Vic FirthAmerican Custom SD1 General

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.

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.

I think these are a great choice for those that don’t hit too hard and use a light tough. They are very light weight and well balanced

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

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.

He loves them. Sturdy and no issues at all. He sometimes puts tape over to give design and take removes without any issues or holding residue afterwards.

Vic Firth = high quality. I have been using them for over 30 years and they are the best balanced and well made sticks you can use.I bought these sticks specifically for practicing rudiments on a drum pad. I use a lighter stick when I play gigs on my drum set. These are a little heavier and help build speed for when I use my lighter sticks on the drum set.These sticks are high quality. No wobble when you roll them to test. No problems with the wood grain. They feel good and bounce off the pad very well.These sticks are perfect for a drum pad and playing on drum set. Highly recommended.