Vic Firth Discontinuing Quite A Few Models (mostly "Signatures")!

V

vyacheslav

Senior Member
Greetings,

I got this email from Rupp's Drums in Denver, CO today. I took a screenshot on my phone. Looks like there is a solid chance that none (or very few) of these models are ever coming back. Mostly signature models. I wonder where these artists are going? Or could it be that Vic is condensing the "Signature" model and making it a "Standard" model?

Check out the minimum order quantity, mostly 12 or a "brick". Has someone at Vic been sitting on these a long time? Or has Rupp's been sittng on them? Every single stick on that email is sold out on Vic's website and has been for a LONG time. How did Rupp's get all of these? Seems strange that all of a sudden, Rupp's Drums has bricks and bricks of these available, when Vic has been out of stock for months! And, Denver is pretty far away from Boston, so it's not like a former Vic employee was hoarding them or something. And, to top it all off, you have to "Pre-order by May 11" for bricks of sticks, most of which Vic hasn't had in stock for months and months? Huh?? This whole thing seems odd to me. One additional detail from the email that you can't see in the screenshot is "Orders will ship on or before July 26th". So we would have to be pre-order by May 11th, but they won't ship for 2 months after that. And only a 10 day window to pre-order? WTF is going on?

I like Rupp's and I am not accusing them of anything or blaming them for anything; this whole thing just seems fishy. Maybe Vic gave Rupp's exclusive rights to sell the remaining quantity of these sticks? But if that's the case, why wouldn't Vic just sell them direct on their website (which I hate by the way) and cut out the middle man and make more profit? Makes no sense.
 

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Yeah that is super weird. All of us have seen the out-of-stocks, some of them for *years*, and yet the endorsers come around and say “nonsense! Vic is going strong!” Highly sus.

Last year when I saw a retailer actually had my preferred VF stick, I bought a crap ton of them.
 
I wonder if Vic might be clearing room in thier catalog or production line to maybe finally absorb all the remaining Zildjian models into the regular Vic catalog (thought they would have done that years ago). With all the discontinuation of the Zildjian models over the last few years and most of the Zildjian sticks being out of stock for months and months, I wonder if Vic is finally planning on merging what's left of the Zildjian line into their own. The Zildjian stick offerings are a shell of their former selves (from as recent as even 5 years ago).

Curiously, the artists on the list above are from a variety of cymbal companies. If they were all Zildjian or all-non Zildjian artists, it might give us a beter clue.
 
I think it's because I started using Ahead sticks 😁😁😁
That does seem odd. I've always liked VF sticks but I've not really tried any signature models. Until recently I've been playing them since the mid 80s. The stores around here have been really low on stock of all VF sticks there must be some connection. I didn't even know that Vic Firth bought Zildjian
 
Bo Eder said:
I’m happy I stick with the 5A. Those sticks are everywhere 😉
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Yep, what I use most these days too.


Although I experiment with all the brands when I can, the Vic Firth's AMERICAN CLASSIC® 5A BARREL TIP DRUMSTICKS are what I'm currently using.
The 55A's intrigue me. Will seek those out soon and try. Combines the dimensions of a 5A and 5B.
 
I-P said:
Yep, what I use most these days too.


Although I experiment with all the brands when I can, the Vic Firth's AMERICAN CLASSIC® 5A BARREL TIP DRUMSTICKS are what I'm currently using.
The 55A's intrigue me. Will seek those out soon and try. Combines the dimensions of a 5A and 5B.
Click to expand...
55A’s definitely feel bigger and heavier than 5A’s, but not as big and heavy as the 5B’s.
 
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I use the Steve Smith model not because I'm a Smith fan, it just works for me.
I'd be surprised if they discontinued the Gregg Bissonette or Abe Laboriel models.Both are high profile players who visibly use their signature sticks in concert and all over social media. But maybe no one buys them?
The problem is they are the same wood as a generic stick, but cost quite a bit more.
 
If anything it looks like Rupp's is really doing a solid for you by alerting you as to the situation and providing an opportunity to order before these models are gone for good. Often times you'll find out about discontinuation after it's too late. Based on the context provided, it doesn't sound like they have the sticks in stock. It's likely that these models are on closeout and Rupp's is notifying customers of their last chance to purchase. Rupp's probably does't want to be sitting on a couple pairs of sticks and so they're requiring purchases in brick quantities (which is how they order from VF.

As a bit of a reminder, if a particular model doesn't see enough demand, it's tough to justify keeping it in the catalog. It has a lot less to do with who the artist is, though that's often a factor that prevents companies from making the quick decision to closeout and discontinue a model. Just from an ops standpoint, you really don't want slow moving SKUs sitting idle and taking up warehouse space. I don't happen to know what VF has established as their minimum quantity for production run but it's important to remember that keeping a model in production means storing and maintaining the grinder stones, storing the screen(s) for labeling, and a variety of other potential logistical requirements. There's also the opportunity cost involved with production changeovers, run time, etc.
 
One could argue that if a store has to order a brick instead of a a few, they are less inclined to do so, and thus making (signature) sticks sell less and thus making them more at risk for discontinuation.


I see this more and more upclose from companies, putting a minimum of quantity/prices on orders, basically giving smaller stores a very though time and helping bigger box stores thrive.
 
Perhaps VF is scaling back production to a leaner catalog account of wood supply issues. They may have had to scale back production to conserve resources for the models that sell the most.

As long a quality remains top priority, that'll be cool.
 
DutchDrummersDreams said:
One could argue that if a store has to order a brick instead of a a few, they are less inclined to do so, and thus making (signature) sticks sell less and thus making them more at risk for discontinuation.


I see this more and more upclose from companies, putting a minimum of quantity/prices on orders, basically giving smaller stores a very though time and helping bigger box stores thrive.
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This is one of the reasons why D'Addario established six-pair bricks as the norm for ProMark and even started making plenty of models available without any minimum order quantity.
 
so i have never heard of anyone using the Kieth Moon sticks....

sort of surprised at the Steve Smith getting the axe, unless he is moving to another company

not surprised with any of the marching stick models...those are definitely the lower selling models anymore; those Hardimon Hammers have been passed to at least 2 people from Dennis DeLucia, who was the originator of them...
 
Artists can still get their signature sticks even if they are not in the catalog. Rick Dior had a signature stick but he has to order 1000 pair at a time. He resells them on his web site as well as use them. It would take me a while to go through 1000 pair. I suppose it would be worth it to guys that go through a few sticks per gig. It takes me a few months to go through a pair.
 
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