New Vater Products

Vater has been busy recently designing new sticks with many of their artists, together with more generic models of stick and rod. In this review batch we have six artist models, four more basic models and two different sized pairs of rods.

All of the sticks were tried on the same ride cymbal - a Swiss made flat ride of a more jazzy-based nature - for some consistency in what to expect. In addition, just as a reference point, a standard Vater 5A stick is 16" in length and has a diameter of .570".

The signature models -

Chico Hamilton signature (L 16 ¼" D .570") As you’ll be able to tell from the above, the design is not vastly different from your standard 5A. The stick has a long acorn shaped tip - the longest tip of the models reviewed - which produces a bright ping with a lot of clarity.

Derek Roddy signature (L 16 ¼" D .590") This model has a feel between a 5A and a 5B. It has a short taper and an average sized rounded tip. There is plenty of shoulder to the stick if you like to lay into your ride and the tip provides a focused sound with attack.

Charlie Persip signature (L 15 ¼" D .575") The Persip model has a big barrel tip with a shaft length slightly less than a 5A. As well as being quite a short stick, they’re also quite light in weight too. The somewhat fat/squat barrel tip provides both a bright cymbal sound when played using the side (like when being played with a lot of the shaft across the bow) and a slightly more dulled sound when used more on the front edge.

Brian Fraiser-Moore signature (L 16 ½" D .565") These sticks are similar to many of the other designs in that they’re not overly thick but they have a large and long barrel tip which is bigger than the SD9 model. The barrel tip provides a more dulled ping, unlike the previous model.

Jimmy Cobb signature (L 16" D .595") This model has the smallest tip of all the review models and probably the smallest tip of any stick I’ve come across in twenty plus years. It’s so small in fact that it almost looks like a larger tip has worn down, or maybe that was the idea - some people prefer the sound of a good worn down stick. The other rather strange thing about them is how thick they are compared to the tip size. There’s plenty of shoulder on this model and I felt it produced a slightly muted, thick sound which would probably sound great on an old K.

Mike Wengren signature (L 17" D .625) I have to say that even though I’m about 5’10" or so I have small, baby hands. That said, I have to say that even though these are big sticks - telephone poles actually - they still felt comfortable in my hands. They’re not exactly subtle being the longest and thickest of the review batch, but they were nicely balanced weren’t overly chunky. Definitely one for the heavy hitters, I’m sure these sticks weren’t intended to be played on flat rides, but nevertheless, as the only nylon-tipped model in the review batch, they produced a clear sound with quite a heavy level of stick sound/attack.

Non-signature models -

SD9 & SD9 Sugar Maple (L 16 ¼" D .610") These are the same basic design except one is in hickory and one in maple (so it’s a lighter stick). They have a significantly chunkier feel to them than some of the others with a shorter taper and a slightly thinner barrel tip than some of the signature models.

Jazz Ride (L 16" D .575") These are basically the same as the Jimmy Cobb model except they‘re slightly thinner. Again, they have a smallish tip which looks more like a worn down nub rather than an actual tip with a shaft and feel around that of a 5A. The sound is just about the same as JC model as well and I couldn’t really tell and difference when I A/B’ed them.

Sugar Maple Super Jazz (L 16 ¼" D .555") This model has a long taper with a smaller acorn-type bead [than the Chico Hamilton model] and is quite light in weight because of the wood used. The tip provides a bright and clear ping.

Splashsticks (Rods) - Both of these models consist of seven dowels and have rubber handles. The handles cover almost half the length of the stick on the Jazz model and almost all of the length of the Heavy model.

Traditional Jazz model - Whilst these 16 ¼" rods might sound quite thin because they’re made up from only seven dowels, it’s when you pick them up you realise just how thin they are.

They have been designed by Vater for really low volume situations with a light weight. The dowels are, for the most part, non-adjustable as the three inch piece of rubber (which is separate from the handle) sits tightly flush to the dowels. The ends of each rod - about three inches - are free to move upon impact upon the playing surface. As far as playing goes, like you might expect, the Traditional model is light in feel and touch.

Heavy model - These are designed for heavier players. Since the majority of the stick is held under the rubber which forms the handle, the remaining four inches are held quite tightly, and therefore are prone to less flexing. The length of the stick is the same as the Traditional model and width-wise is in excess of .625. As I said about the Mike Wengren stick, whilst these too are big sticks, they don’t feel uncomfortable in smaller hands.

Playing the Heavy model provides a thick sound with a substantial feel which would be, as designed, great for heavier rock-based styles.

In summary, all of the sticks and rods provided for the review had a good solid feel to them and I didn’t notice any manufacturing errors or issues. They were all nicely balanced, even to my tiny hands, cover a lot of bases style-wise.

For more check out - www.vater.com/newproducts/index.cfm and www.vater.com/newproducts/brushes_specialty.cfm

David Bateman

April 2009