Diameter- .575"
Wood- Hickory
Extremely small tear drop tip
After the success of Peter Erskine's original signature stick, the guys at Vic Firth decided to give him another signature stick to reflect the evolution in his playing. While his first model was a smaller 7a with a tiny round bead, his "Ride" model is a solid 5a size with a smooth taper towards the extremely small teardrop. This size provides more durability and a better throw for the faster ride patterns. Lets check these bad boys out...
As soon as I picked up a pair of these, I immediately noticed how light they felt in my hands. Due to its long taper, they are weighted slightly towards the bottom while remaining well balanced. The shoulder of the stick begins a gradual taper roughly 5 inches from the tip. The taper makes for a great rebound and allows ride patterns to seem effortless. The feature that really sealed the deal for me was the stick's small teardrop tip. It gave each ride AND crash cymbal I played a great jazz sound. The cymbals were articulate and had just the right mix of "woody" stick sound and a slight ping. I could easily use a number of my crashes as a crash-ride for lower volume gigs with a pair of these babies.
Due to their light feel, these probably wouldnt be the best choice for someone who hits hard. Although the teardrop brings out amazing tones out of cymbals at lower to mid volumes, the small tip lost its articulation at a higher dynamic range. Its thinner shoulder is also very vulnerable in the hihat-zone or for anyone wailing away on their 20" china. Also, be warned that the small tip would likely destroy a batter head at higher volumes as well. But for the drummer who is needing a great stick with an incredible sensitivity to dynamics, you owe it to yourself to check these out. They have become somewhat of a go-to stick for jazzbos across the country and from what I can see, for good reason...
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