Vic Firth American Classic 85A Drumsticks

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Just as a reviewer stated, these are a fine stick. l use them for jazzy, rock'n, county'n, uh, just whatever. Trying to see whats to replace the sticks that l've used for so long, that are not being made anymore. These are amongst the few

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I have been trying many different sticks for the last couple of months. I play mostly in clubs, halls, auditoriums, the gigging drummer venues. I play mostly straight-ahead, sometimes Top 40, Classic Motown, low, low-medium type gigs. I tried Maple Sticks but after playing Hickory for so long they just did not feel right. I like dynamics, loud to be loud, and soft to soft, not light. Maple sticks seem to sound light, not soft. Hickory has more of a whisper to roar sound, the dynamic range is more versatile. The problem was light hickory sticks sounded like crap if I wanted full volume, (unless miked really good) even miked I still could not hear all the low, medium, highs from the drum shell. Heavy sticks I could control the volume, the softest point started out at 4 compared to 2 with a smaller stick. So when I got loud with Heavier Sticks it was too loud for the music I was playing. I use Moeller Technique, somewhat large hands but not thick, more like long thin piano hands. So a 7A felt a little too light I would have to choke the grip to get certain dynamics, which is waste of motion. A 5A was nice but felt unbalanced up front when I wanted to lay into the drums, I tried the 5A Extreme but felt fine on some songs but sluggish on others. I also tried Vater sticks of variety, they was okay but I have been playing Vic Firths since I started playing drums. The Vaters just did not feel right in my hands, great sticks, and very durable but I like the soft wood of Vic's. So anyway, I originally started my new sticks search with the 85A and went through about 8 different sticks to come back to the 85A. Not too small or big, if I need a serious back-beat I can flip to the butt-end for a serious fat snare 2 & 4. Also .550 seems to be the middle ground for a lot of drummers, Aronoff, Bozzio, Gadd, to name few , all with different tips and tapers but the grip is .550. I tried the Vic Firth Jazz Series but I like to control the stick not the taper, it felt too easy with a thin taper, I like to work the sticks and sweat. That's what drumming is all about anyway, it's physical. So hope this helps someone, and I hope Vic makes the 85A forever.

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