Vater

I ordered the tape with a pair of David Silveria sticks via Musician's Friend. Without the shipping and handling, they only cost $3.99. but with the DSK's and S$H, it cost around $20 alltogether. My sticks have never slipped out of my hand since I've wrapped them around my David Silveria sticks. I broke my wrist, and that caused them to slip out because I had no strength in my wrist. But other than that time, they give you less fatigue and the tape doesn't make your hands sweaty. Also, the tape doesn't unravel. When I first started using them, I had some caluses build on my hands. They kept rubbing against my skin and became a bit uncomfortable. But, after you've been drumming for 7 years like I have, you get used to it. The tape isn't like regular tape. Instead of being sticky on one side, it feels like gauze wrap. Instead, when you wrap it, wrap it upwards, then (without cutting it off) wrap it right back downwards. See, the tape sticks to the tape when they touch together and are pressed together. So, after using it. don't let the start point of the tape touch the roll itself. Or else you'll have some trouble getting it back off. The tape really works. Most people say it isn't good because it doesn't stick like electric tape or duct tape. But me, and three other drummers in my school think it's the best tape you could use. And take my work for it, I've been playing with many different kinds of tape and sticks for 7 years. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I am not going to lie, I am a huge Police fan, especially of Stewert Copeland and how he integrated so many different rhythms into contemporary rock reggae of western world. I love his jazz influences and I always felt as a player, he and I both shared similar views of style and rhythmic approach. About 2 years ago I saw these Vader sticks for sale in the music shop, and immediately was purchasing a pair. I expected something, either extreme joy, or quick regret when I got them home and blasted away on my set. These sticks do not disappoint. Who ever at Vader worked with Stew to develop these sticks did a fantastic job. They fill a void in stick offerings which has been missing for years. They have a very light feel, are easy to hold in my hands ( i have somewhat average to small hands) and the most amazing part about these sticks are the bead. The bead is a rounded-oval type that I think is perfect for hi-hat magic, cymbal clarity that cannot be produced with a wood tip, or typical plastic bead found on Vic-forth stuff. The best part about these is they incorporate the feel of a 7a stick, but the length of a 5B. They are long! Really long, which is awesome, and I can think of no downsides to a longer stick. I have found with this approach to stick production, vader has created a universal stick. I cannot think of a music style these sticks can’t do, or do well at that. I love them and hope they are not a limited edition thing, as they really do fill in a void that should be filled by a stick that can perform well and cover a varied degree of styles of percussion and not break via a strong hit or two.

Vater's Hickory 5A drum sticks are multi purpose sticks for drumming of all kinds. I'm primarily not a drummer, but do play a bit and as an engineer most of what I do is recording drums. I work often with a session drummer who has an endorsement from Vater and as a result primarily uses these sticks. I've messed around with them a bunch myself but don't own a pair of them. In general I like to use 5A sticks for myself as I feel most comfortable playing with them due to their size. Vater also has these Hickory made sticks as 5B's, so you get to choose your poison there if you're not into 5A's. In my brief periods using the Vater Hickory 5A's, I've really enjoyed them as I find them to feel good in your hands and quite easy to play with. You'll be able to get the same sound from them as you would any other set of 5A drum sets as they're as well made as just about any set of 5A sticks will be. Every drummer should have a set of 5A sticks even if they're not your favorite as they're a pretty universal size and you never know when you might want a difference sort of sound. I don't know all that much about Vater, but these sticks will do the job for drummers more times than not. At a certain point when you're dealing with sticks of the same size, it just comes down to personal preference and price. These Vaters do fall right in line with the price of other drum sticks of their kind, so they're certainly worth considering in your journey to find the right pair of drum sticks for yourself. While I'm not as experienced with feel when it comes to all kinds of drum sticks, I do believe these are worth trying.