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Vic Firth Silver Bullet Sticks
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The Vic Firth Silver Bullet Tip | ..
We have had plastic sticks, metal sticks and many other materials but I must admit when I was presented with a pair of wooden sticks with metal tips I thought that Vic Firth had maybe lost the plot! But then I thought about it – Vic (the player, not the stick maker) has been one of the leading percussionists in the world over the last 50 years, working with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and while playing tympani would use different mallet tips to produce various tones and dynamics, so why shouldn’t it work on a kit? We already have plastic tips and various shaped wood tips from acorn, barrel and ball to produce various tones for the kit and that works after all.
The Silver Bullet stick with its distinctive aluminium tip stick comes in the top two Vic Firth models - the hickory American Classic 5A and 5B. The official release says this about them; "…the Silver Bullet provides the brightest sound possible on the cymbals. The bright sound colour "cuts and carries" through the entire band with an amazing brilliance and clarity. Whether you play Jazz, Metal or Rock & Roll, these sticks must be part of your sound palette. Crafted from the same select hickory as all of Vic Firth’s American Classic sticks for long lasting durability!"
About two weeks after I first saw them, I was on one of my function gigs. The kit was all mic’ed up and as usual, all the mics were going through my small mixing disc for me to control the kit balance and also through my in ear monitors so I could monitor myself. As the evening went on and the band started turning up, I started to lose my cymbals in the mix. This is a common problem on all my gigs as I don’t want too or need to mic up the cymbals. Instead of playing harder I decide to try the new Silver Bullet sticks. | ..
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Vic Firth Silver Bullet Aluminium Tipped Stick | ..
Wow! I couldn’t believe the difference - the cymbals went up in the mix with out having to play harder and the ride and hi hats sounded so bright I honestly could not believe the difference in tone and volume.
The metal tip is the same thickness as the standard Vic Firth nylon tip so it has been designed not to damage or mark the playing surface and after an hour of playing there was no markings. I was really impressed with the tip and was quite amazed at the amount of difference it makes.
Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t replace my normal wooden or nylon tip stick for these because in some musical situations they don’t work (such as a quiet jazz trio gig I did a week later) but there is most definitely a place for these sticks in my stick bag. I could also see heavy players using these sticks as their regular sticks for the volume and clarity they deliver from the cymbals. My only issue with this tip is it’s only available in a 5A and 5B model and I would personally like a lighter stick but I am sure if the sticks become popular this will be rectified.
RRP: $18.50
Mike Dolbear
I had the opportunity to ask Vic Firth himself about the Silver Bullet drumsticks and this is what he said:
MD: What were you after with this stick?
V.F: The Silver Bullet has an aluminium tip to simulate the classical sound of a pair of crash cymbals. Now if you play a 5A (and over 1 million pairs of this model are sold every year) you have four sound colour choices for your musical palette, depending on the type of music you are playing:
Soft Touch – a felt tip which sounds great on drums and has a more melodic sound, especially when played soft.
Wood tip – a slightly harder sound
Nylon tip - a more ‘pointed’ sound with brighter cymbals.
Silver Bullet - the aluminium tip which gives a more brilliant and penetrating sound colour than other tips. .
MD: How is the aluminium tip applied? Is it the same way as a nylon tip?
V.F: The aluminium tip is similar to the nylon tip in shape. The 5A wood tip is ground smaller, like a nub if you will, with a groove. The aluminium tip is applied with an epoxy and then crimped onto the 5A providing an epoxy AND mechanical fastening to the wood stick. This process results in a durable bonding so we can guarantee the tip will not come off.
MD: How much research has gone into this stick?
V.F: This stick was first considered several years ago but the final design and technology to consistently make the aluminium the same shape with a guaranteed fastening was completed through the end of 2008 after several months of our endorsed artists evaluating this unique tip/sound colour. | ..
6:20 PM
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