Maker
Vic Firth
Sticks and mallets from a symphony timpanist
Vic Firth was principal timpanist of the Boston Symphony and started making mallets because he could not buy what he wanted. The company he built became the largest drumstick maker in the world, with the pair-matching-by-weight-and-pitch process as its selling point and the American Classic 5A as its default.
Models
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Vic Firth SD1 General
Drumstick · United States
The SD1 General is a maple concert snare stick with a large round tip, standard in orchestral and wind band playing and in most percussion methods.
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Vic Firth Heritage Brush
Drumstick · United States
The Heritage brush pairs a wood handle with retractable steel wires, and is one of the two or three brushes that turn up on most jazz recordings.
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Vic Firth American Classic 7A
Drumstick · United States
The 7A is thinner and lighter than a 5A, favoured for jazz, brush-adjacent playing, and any situation where the drums are quieter than the room.
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Vic Firth American Classic 5B
Drumstick · United States
A 5B is thicker and heavier than a 5A at the same length, and is the usual choice for rock playing where a 5A feels insubstantial.
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Vic Firth T1 General Timpani Mallet
Drumstick · United States
The T1 General is the timpani mallet a player reaches for when the part does not specify: a medium felt head on a wood shaft, in the series Firth designed for his own orchestral work.
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Vic Firth American Classic 5A
Drumstick · United States
If a drummer does not specify, this is the stick: hickory, 16" long, .565" in diameter, with a teardrop wood tip. It is almost certainly the best-selling drumstick in the world.
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Vic Firth Steve Gadd Signature
Drumstick · United States
Gadd's stick is shorter and thicker than a 5A with a barrel tip and no lacquer, and it is one of the few signature models bought as often by people who do not sound like the endorser.
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Vic Firth Corpsmaster
Drumstick · United States
The Corpsmaster range covers field snare sticks, tenor mallets, and marching bass mallets, specified by weight and taper for the extreme head tensions marching percussion uses.
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Vic Firth Heavy Hitter Practice Pad
Drum hardware · United States
The Heavy Hitter pads offer a soft gum rubber side and a harder side, so a player can practise against both a forgiving and an unforgiving rebound on the same pad.
Categories
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Drumsticks & Mallets
Hickory, maple, and oak sticks by model number; wire and nylon brushes; and the yarn, cord, and felt mallets that concert percussion is played with.
Representative model
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Vic Firth American Classic 5A
Drumstick · United States
If a drummer does not specify, this is the stick: hickory, 16" long, .565" in diameter, with a teardrop wood tip. It is almost certainly the best-selling drumstick in the world.