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The Vics for me. I'm more a 5A guy than 5B but both work fine. Actually, I like the SD11, which I believe is maple. 5A-ish with a teardrop tip that sounds and feels nice to me.

For a beefier stick I'd go for the Vater Powerhouse. I love the balance in those. The tip is comparable to
that of Vinnie's stick (which was your reference) and it is beefier than a 5B.

I always dug the Tony Williams signature model, but every pair I ever picked up was warped... Not many stores keep them in stock either.

I'm really curious to check out Peter Erskines new stick, but again, nobody stocks them. I may just chance it and order a brick...

Morgenthaler wrote:For a beefier stick I'd go for the Vater Powerhouse. I love the balance in those.

I played those for a while. Very nice, but a bit too top heavy for me. I play the Vic Firth 2Bs now. 2B or not 2B?

Lucas Ives wrote:I love Vic's 5B. There's a range of 3 different weights in each brick, so make sure to try all the pair the store has.

+1

I always go for the heavy ones in the bunches.

Nylon tips for me. 5BNs

Out of habit, I still roll but haven't met a wobbly VF in many moons.

I am now using the Agner 5A model, it feels great in my hands.

Yay, stick talk! I end up changing my favorite every 4-5 months, and I too am currently smitten with the Todd Sucherman Promarks!

I used to bounce back and forth between the Vinnie's and the Vater Josh Freese model. If you're wanting to step up from the Vinnie's try the Vater 1Aw or the Chad Smith sig model.

1A- The diameter might be a little less, but the length makes up for it with a fuller throw. Both sport the acorn tip.
Chad S- little beefier but about same length. Also has the acorn tip.

The specs for Chad Smith's sticks are: 16" D .605"
The specs for the 1Aw are: L 17" D .590" And the specs for the Vinnie are: L 15.9375" D .595

I hope this helps!
~ Matt

I forgot to mention, I tried these Regal Tip sticks recently, and they're nice. I'm not crazy about the laquer though.
http://www.regaltip.com/products/drum-s ... --x-16-25-

oh yea, I would also recommend Promark's Benny Greb stick. L: 16" D: .600, Acorn tip. I have it in my stick bag but haven't used since switching to the Suchermans!
The Suchermans are maple with the same specs as the Greb sticks; great feel and light (due to the maple), but may not give you the extra oomph you're looking for.

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