Vater recently sent us some sticks to try out. These are all from the ‘Classics’ range which are apparently all more ‘old school’ designs, based on the original designs that Vater made before they became Vater (when them made sticks for another very well known stick company), meaning they are slightly different from the current modern version. While some of the dimensions may be the same as the current counterpart, the feel is slightly different.
Classics 7A– 15.5/0.540 W & N https://www.vater.com/#!/product/981840
This is actually slightly shorter than the Manhattan 7A model but I can’t say I really noticed the shorter length. One of my personal go to sizes, I found this stick design very comfortable.
Classics 8D Jazz– 16/0.540 W & N https://www.vater.com/#!/product/981841
This is an acorn tipped stick with a 7A diameter but slightly longer. With the same feel as the 7A too, I didn’t really notice the extra length which probably means it’s nicely weighted in that regard.
Classics Big Band– 16/0.560 W & N https://www.vater.com/#!/product/981842
A new design to me, this has the feel of a 5A and features a ball tip that’s designed to give better ride cymbal clarity.
Classics 5A– 16/0.565 W & N https://www.vater.com/#!/product/981843
Nothing not to like here, the classic stick design and size with an acorn tip.
Classics 5B– 16/0.595 W & N https://www.vater.com/#!/product/981844
I have smallish sized hands and can’t always use a 5B but this model felt very comfortable to me; it’s a good length and weight.
Classics 2B– 16.25/0.630 W & N https://www.vater.com/#!/product/981845
This model has a good, solid, meaty feel to it. It’s slightly thinner than the regular 2B model by 0.05”.
Whilst I did try all of the sticks, I spent the most time with the 8D model since that was the one that most suited my hands. I really enjoyed using that stick. It felt good in the hand, I really only dropped them because of clumsiness and they held up very nicely in my continued use in my studio at home (where I play as hard as when I gig).
That said, I liked all of the models I tried. All of the designs felt good to me and were nicely weighted.
More over at – https://www.vater.com/#!/
David Bateman
November 2019
