Using hard to find sticks

Funkifize23

Member
Hey people! I was wondering if any of you here use/have a favourite stick that is hard to come by where you live? And if so do you make the effort to find them or just switch to something else? For me, the David Garibaldi Jam Masters by Vic Firth are my favourite for jazz and funk but aren't sold in many places or aren't often in stock in Australia.

Thanks, and happy grooving!
 
Seems like any Vic Firth dealer would be happy to order a few bricks for you if you don't mind stocking up and maybe paying in advance so the dealer knows you're committed.

Bermuda
 
I get the Bopworks "Birdland" sticks. For lower volume, but they have a neat and distinct sound to them too.
 
I use the Vic firth metal N myself which nobody seems to stock so I just ordered a brick in. Preparation is really the only way (for me anyway) because I don't want to compromise what I like in a stick especially if I'm playing a lot of shows and am expecting a certain type of endurance and response. I have switched sticks a few times but when u found these there was no turning back. I live in Aussie as well so I'm sure any good drum retailer can order you what you're after.
 
Yep - gotta look forward and just order a whole bunch! I do that with heads too. I have several of my favorite heads in the garage when I need them. I guess guitarists do this too by buying lots of string sets. Just a shame our stuff costs so much.
 
I don't want to have a hard time getting sticks, so that's precisely why I use sticks that are fairly common and easy enough to come by:

5As - Vic Firth or Vater
Vater Manhattan 7A
Vic Firth SD4 Combo maple
Vic Firth SD2 Bolero

Those are my favorite sticks that I use - I've never really come across a situation where I'd need a stick heavier than a Vater 5A, although I have used 5Bs here and there in the past.

The point is, the likelihood that any of those models will ever become discontinued or be hard to come by is pretty small. I can get them all at either Guitar Center, which is about 10 minutes from my house, or Bill's Music, which is about 20 minutes away.
 
I quite like Rohema Hornwood 7A’s - a darker heavier wood which gives a bit more oomph from a 7A size. I ordered two pairs from Germany and they’re still going strong. I only use them at gigs when I’m after a certain sound/feel though.

For regular gigs and practicing I use common Vics and Vaters, but always nylon tip so the sound is consistent and the heads don’t get trashed.
 
For regular gigs and practicing I use common Vics and Vaters, but always nylon tip so the sound is consistent and the heads don’t get trashed.
For me, I pretty much always opt for wood tips, which does have its drawbacks. The tips start to go dead right before they start to chip, but I've never trashed a head with a chipped stick, and I ditch them before they get too bad - I rotate sticks pretty frequently. New sticks are gig sticks until they start getting a bit too used, at which point they become practice sticks, and the practice sticks that are starting to get chewed up get rotated to the circular file.

Nylon tips would aleviate the issue of the tips going dead and getting chipped, but the sound is brighter than I want.
 
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