Vic Firth American Classic 5A

Ah, the classic American drum stick. Every beginner is given a pair of these to start off with, as well as a drum pad. I was the same. These sticks stuck with me for the first 5 years of my playing. As I perfected my paradiddles, my rolls, and focused on gaining a better understanding of rhythm as a concept within, I found myself focusing on the most important extension of me, my drum sticks.
As a young player it is important to have a firm, yet light stick. This is to help make up for speed issues with regards to lack of muscle strength in arms and hands. As the lessons increase, the recognition of loudness requires one of two things:
1. Stronger hits and faster rebounds –Arm strength increase
2. Bigger, heavier sticks
If you are focused on jazz, I recommend a lighter, thinner stick. 7A would be perfect. These 5A sticks are perfect for a young drummer to take with him or her for the remainder of their life. As they move from a snare alone, to a full set, the 5A will remain invaluable as they roll along the set for a fill. I find that the 7A sticks I use for Jazz time, tend to break too easy. I’m partial though, because I am a drummer who doesn’t like to beat the drum too loud, I prefer to know my place behind the bass player, and hold time. For me, 5A’s will always be my stick of choice.
The one bad aspect of these sticks are out of every batch of say 10, 4 will have a grain crack. I find that most times this is not an issue, but when my sticks fail, it is always along the grain. Which with these Vic Firths, happens to be along the length of the stick. Splintering is something that will occur given time, and so when I purchase a new Vic Firth 5A set I spend a few minutes following my hand along each stick tto feel for the grain and look for any weak spots. This combats any future early terminations.

The Vic Firth American Classic 5A's are a type of drum sticks from one of the leading players in manufacturing drum sticks. When it comes to drum sticks in general, it's mostly about personal preference. In general I prefer to use 5A size sticks as I'm not a very powerful drummer and find these easier to play with. For those who don't know, the main difference between 5A's and 5B's are the size as 5B's are a bit heavier and thicker than the 5A's. Of course, Vic Firth has these same sticks in 5B's as well. I'm primarily not a drummer but have dabbled a bit, and when I do I generally play with these sticks as they're the kind I've got a home. I don't know what kind of wood these sticks are made out of, but they're definitely sturdy and easy to hold. They're probably best suited for lighter forms of rock, jazz, and other applications where you might not want too heavy a sound, but they'll do the trick most of the time for most players, especially less experienced ones like myself. A ton of professional drummers worldwide use these sticks, so again, it's just a matter of personal preference as you really can't say that there's anything wrong with these. The price is about the same when compared to other brand's 5A sticks, so this really shouldn't be much of factor when deciding what type of drum sticks you'd like. More versatile drummers will like to have a few different types of drum sticks available, but if you're a beginner I'd most likely recommend these for you as you really can't go wrong with them to start. I'd highly encourage all players to get out there and try as many different types of sticks as possible (both brands and sizes) to get a feel for what works for you, but the Vic Firth American Classic 5A's definitely need to be in the discussion.

To me, this is the stick that best represents the quality of Vic Firth.  It was the first pair of sticks that I ever bought, recommended to me by my first drum teacher.  Ever since, I have tried a multitude of different sticks from dofferent companies.  Vater, Silver fox, Zildjian, even other Vic Firth's don't compare to the classic versatility of the 5A's.  I often use Steve Gadd Signature sticks, which are great, but I always have many 5A's lying around.

These sticks are heavy and long enough to really rock out, but have the perfectly shaped neck and tip that make controlling dynamics very easy.  I can play these in Jazz, Rock, or whatever other genres I want.  These are well balanced and easy to flip, and I swear the opposite end is almost as good to play with as the font.  These have an amazing tendency to wear down evenly when getting old, a quality that the Gadd Signatures do not have.  The rim sounds produced when playing cross sticks are great, with loud, high pitched cracks.  The 5A's are also thick and durable enough to rarely break during a gig (if they are a fresh pair).  The 7A's or lighter variations break much more easily.  Even when they do break, I toss these in the fireplace and the hickory burns great.  Such fine sticks deserve a near ceremonial cremation anyways.

I have known many, many drummers who swear by the Vic Firth 5A's and I am among them.  I love the feeling, sound, weight, durability, and even classic nature of these sticks.  They have served me well, and I am confident while using them.  These are one of the few stick models I would buy in bulk.  If you haven't tried these, give them a shot.  So many drummers can't be wrong....