When I was in middle school, I couldn’t afford many sticks of my own. I had a couple pairs of 5A for most concert work, 2B for practice (mostly on a pad, at home), and by eighth grade I’d added a pair of wire brushes. By high school I’d added a pair of 3S marching sticks and a pair of general timpani mallets. I carried them all in a stick bag I’d sewn myself from an old pair of jeans.
My classmates mostly had a bit more spending money than me. In their store-bought stick bags I’d see a full compliment of concert, jazz and marching sticks. (Almost none of them had brushes except the section leader, a senior who played really well.)
A couple had sticks made of aluminum and plastic, which they used in concert band until the band director asked them to switch to wooden sticks. I tried a pair a couple of times and found them to ht for my liking. Plus, you couldn’t really play rimshots with them because if you did, they made a hideous sound that felt like nails on a blackboard. And they were more expensive than wooden sticks. So I never owned a pair.
Until recently.
Those sticks, and the ones I just got, were all made by a company called Verisonic. They started making aluminum sticks in the late 1970s and early 80s, when I was in high school. They are still making those sticks today, plus a few other models that didn’t exist back then.
Here’s a little blurb about the company’s history (from their website):
VeriSonic Inc. was founded in 1960 by Albert S. Robba and for 43 years has manufactured innovative percussion accessories. VeriSonic's patented "Classic Line" of Aluminum Drumsticks was the first non wood alternative and made VeriSonic the pioneer of the now well established alternative drumstick industry
With the addition of VeriSonic's wide variety of high quality brushes and "RockStick" line, a percussionist will find a broad selection of products to choose from.......and all of VeriSonic's products and components are manufactured in the U.S.A., more specifically Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
In addition to their “Classic” line, they offer Rocksticks (whch appear to be slightly thicker-walled and are also advertised as being a few decibels louder), brushes and accessories.
The part that I thought was cool when I was young — the anodized color choices — now gives me pause. Through my years working in the bicycle industry, I learned that the process of anodizing metal can be wasteful and polluting because it uses a lot of can produce hazardous waste that may or may not be disposed of properly. This has especially been a problem with bike components manufactured overseas, where environmental regulations are seldom enforced (if they exist at all).
Because Verisonic sticks are manufactured in the USA, there’s a much better chance that their anodization process is carefully monitored and that waste is disposed of safely. I’ll research further to make sure.
I got a pair of Classic “Parade” sticks which was advertised as NOS. Judging from the wrapper, though, they may not be so old. No matter, the price was right and they’re brand new. These Parade sticks are similar in diameter to a wooden pair of 2B sticks (5/8”), measure 15.5” long and weigh in at 3.25 ounces per pair. The other version of this model appears in their RockSticks line and weighs 3.75 ounces a pair. I believe the RockSticks are thicker-walled, making them sturdier. I still wouldn’t want to play a lot of rimshots with them, though.
I like the balance in my hands. They are lighter and shorter than a comparably-sized set of wooden 2B sticks (see photos), but pleasing to play on a tensioned drum head with. I haven’t tried them on a rubber practice pad yet.
I’m intrigued enough by these that I might spring for a heavier version in the RockSticks line.
As a kid, I remember that my friends’ Verisonic sticks were scarred from too many rimshots, and sometimes the plastic ends got knocked off. (If you ever want to put percussion equipment through a thorough durability test, give it to a middle school drummer for a couple of days.) Let’s hope the new generation of Verisonic sticks proves more durable.
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