Big Drum Thump

Two of our favorite drummers, the incomparably funky John Blackwell and the understatedly awesome Ronnie Vannucci, have released some new wood with Zildjian. Blackwell’s whacker is 100% hickory, measures in at 16 1/8″ long with a 0.57″ diameter, and features a beefy neck, short taper, and a wood barrel tip. Vannucci has opted for a 16″ maple stick with a diameter of 0.610″. It features an oversized barrel tip and some artwork sketched by Ronnie himself.

Vic Firth’s venerable 5A and 5B sticks now come totally swanked out in a classic black finish. Steve Gadd model, not so smug now, are you?

[via Drummer Talk and Mike Dolbear]

Be still my thumping heart, some more signature sticks to try out.

First up is the Brian Frasier-Moore model. It’s just under a 5A in the grip but with some extra length for those way-the-hell-out-of-reach crashes. The width of the new Derek Roddy model is between a 5A and 5B, and it features a quick taper to a small acorn tip. The Mike Wengren model is the biggest of the bunch. It’s between a 5B and a 2B with a quick taper to an oval nylon tip, and it comes in a sexy black satin finish. All of them will set you back $14.99 MSRP.

Need a big ol’ marching stick in persimmon wood? As far as we knew, persimmon was a one-time wood of choice for golf clubs and old people’s furniture, but Silverfox has seen fit to unveil a version of its 3S stick made of the stuff. If you actually wield a pair, don’t be surprised if your BPMs slow down.

Cristiano Micalizzi, the Italian stallion of soul funk grooves, has snagged himself a signature drumstick from SilverFox. Cleverly called the “CM” model, the stick is crafted from select hickory dowels born in the USA. It’s 16″ long with a diameter of .585″, and the round ball tip measures .410″ in diameter. A short taper gives the stick added bulk in the neck area, which results in an extremely fast rebound and a well-balanced center of gravity. Like all SilverFox drumsticks, the CM model is strengthened with a proprietary finish that, according to the press release, “not only feels great in a drummer’s hands, but greatly extends the usable life of all SilverFox sticks.” No pricing info is available yet…but how much is it worth to you to sound exactly like Micalizzi?

Because game drumming simply isn’t silly enough (and that’s coming from someone who totally digs it), you can now wield a pair of illuminated sticks, The Ant Commandos. They’re made of plastic, come with AA batteries, and will set you back 19 bucks. Best of all, the LEDs actually get brighter as you play harder.

Super cheesy. In the good way.