It wasn't until just a few years ago that I discovered Vater drumsticks. I was in a large music store
looking though the Vic Firth drumsticks trying to decide whether I really
wanted to spend $10.00 per pair for drumsticks.
I really liked the Vic Firth sticks, but with the amount of gigging and
teaching that I was doing, I was shredding lots of sticks. As I pondered, I noticed
a sign sitting on the glass counter that said “4 Pair of Vater Drumsticks for
$19.99”. Under the sign on the floor in
front of the glass counter was a bin with Vater drumsticks that had been
bundled together into packages of four pairs of drumsticks per package. I picked up one of the packages and examined
it because I figured $5.00 per pair is a pretty good deal if the drumsticks are
the right size and relatively straight. As
it turned out, the sticks in the Vater drumstick bundle were the size I wanted
(5B), and they looked a lot like the Vic Firth drumsticks that I normally used.
This is the Vater drumstick.
This is the Vic Firth drumstick
Since the Vater drumsticks were completely sealed in plastic wrap, I would have had to tear open the packaging to try them out in the store. So, I asked the clerk behind the sales counter, “Do you have any loose pairs of these Vater drumsticks so that I can try ‘em?”
The clerk said, “Sorry man, we just got those in and we only
get them in four packs.”
I asked him if he had a problem with me opening the Vater
bundle to try them. He hesitantly agreed
to let me try the Vater drumsticks as long as he opened the package. When I got a chance to try them I was pleasantly
surprised! For years I had been using
Vic Firth drumsticks because I liked the way they were balanced, and the flat
finish which keeps them from getting slippery.
The Vater drumsticks had the very same feel as the Vic Firth drumsticks,
so I bought the four pack. I have been using
Vater drumsticks ever since.
After doing some research on Vater drumsticks I learned a few
things about Vater drumsticks;
- The company was started in the mid-1980’s by Jack Vater.
- Jack Vater had a drum shop in the 1950’s where he would make custom drumsticks. One of his best customers was Buddy Rich.
- When Vater Percussion started in the mid-1980’s they were not making “Vater Drumsticks”, they made drumsticks for “Vic Firth” and “Zildjian”.
- Vater did not put their own name on their drumsticks until late 1988.
