Found a new stick...

[mja61]

So, have any of you tried maple sticks?

I was on a strict diet of hickory for many years, thinking that maple wasn't a "real" wood for sticks.

After seeing Todd S. in clinic (mentioning his new signature stick was actually maple), I was inspired to check out some maple sticks. I got some Vater Blazers, which have roughly the dimensions I've had in mind for my "ideal" stick, but have been unable to find in hickory.

I've only been able to try them a few times, but I'm really liking them. Lighter and much easier on the hands, heads, and cymbals, but I still can get a full sound out of the drums.

[beat Hit]

Vater Fusion sticks are available in both woods: hickory or maple. For me, I simply LOVE the maple models. I always find hickory sticks too heavy.

[Derek DeFields]

I only tried maple once on accident and broke those sticks in a day.

I loved the way they felt though. Maybe I should try them again.

[beat Hit]

"Broke 'hem in a day" [img]eek.gif[/img] ... Must be that Rocker in you... [img]tongue.gif[/img] [img]biggrin.gif[/img]

Speaking of new Sticks, Promark's got a new Paul Brochu Signature model that's also made of Maple. Tried 'hem once and I really LOVED them, they're just not distributed in my area yet.

[mja61]

Yeah, I tried maple (Vic Firth SD-9's) about fifteen years ago, and same thing: felt great, but broke right away. I'm still on my first pair of Vater's, and they're holding up as well as hickory (so far).

I think the two biggest changes are:

1. I think my technique is much more mature than it was 15 years ago (but still plenty of room for improvement!) I'm not all the way on the Freddie Gruber end of the scale, but I used to break hickory sticks regularly, and my heads were all pitted soon after I put them on. Nowadays, I throw sticks out because they are dirty, not broken, and I've had the same set of Coated Ambassadors on my drums for over a year, and I can't find a single pit.

2. The Vater Blazer is from their Sugar Maple line. According to their website, this is the most durable species of maple you can find. I'm not sure the Vic Firth maple is of the same integrity.

Also, it seems that you don't get the stick-to-stick weight variation of hickory, and maple sticks seem to be straighter on average than hickory.

Todd Sucherman is without question a power player, but he didn't break a stick the entire night (at least not that I saw).

Anyways, I just love the feel...I can play with full wrist and arm motions and still take advantage of the rebound, yet without beating the crap out of my gear.

Plus, the dimensions of this particular stick are very comfortable for me...like a scaled-down version of the Power House or the Thomas Lang model.

[matricks]

My favorites of all time are the SD-2 Bolero model. I could NEVER find a stick that had a nice diameter but was light enough for me. I LOVE how they feel, the rebound, vibrations, everything... perfect for me. I would give them a shot for sure, if i were you. They dent easily, cause they are maple, but i like the shock absorbtion that they offer and i find them lasting me months... i have never had that before from a stick. Give them a shot, if you don't dig um, send them to me and i will mail you some of my old Gadd sticks that i never used, in return! [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[matricks]

P.S. I feel what you mean by the SD-4's... i used to dig those, but when i went to a bigger stick, i couldn't, for the life of me, go back to an SD-4... seemed like a kid's drumstick.
I felt like i was gripping a toothpick.

[ladanny]

Crazy, I was just thinking about this yesterday. I used to use the Vic Firth SD-9 maple stick and really loved it. I haven't used it for years and was thinking about trying to find them again. The one thing I really loved about those sticks was the finish, or lack there of. Back in the early 80s, I seem to remember the sticks having a very raw finish, which I really loved. Do they still have that type of finish?

Danny

[moosetication]

I've been using a pair of Vater 7A Manhattan on my e-drums for a couple of weeks now, and like them a lot. I might just try them out on the As this weekend - I usually use the hickory versions.

[Suspiria]

I bought the Vic Firth American Custm SD4 Combo made of Mapel. Just two pairs I think. They are an absolute desaster.

In the store they seemed fine, but on my set I really dislike them. They are too light and have insane vibrations when cracking loud rim shots. The only reason Id recommend them is for past ride patterns. Overall it was a mistake to get 'em, but to each his own!