 5Bs but also used 5As for a while with a small spell on the bigger 3As and the Chad Smith signatures which are like a slightly chunkier 5B.
At full price the Vic Firth American Hickory sticks were a regular choice, however the cheaper Stagg lookalike American Hickory sticks were pretty much just as good, for several years now I’ve been happy to buy bags of unbranded Pro Marks or their budget LA Special line.
However the other week I was a total fanboy at a Doro concert and was given a stick by drummer Johnny Dee, a Vater Universal. What I’ve always liked about Vater sticks is their tendency to get whittled down to sawdust over time as opposed to chipping, splintering and breaking as most other sticks do. The universal is a width between a 5A and a 5B and has a higher shoulder before it tapers, it felt good enough in my hand for me to decide that once my current batch of sticks have turned into paint stirrers then I’ll definitively be giving these a try.
 
My favorite sticks are Vic Firth AJ1s, followed by Vic Firth Extreme 5As. For heavier music, I like to use the Vic Firth Buddy Rich Signatures and Vic Firth 5Bs. I have always preferred somewhat longer sticks because I seem to get a better rebound from them, being that my grip technique is slightly unorthodox, and that my fingers are quite long in proportion to the rest of my hand.

I exclusively use wood-tip sticks. I do still have a pair of Vic Firth 2B nylon-tip sticks, but I use them as stakes for straightening potted plants, specifically my large and prolific Jalapeño plant that currently has 41 peppers on it.
 
I play a lot of jazz, (bop, swing, modern, etc). For small trio or restaurant gigs I have really been enjoying the 40's Swing sticks from Bopworks. For more dynamic stuff I really also like the Art Blakey signature Bopworks. For years I played straight Jazz Regal Tips, both wood and plastic tip. Great sticks! For rock music I always liked using the Ed Shaugnessy Signature Pro-Mark Oak. Perfect weight for louder music but with a nice thinner handle.
 
I've always used 2b and 5a sizes. I've used Promark, VF, A LOT of no name cheapies when I was in school because, well, I went thru a lot. I tend to like heavier sticks. But yesterday I used a set of PM Rebound Activegrip 5a's. They were just fine after a few minutes. But I would prefer them to be considerably heavier. I'm just getting back into it. Only been playing again for a few weeks. The bounce and rebound of a heavier stick helps. So, I generally use my old Zildjian Rock sticks. They are somewhere between a 5a and a 2b. Pretty heavy duty. I still have a brand new pair from 20 years ago--unused.
 
I've always used 2b and 5a sizes. I've used Promark, VF, A LOT of no name cheapies when I was in school because, well, I went thru a lot. I tend to like heavier sticks. But yesterday I used a set of PM Rebound Activegrip 5a's. They were just fine after a few minutes%. But I would prefer them to be considerably heavier. I'm just getting back into it. Only been playing again for a few weeks. The bounce and rebound of a heavier stick helps. So, I generally use my old Zildjian Rock sticks. They are somewhere between a 5a and a 2b. Pretty heavy duty. I still have a brand new pair from 20 years ago--unused.

The Promark 5a forward balance has a heavier feel in a good way. The 5b in either forward or rebound would be heavier as well. Excellent sticks.
 
I've always used 2b and 5a sizes. I've used Promark, VF, A LOT of no name cheapies when I was in school because, well, I went thru a lot. I tend to like heavier sticks. But yesterday I used a set of PM Rebound Activegrip 5a's. They were just fine after a few minutes. But I would prefer them to be considerably heavier. I'm just getting back into it. Only been playing again for a few weeks. The bounce and rebound of a heavier stick helps. So, I generally use my old Zildjian Rock sticks. They are somewhere between a 5a and a 2b. Pretty heavy duty. I still have a brand new pair from 20 years ago--unused.

If you order sticks, you might want to consider heading down to a store and picking them out. I have found sometimes there can be a big difference in weight between pairs. Personally I like lighter sticks, but I don't like the way super skinny sticks feel. So I end up going to the store and going through like 10 pairs of sticks to find the weight I like.
 
I've been playing Scorpion Percussion sticks. Signature model, 7A with acorn tips, 16 5/8" long and the diameter is a little larger than most 7As I've played. They feel great, and are really strong sticks. Been playing the same pair since December.
 
I picked up a few pairs of Vic Firth's new Freestyle 55As. Digging the extra length and longer taper, not to mention the more rounded tip. Better than the regular Vic Firth 55As in all ways, but I'm inclined to pick up a pair of the Freestyle 5Bs and see what they're like.
 
Vic Firth "Ralph Hardimon Hammer" for warm up and exercises.
Vic Firth 2B nylon tip for ordinary gigs
Vic Firth 7A nylon tip for extra quiet gigs
 
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