Why are Vater sticks cheaper???

Jml

Senior Member
If you go on Amazon, most of the Vater sticks (outside of the specialty ones) are under $8. Most other sticks by other manufacturers are just under $10 - or more. So why is Vater 20% cheaper? They’re supposed to last long (according to a lot of posts on here), so why the difference in price? If they’re arguably just as good and last long, I might buy more Vater just for the savings alone. I bought 2 pair of Vater Studio sticks because of this.
 
Mr Vater has disavowed capitalism for the advancement of humanity. FYI: Vater makes sticks branded "good wood" and Sweetwater sells them. I've been using them for several years and they last forever. NO splintering, NO breaking. A pair lasts me weeks. Best part is a "brick" (24 sticks) is under $20. I'm telling you Mr Vater knows his shtick.
 
Vater, my favorite stick to date. And they're less costly. Longest lasting stick I ever used.

They leave 11% moisture content in their sticks as per the striking tool industry.

Vic Firths leave 6% moisture content in their sticks as per the furniture making industry.

That's what makes the difference in longevity, the moisture content

I switched from VF's to Vater years ago and it was a great decision for me. I pay less for sticks that last twice as long as VF's

Vaters have a great balance ala VF. VF's are great but they don't last as long. That is my sole complaint with them.

And it wasn't a complaint until I tried Vater.

I never had a warped Vater stick and I buy online so I can't roll em.

I'm a little biased surprise surprise. I'd give them a try to see if they work for you.
 
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Just spit balling here, but I believe Vater has a much less high tech production facility. They use old school back knife lathes (that have most likely been paid off for quite some time now) instead of the center less grinding method used by Vic and Pro Mark. Maybe they have less overhead and are passing on the savings to the consumer? I’ve been using their Manhattan 7As quite a bit recently; that stick just dances effortlessly in my fingers, crisp cymbal tones, and very durable for such a small stick.
 
I've really liked Vater for a long time now and their 5A Maple is one of my favorites, and the 8A too. But I'm starting to think that Promark sticks sound better to me. Almost all my sticks from various brands last a long time for me. I don't really have a problem there, thankfully. I would love to keep buying Vater, since they're from my neck of the woods and are cheaper. But Promark's sound is calling me now.
 
They leave 11% moisture content in their sticks as per the striking tool industry.
Vic Firths leave 6% moisture content in their sticks as per the furniture making industry.

I like this stuff.... it makes total sense why their sticks last long.
Undercutting everybody in drumstick price is Los Cabos.....an ironic name for being Made in Canada (which has no history of spanish exploration). They seem last as long as Vater, but not very much variety.
 
I’m all over the place with sticks right now. Vic Firth Keith Carlock sticks, ProMark Rebound 5a .550, Zildjian John Riley sticks and the Vater Studio sticks. But if the others are $12 and the Vaters are $8, I’m going with the Vaters.
 
I guess they’re good sticks. I’ve never been impressed with them when I tried their 5A, though. But hey, if you can get a good deal, fight the power!
 
+1 for the Vater sticks and the Good Wood brick of 5A sticks I ordered two years ago (yes years) from Guitar Center. They were on sale at $2.95/pair. As a typical Pro Mark user, it's true that the added moisture content can make for a livelier, more durable drumstick.
 
I just switched to Vic Firth 5As because of the narrower taper. They feel way better with the Super Pads, but yeah, they splinter quick. Any Vaters with similar long taper? The Vater 5As are significantly shorter tapered than the Vic.
 
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I just switched to Vic Firth 5As because of the narrower taper. They feel way better with the Super Pads, but yeah, they splinter quick. Any Vaters with similar long taper? The Vater 5As are significantly shorter tapered than the Vic.
I just started trying the Vater Classic 5A's. Very similar in dimensions to the Vic Firth 5A model. I like the new Classic line. Check em out for yourself.

 
My favorite pair of sticks, for some time now, has been the Vater Robby Ameen (now Vater Session iirc) ... light, good feel, good balance, imo. The tips are finally starting to break apart after...a lot of use.
 
I've been using Vater Matrix for a few years. Not than i keep replenishing them, I literally bought 3 pairs second hand of FB and then are so damn resilient I haven't needed to change them. Though one of them the tip has lost a bit of weight.
However, for me, I much prefer Meinl Hybrid 5a since buying a pair last year on a whim, next time I was in the shop I bought 2 more pairs. But I'm determined to user the Vater til they are broke (check back with me in 2040 and see if one has snapped yet).
 
My st
Seriously, these are the best, longest lasting sticks ever.

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My stick of choice used to be their Chad Smith signature model, pretty much a slightly beefed up 5B with an acorn tip.
I've had a look on eBay and even in the UK the GoodWood sticks are coming in at under £6 which is at least £4 less than their premium "branded" line or competitor models. I've been buying packs of Pro Mark LA Specials, 5 pairs in a pack cost roughly the same as 5 pairs of GoodWoods, and I've had no complaints. But when gigging recommences your post has definitely inspired me to give these a try as my experience of Vater sticks was that they never broke, they simply whittled down over time until I decided it was beyond a joke and I should use a new pair. And being honest since then I've lowered my Hi Hat anyway and play more with the tip so I doubt whittling will be an issue.
 
I was trying different brands and was stuck on promark for quite awhile, but after my first batch of vaters (Fision hickorys) I have never tried another stick.. i don't know what they do differently but the balance to me feels so much better than any others i have tried and they seem to last a long long time, even with my bad playing.
 
Back when I first started to drum, I'd take a rubber brick (practice pads were Ma Bell's telephone book back then) to the music store and try some rudiments in an effort to find a pair that sounded the same. [Concert drumming required a silky smooth drum roll.] When I came across Vater, my search was over.

FF to today, each pair of Vater's Recording drumsticks are perfectly matched in tone. The other models are almost as perfect. Whenever I don't want a silky smooth roll, something more gritty, I mix it up by using a 7A and a 5A (or a 5 with a 3) so I don't have to change my basic technique. The same size pair mixed hickory/maple can add some variety too.

[Edited to add] I forgot to address the difference in pricing. I agree with gesh above in remarks about the equipment used. Once the capital investment in the machinery is amortized (the cost recovered over a period of years) fully, then the cost of goods sold (COGS - an expense) per unit is lowered, and Vater can pass their savings on to the consumer. On Amazon, the price can be $2 lower than local retail. The other brands may have newer equipment that they are still priced into their COGS, making their retail pricing a little higher.
 
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Regarding the original question - here in Australia Vater, Vic Firth and Promark all cost exactly the same. So its just a choice between your preferred sticks rather than saving a dollar or two.
 
Darth has his own sticks? When did he land that endorsement deal? Oh. Vater, not Vader. Got it now.
 
I ordered a pair of Vater Fusion sticks a while back. When I unsheathed them, I noticed a weight discrepancy immediately. I placed them on a postal scale, and, to my unspeakable horror, one was 46 grams, the other 52. That calamitous day marked the conclusion of my experimentation with Vater.

After decades of using Promark hickory models, I switched to AHEAD a few years ago. No more wood for me. I'll play AHEAD until I'm dead. The Light Rock 5B is my wand of choice. I never thought I'd succumb to a synthetic stick, but here I am nevertheless.
 
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