The stick most drummers are handed first, in a four-pair value pack: American hickory, 5A size, wooden tip. Hickory absorbs shock well and is the standard for a reason.
Vic Firth American Classic 5A (4 pairs)
The stick most drummers are handed first, in a four-pair value pack: American hickory, 5A size, wooden tip. Hickory absorbs shock well and is the standard for a reason.
Size
5A
Material
American hickory
Tip
Wood
Quantity
4 pairs
Amazon reference
B000RVYRC4 (identical on 6 markets)
EAN
0750795014569
The reference size: every stick chart and every teacher assumes 5A as the starting point
Hickory is the standard drumstick wood — stiff, and it absorbs shock rather than transmitting it
The most expensive stick purchase in this catalog, because it is four pairs
Best for: A first serious stick purchase, and the default for a mesh-head electronic kit.
Vic Firth’s American Classic 5A is the drumstick equivalent of a standard: hickory, wooden tip, general-purpose size, and the reference against which every other stick gets described.
Hickory is the point. It is stiff enough to transmit the stroke and dense enough to absorb the shock that would otherwise travel into the wrist, which is why it has outlasted every alternative for general playing.
Buying four pairs at once is not indulgence. Sticks break, and wood is a natural material with real variation between batches — two sticks bought together are matched, two bought six months apart are not, and the difference in weight and balance is audible to the player if not to anyone else.
On an electronic kit with mesh heads, a wooden tip is fine and lasts a long time, because there is no cymbal edge to chip it.
The questions players ask
What does 5A mean?
The number describes the circumference class and the letter the intended application, historically: 7A is thinner, 5B is heavier than 5A. Five-A is the general-purpose middle, and it is where every teacher starts a student.
Why buy four pairs?
Sticks break, and wood varies between batches. Four matched pairs bought together means a broken stick is replaced by one that feels the same, rather than by one bought months later with a different weight and balance.
Two pairs of 5A sticks in maple rather than hickory, at the lowest price on this shelf — and the only maple published in this family, which is a lighter and more flexible wood.
Size
5A — the reference size, as the page for another stick here explains
Wood
Maple — the only maple on this shelf. One stick here publishes hickory, one publishes nothing
Quantity
Two pairs
Length
WOGOD puts nothing in writing on this. One stick on this shelf publishes 394 mm (15.5 in)
Grip diameter
WOGOD puts nothing in writing on this. One stick here publishes 14 mm (0.55 in)
Tip
WOGOD puts nothing in writing on this — not wood, not nylon
Finish
WOGOD puts nothing in writing on this
Stated use
Rock, jazz, blues and other styles, for drummers of all levels
Amazon reference
B06XBLH7RT
EAN
0614878988720
The only maple sticks on this shelf, which is a lighter and more flexible wood than hickory
Two pairs at the lowest price in this family
No length and no grip diameter, which are the two figures a 5A designation stands for
Best for: A lighter touch, or a first pair where the wood should at least be named.
Two bullets and both are measurements: 394 mm (15.5 in) long and 14 mm (0.55 in) at the grip, in hickory. The only stick on this shelf that publishes the figures a size designation is supposed to stand for.
Length
394 mm (15.51 in) — the only length published on this shelf
Grip diameter
14 mm (0.55 in) — the only grip diameter published on this shelf
Wood
Hickory, which the page for another stick here calls the standard: stiff, and it absorbs shock rather than transmitting it
Designation
YS7A. Yamaha publishes the measurements rather than relying on the letter, which is the reverse of everything else on this shelf
Quantity
One pair. Two sticks here come in two pairs and one in four
Tip
Yamaha puts nothing in writing on this — not wood, not nylon. One stick on this shelf publishes a wood tip
Finish
Yamaha puts nothing in writing on this
Listing length
Two bullets, and both are figures
Amazon reference
B003J9LGH0
EAN
4960693067437
The only stick on this shelf to publish its length and its grip diameter
Hickory, named, which is the standard drumstick wood
One pair, where three sticks on this shelf supply two or four
Best for: Replacing a pair whose length and thickness are known, where the figures have to match.
The thinnest listing on this site: no bullets at all, and no price. The brand, the model number and nothing else — where the sibling pair in the same range publishes a length, a diameter and a wood.
Listing text
No bullets at all. The title reads *Yamaha Yamaha Drum Stick yss5b*, with the brand name twice. Nothing else is published
Length
Yamaha puts nothing in writing on this. Its own YS7A on this shelf publishes 394 mm (15.5 in)
Grip diameter
Yamaha puts nothing in writing on this. Its own YS7A publishes 14 mm (0.55 in)
Wood
Yamaha puts nothing in writing on this. Its own YS7A publishes hickory
Designation
YSS5B is the model code. Nothing says what the 5B stands for — by convention a 5B is shorter and thicker than a 5A
Tip
Yamaha puts nothing in writing on this
Quantity
Yamaha puts nothing in writing on this
Price
No price was returned from the American store in the reading behind this page
Amazon reference
B01DGFLH7A
EAN
4960693129043
A Yamaha model code, which stays orderable and means the same stick in three years
A 5B designation, which by convention is a shorter, thicker stick than the 5A that dominates this shelf
No bullets whatsoever — nothing on this site publishes less
Best for: A drummer who already knows the YSS5B and is reordering it by model number.
