Vic Firth American Classic 7A

These drum sticks are great for jazz music. I also use them to rock out to 1980s rock reggae, like the police, they help me get a quick hi-hat hit for emulating stewart copeland, all the way to gene krupa fills. I find that 7A sticks suit me well save for one single flaw: they break on me like toothpicks. This might be a result of my hard-hitting technique which is most likely attributable to me playing for years with 5A sticks and striking the snare extra hard to get a loud snap like chad sexton of 1990's 311 albums. In the big picture, I would love to have the lightness and thin shape of these sticks as my daily use sticks, despite the breaking frequently issue. I also noticed over the past few years that Vic Forth seems to have improved the quality of the sticks. I used to spend a good 20 minutes trying to match a pair of sticks in the bin, looking for good equal length and no blemishes or grain defects. This used to be a difficult task, however over the last year or so, I’ve noticed my local music shop has had great quality improvements for sale. I cannot tell if this is a common thing, but it is my experience with them.
That said, I find that these sticks allowed me to reapproach the way in which I held and used my sticks. I was able to pinch the stick differently likely because I was not holding such a thick stick, and also because I have smaller, thinner hands. I owe a lot to these 7a’s.
The price is pretty standard for these sticks, as should be. I understand you are getting a little bit less wood for your money, but these are a fine product, not a commodity. Knowing what I know now, I wish I started my drumming career with these sticks, and eventually if needed, made my way up to 5a’s or even 5b’s if I so required. I think I still carry 5a’s in my bag, incase the jam requires some harder hitting stuff, but all in all, I love and use my 7a’s first.