Have you tried Vater Drumsticks?

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.

These days in addition to Vater drumsticks, the company makes brushes, mallets, stick bags, and other drum accessories.  I like the company because their products are great quality at a lower price.