A wooden stand with a reinforced back panel, fixed at 25.2 inches high and adjustable only in depth. It trades every height setting for a frame that does not fold, flex or straddle the player’s knees.
Material
Solid wood, premium thick panels, with a reinforced back panel stated for heavy portable pianos and to minimize wobble. Two of the twelve stands on this shelf are wooden (maker’s bullet)
Height
Fixed at 25.2 in — 64 cm. The only fixed-height stand on this shelf (maker’s bullet)
Length
45.67 in — 116 cm (maker’s bullet)
Depth
Adjustable, 8.66 to 12 in — 22 to 30 cm (8.7 to 11.8 in), which is what accommodates different keyboard footprints (maker’s bullet)
Stated fit
76 to 88 keys, most portable digital pianos (from the title)
Protection
Rubber pads at the contact points against scratching the instrument, and non-slip pads underneath against moving and against marking the floor (maker’s bullet)
Load rating
AODSK puts nothing in writing on this. The other wooden stand on this shelf publishes 100 lb
Folding
AODSK puts nothing in writing on this. A wooden frame of this kind does not fold, where nine stands on this shelf state that they do
Manufacturer reference
AS-WKBS
Weight
8,074 g (284.8 oz) in the product record — the heaviest single stand recorded on this shelf, which is what wood instead of tube means
Amazon reference
B0FPCSLSX7
EAN
6978934950316
A fixed height means no pin, no knob and no joint to work loose over years
An open wooden frame leaves the knees clear, where an X-frame puts a bar between them
Fixed at 25.2 in: if that is not the right height for the player, nothing can be done
Best for: A digital piano that stays in one room, played by adults, where the stand is furniture rather than kit.
A Z-frame stand that publishes both its adjustment ranges — height and width — and assembles without tools. It is the cheapest Z-frame on this shelf, and it has a wheeled twin two dollars dearer.
Frame
Z-style, stated heavy-duty. Another page on this shelf sets out why a Z is steadier under weight than a single-braced X (maker’s bullet)
Height
21.2 to 32.4 in — 54 to 82 cm (21.3 to 32.3 in) (maker’s bullet)
Width
21.8 to 35.2 in — 55 to 89 cm (21.7 to 35 in), stated to take 61 to 88 keys (maker’s bullet)
Assembly
No tools required, stated quick to set up and adjust. The only stand on this shelf to say so (maker’s bullet)
Wheels
None. The same maker sells this stand with locking wheels as AS-ZKW, two dollars dearer — and that listing publishes neither of the two ranges above
Load rating
AODSK puts nothing in writing on this. Another page on this shelf states the rule plainly: where a maker publishes no load figure, this site does not invent one. Five of the twelve stands here publish one
Retention
AODSK puts nothing in writing on this — no straps, no padded arms, no non-slip caps are mentioned
Manufacturer reference
AS-ZK
Weight
4,536 g (160 oz) in the product record, which is 10 lb exactly — a shipping figure rather than a weighed stand. Nothing here is ranked on it
Amazon reference
B0DPW9F4T4
EAN
6974012229107
The only one of the two AODSK Z-frames that publishes its height and width ranges at all
Assembles without tools, which is the difference between a stand set up once and one adjusted often
No load rating, on a stand sold for instruments up to 88 keys
Best for: A reader who wants the Z-frame stiffness another page here recommends, at the lowest Z-frame price.
The same Z-frame as the maker’s AS-ZK with locking wheels added, at two dollars more. It is the cheapest wheeled stand on this shelf — and the listing publishes neither of the two adjustment ranges its own twin gives.
Frame
Z-style in high-strength steel, stated to minimize wobble during play (maker’s bullet)
Wheels
Locking wheels, for movement and then secure placement. Three of the twelve stands on this shelf have wheels (maker’s bullet)
Height
AODSK puts nothing in writing on this. The same maker’s AS-ZK, two dollars cheaper, publishes 21.2 to 32.4 in
Width
AODSK puts nothing in writing on this beyond *flexible*. The AS-ZK publishes 21.8 to 35.2 in. Both listings state 61 to 88 keys
Load rating
AODSK puts nothing in writing on this. Another page on this shelf states the rule: where the maker publishes no figure, this site does not invent one
Stated use
Home, studio and stage, for children and adults (maker’s bullet)
Manufacturer reference
AS-ZKW
Weight
4,082 g (144 oz) in the product record, which is 9 lb exactly — a shipping figure, and lower than the 10 lb recorded for the same stand without wheels. Nothing here is ranked on it
Amazon reference
B0DPW9NWQL
EAN
6974012229091
The cheapest wheeled stand on this shelf, at two dollars over the same frame without castors
Locking castors: it rolls out of a room and then stops rolling, which a stand on feet cannot do
Publishes neither a height range nor a width range, where its own cheaper twin publishes both
Best for: A keyboard that has to leave the room it is played in, more than once a week.
