Vic FIrth - American Classic® Drumsticks 5A - American Hickory - Wood Tip

Product Information

If you’ve ever wondered who the best drum brands are or which brand makes the best drum sets, we’ve rounded up 10 of our favourites.

We look at some of the best gifts for drummers and drum accessories that the drummer in your life will actually want to use! Don’t try to go all out with these; they aren’t built for heavy hitting and you’ll likely snap some of the dowels if you wail with them. We compare all current Roland Electric Drum Kits & discuss the differences between each model in our complete Roland Electric Drum Kits Comparison

Choosing a pair of sticks can be slightly mind-boggling, so here’s a simple guide to help make sense of it.

Something to also take into consideration is when the music was composed. Nylon tips were invented in the 1950's and if the music was written before that point some would argue that it would be wrong to use such novelties. Many amateur musicians nowadays take great pride in and think it's best to be autodidact, or self-taught, but the fact is that such musicians often leave much to wish for when it comes to proper technique, which often hinders progress. However, if you wanted your drumming to stand out more and be more obvious when playing with a band, you might choose to go with a brighter sound. Here atMusicRadar, we are experts in our field, with many years of playing, creating and product testing between us. We live and breathe everything music gear related, and we draw on this knowledge and experience of using products in live, recording and rehearsal scenarios when selecting the products for our guides.

This means that you can compare two different brands, even if the numbering system that each company uses is slightly different. All the major drum brands have decent quality control (avoid anything cheap), but Vic Firth really sets the standard in the world of drumming. If you’re a beginner drummer that needs (or wants!) to make a lot of noise for jams, rehearsals or gigs, you’re going to need to hit hard. It's always very tempting to skip all the beginner's steps and throw yourself in the deep end of the pool because you obviously want to play cool, impressive music, but even though it might seem like a slower process to go through all the basic stuff we assure you it's always worth it. After all, you can't build a skyscraper without a solid foundation! Quality assured: They are weighed and measured using a laser to obtain consistent weight and profile.

Just as a brief overview – tip shape affects the tone that you produce on the drum (warmer or brighter). Of course as a beginner drummer, this is a great time to experiment and find out what works for you. S stands for 'street' are best suited for marching bands. They are very loud and designed to be heard from a distance when the band is marching. Which, let’s be honest, unless you were planning on painting your drums – often isn’t what you were hoping for! If this is a little overwhelming right now, don’t worry. Focus on the size first – choosing the tip shape and taper length is a bit more technical and requires a bit more experience.