Vic Firth American Custom SD1 General

These are great sticks! I was in a rush to get a pair of swizzles for a musical gig I had coming up, so I ordered the first pair I saw on Amazon. When they arrived I noticed that the tips were... well, small. I mean, compared to every other drumstick I've used. However, to my suprise, that's exactly what I needed for my gig. Because the tips are smaller, there's less sound, which seems obvious, however it still pulls out the same overtones on your cymbals as if you were playing with, say, 2Bs. It's a dryer sound, but not Saharah Desert dry. It was a great balance for the venue. As for the felts, they're pretty decent but lean more on the hard side. Don't expect a perfectly even orchestral suspended cymbal roll. Despite this, I still found that these mallets were perfectly fine to use on rolls and I even used them on the toms as my book demanded I did so. As for the weight - I've marched tenor drums for 4 years now, and finished up my 1st year in a college setting. I'm used to hefty sticks, and typically use sticks that are either perfectly balanced or lean more on the front end of the stick. Because of the mallets, they are back heavy. It's easy to overcome for most people I would assume, but when I wanted to get a little bit more bounce out of the stick, my marching chops just couldn't help me out. Tl;dr: Great swizzles. Dry sound on cymbals on tip end, decent cymbal rolls on swizzles. I saw some other reviews saying that they used these on tenor drums..? I would NOT recommend these for that, since you can get heavier sticks that produce a much better sound that are DESIGNED for tenors elsewhere. I would recommend IP Paul Rennick's or VF MST1 swizzles for marching. Edit 4/16/19: I have now used these for 3 musicals and for several other gigs. I can safely say that these are my go-to sticks in situations where you need to play quietly. I do wish the felt side was a little softer, but it's only noticable to me it seems. I flip my sticks around a ton since a lot of musicals need you to quickly change from playing drums to a suspended cymbal roll. I've been gettijg a lot better at tossing my sticks up and doing a half flip in order to change sides. Hopefully I can provide a video so you guys can hear the difference in sound. I just need a quality microphone to do so and I'm a broke college kid, so we'll see.

The sd1 general rock maple sticks are like they have built in chops. They are light with nice flex and great feel. My new favorite sticks. Update: these sticks are great on the practice pad and work well on the drum kit. The maple wood produces a really sweet pop on rim shots. Unfortunately they also produce a lot of shock on rim shots. After a session on the kit with these my left hand is tingling and twitching which is very unpleasant. I’m using Ahead sticks more on the kit which eliminate virtually all shock. The sd1 sticks are still wonderful on the practice pad though.

My 13 yr old is in percussion with her school and she loves these drum sticks. Great affordable option.

Great sticks by Vic Firth. These are the larger sticks that I use for drum pad practice and just the snare drum. Balanced and labeled (the American flag) for equilibrium. Paired nicely… these are maple. Tried the Pro-Mark hickory sticks too which are good but these feel better in my hands.

I currently play a customized Yamaha DTX electronic kit, with acoustic Saluda cymbals. I need a stick that is light enough to avoid damaging my electric gear, yet tough enough to slam the bell of a heavy, 24" ride hard enough to cut through metal guitars without shattering into toothpicks. The SD1 is the perfect stick to suit these needs. I have big hands, so the larger diameter eases the fatigue on my hands and wrists (recurring bouts of CTS since my freshman year of high school in 1983) making extended gigs much more bearable. The stubby, round tip gives a great ping on the ride, and a smooth feel to shuffling on hats and snare. The diameter where stick meets tip is what first drew me to try these. Through the years, I have snapped enough 2B, 5A, 7B, etc... tips to heat a home through a Wisconsin winter. This gives the tip a much stronger foundation, which for me, translates to a more solid, playable link to whatever I'm striking. In over 10 years of playing these sticks exclusively, I have only broken 1 stick. Not for lack of exposing them to extreme peril on a daily basis, but because they are simply that rugged. I generally replace them when they get a little heavy after a few months of absorbing sweat and oil from my hands. Bottom line: if you need a mix of finesse/strength/durability, these are the sticks you're looking for.

I think the sticks are pretty sturdy for beginner usage. It's also light enough for a beginner to use.

10 out of 10 I’ve had this for a good 6 or 7 months and their still working perfectly

Okay good sticks there so smooth so I recommend getting tape for grip there a little bigger than I thought but it’s still comfortable and works out umm good sticks love em 10/10 get yall sum they don’t disappoint

Mir gefällt, dass sie gut in der Hand liegen und nicht zu dünn sind, ähnlich 5B. Durch das geringere Gewicht das Ahornholzes lassen Sie sich aber sehr kontrolliert spielen, von leise, bis laut. Sticks sind wir von Vic First gewohnt, sehr gut, balanciert Ab und zu erwischt man mal ein Paar, bei dem ein Stick zu früh und unvermittelt bricht (Naturprodukt). Normalerweise halten Sie aber sehr lange.

Excellent quality. My 11 year old uses them for Drumline and they are perfect for him.

Got the wrong stick....

Exactly the right product! They were ordered for a gift, but met my expectations perfectly! Fast shipping, and really well packaged.

Di bacchette, in quasi trent'anni di passione batteristica e studio, ne ho consumate a vagonate e ho sperimentato moltissimi modelli di ogni spessore, peso, lunghezze e tipologie di legni. Ho provato da poco il modello SD10 Swinger in questione e, ragazzi, creano veramente dipendenza!! Sembra di impugnare una 5B ma con una leggerezza delle 7A e un bilanciamento tra una 5A e una Extreme 5A. Quello che sorprende è che si adattano perfettamente al palmo della mano, sono leggere ma allo stesso tempo hanno un bilanciamento semplicemente favoloso. Una volta provate, tutto il resto vi sembrerà assurdamente scomodo. Ma il vero fiore all'occhiello è la pienezza di suono che riescono a tirare fuori, un pitch scuro molto corposo e caldo. I rullanti acquistano proprio un'altra proiezione e pienezza sonora e la definizione sui piatti è ben bilanciata e calda. Però hanno un brutto tallone d'Achille: come dicevo, creano dipendenza, nel senso che la magia dura relativamente poco e, nonostante tutto, si ha l'esigenza di acquistare nuove paia. L'acero americano è poroso, si ammacca e non si scheggia ma tende con estrema facilità a spaccarsi longitudinalmente di netto lasciandovi sul più bello con una bacchetta divisa in due parti anche dopo poche sessioni. Meno evidente anche il cross stick a causa della morbidezza del legno dove invece l'hictory garantisce una maggiore presenza e proiezione del suono. Sono bacchette che vedo bene per standard jazz ma anche per r&b, soul e pop con groove ricchi di ghosts e varietà di dinamiche ma nonostante il bel feeling e suono, direi che a causa della loro estrema fragilità non sono adatte a mani pesanti, a chi suona costantemente di rim shot e chi si stia avvicinando da poco alla batteria e non abbia ancora sviluppato un buon controllo tecnico del rimbalzo. Nota per Amazon: come da foto, non si può spedire due paia di bacchette in uno scatolone che ne potrebbe accogliere come minimo dieci! Quanto spreco di cartone...