Vater Stewart Copeland Standard Drumsticks — Hickory, Wood Tip

• 0.555 in (14.1 mm) shaft, 16 in (40.6 cm) long
• Rounded oval tip, turned from the wood
• Balance and rebound highlighted by the manufacturer
• Crisp, articulate cymbal sounds and full sounds on the drums
• Hickory, the wood that stands up to repeated impact
• A signature design made with a drummer, not a variation on a stock model

The brand's 5A, the Los Angeles 5A, is turned to 0.570 in. This one stops at 0.555 in, at the same length: fifteen thousandths of an inch less, barely four tenths of a millimetre. Over a night of playing, that gap adds up to thousands of wrist strokes, and that is where you hear it: the stick comes back sooner, and your fingers keep up.

The length does not change. You keep the reach of a 16 in stick with the flow of a thinner one. That is exactly what a drummer is after when the right hand lives on a closed hi-hat, filling the spaces between the beats.

A perfectly round tip touches the cymbal at a single point, whatever the angle of your arm. An oval tip offers a slightly elongated surface: the contact changes a little depending on whether you play flat or on the side of the stick.

That small play of angle gives the drummer one more control. The manufacturer describes a crisp, articulate result on cymbals and a full one on the heads; in practice, the same pair can pick out a ride pattern and make a snare carry.

A signature model is not a stock model with a name printed on it. This one exists because a drummer wanted a precise ratio between shaft thickness and length, and that ratio was not found among the industry's numbered sizes.

The practical result is simple: if you already play 5A and find the stick a touch sluggish under your fingers, without wanting to drop to a 7A, this pair fills exactly the gap between the two.

• Busy hi-hat playing, in eighth and sixteenth notes
• New wave, up-tempo rock, ostinato-based music
• 5A players looking for a little more speed
• Stages where the snare has to stay articulate

Drumsticks of a similar size from other manufacturers:

How is this size different from a regular 5A?

In the shaft: 0.555 in instead of the 0.570 in of the brand's 5A, at the same length. The stick weighs a little less and turns a little faster in the hand.

Does hickory break less quickly than maple?

It handles repeated impact better, which is why it is the most common wood. Maple, which is softer, makes a lighter stick but gives out sooner under heavy hitting.

Will these sticks hold up to rimshots?

The snare rim is what wears out a wooden stick, whatever the brand. A drummer who plays a lot of rimshots should keep a spare pair within reach.

Do I need to play harder to make up for the thinner shaft?

No. The 16 in length keeps the speed at the end of the stroke, and so the volume. It is the mass in your hand that goes down, not the reach.