How A 5A Is Made

“How A 5A Is Made” is a compilation of our Vic Firth #HowItsMade Series on Instagram which takes you through each step of our drumstick making process.

The Process:
Part 1: 0:17 – The process begins with “green boards” (undried wood cut from a live tree) being cut on site in our sawmill.

Part 2: 0:56 - The wood is dried to exact specifications in our own specially modified kilns.

Part 3: 1:08 – Our carefully dried wood is fed through a cutting head and reduced from a square shape to a dowel.

Part 4: 2:04 – All of our dowels are put on a conveyor belt and inspected for weight and straightness. Any dowel that does not meet the Vic Firth standard is either sanded down for a second attempt or rejected. Then the dowels are inspected by hand for any imperfections: grain, straightness, blemishes.
The inspection results in 1 of 4 outcomes:
1.) A dowel that meets all criteria is categorized as a Vic Firth stick.
2.) A dowel that meets all the physical quality criteria but as cosmetic issues becomes a colored or dipped Vic Firth stick.
3.) A dowel that doesn’t meet the Vic standard but is still considered drumstick quality wood becomes our economy quality drumstick line: NOVA sticks.
4.) A dowel that doesn’t match one these 3 categories is rejected and goes to the boiler.

Part 5: 3:02 – All of our dowels are put through grinding machines to shape our various models of sticks. Grinding with stone molds puts less stress on the wood and is a more consistent process compared to lathing sticks. The first grinder shapes the stick to the perfect size specs and the second grinder shapes the tip and neck of the stick.

Part 6: 4:04 – For our 5A Nylon Tip models, the tips are formed at the grinders so that we can easily mold the Nylon Tip around the stick. The sticks are then put in an injection molding machine where the molten nylon forms to the tip. The tip now becomes part of the stick and can hold up during play. There is no glue involved in our process and therefore the tips won’t come off with impact. Also the uniformity between a 5A Wood Tip and a 5A Nylon Tip are identical to allow for the same balance and feel no matter the tip.

Part 7: 4:45 – All 5A models are printed with the official red and black Vic Firth logo along with the stick model type and size. The logo being printed is etched in a steel plate, ink is poured over the plate and scraped away, leaving only the ink in the etching. Then a silicone rubber pad grabs the logo etching off the steel plate and stamps it onto the stick. There are two separate stamps: one for the red ink portion and the other for the black ink.

Part 8: 5:37- All of our sticks are tested for straightness, sorted by weight and pitch matched to make the perfect pair. If the stick passes our straightness requirements then they are weighted and sorted by increments of 2 grams from light to heavy. After weight sorting, our sticks then go through a pitch matching process in order to tone match each pair. The stick is struck three times and recorded in a program that analyzed the fundamental frequency of each stick. The sticks are then paired by similar frequencies.

Part 9: 6:33 - Sticks of equal weight and pitch are then paired together on a conveyor belt and put into a machine which puts the sticks into sleeves and labels the sleeves with the model and bar-code.

Part 10: 7:25 – Pairs of varying weights from light to heavy are bricked in packs of 12 pairs. The bricks are then shrink wrapped, labeled with a bar-code and placed in a box for shipping.

Part 11: 8:14 – The final step of “How A 5A is Made” is packing and shipping. Our bricks of sticks are boxed up, packed on pallets and shipped out to our warehouse to be distributed all over the world and into your hands!

#HowA5AIsMade #vf5A #MyPerfectPair #HowItsMade

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For more info on our Vic Firth How It’s Made process, visit:

[mihaidrums]

Thank you for not putting music in the background!

[austincox]

that hammering/pitch matching thing blew my mind. no idea they did that

[treyrmason]

Thank you for this industrial drumstick ASMR

[Philtoid]

Im gunna appreciate the hell out of my sticks alot more from now on lol

[RafikMankariosDrumStudio]

I've watched this from beginning to end with a smile. For us drummers, this is simply exciting. I wish to take a moment to tell you all at the plant, THANK YOU for a great job! You make our musical art vibrate with quality! Cheers from Montréal (Québec)!

[ididyermom]

I've been playing for 36 years and there is nothing like sitting down to the kit with a new pair of Vic's!!
Simply the best!!

[madbeanpedals]

When the sticks are shot into their sorting bins I just hear "Whee!"

[AVEdrums]

good to know what my sticks have gone through

[douglippincott]

I was a Vic Firth student at the New England Conservatory in the 80's. Some of us worked for Vic while in school at the "factory" in his Dover MA basement. His stick business was growing and we soon moved to a modest warehouse space in Dedham MA. My gig was to pitch pair sticks. We would sit behind two large granite blocks [blank tombstones] dropping single sticks on the blocks to hear each stick's pitch. When two sticks matched, we would bag them and send them on their way. I remember visiting some years later being blown away by automation that utilized old Mac SE computers that would check the pitch AND weight of the stick. The old days of pitch pairing behind granite blocks were gone! What fun to watch how far things have progressed since those early days in Vi'c's basement.

[Ryan_Official_]

Vic Firth, THE BEST COMPANY EVER.

I never complained about my pair of American Classic 5A Hickory Drum Sticks. Very nice, both straight, and the same weight.

[RogersPhotographyGuilford]

I had a more romantic version in my head. Something along the lines of little elves standing behind tiny lathes hand crafting each one with Snow White overseeing them. Buzz Kill!

[ldcsam]

The VF 5A is the #1 selling drumstick in the world. It was my choice of stick for a long time. 2 yrs. ago when the Benny Greb model was released, I started using it along with the 5B. I still use 5A's every now and then. I will always stick with Vic!!!

[logankincade]

Amazing. You just converted a Vater player to a Vic Firth player.
Every inconsistency I've had with Vater and Promark is addressed and eliminated during Vic Firth production.
Thank you.
I'm not an employee, paid sponsor or sponsored player, I'm a Real Drummer who has been paying Hard Earned Cash for years on sticks that I'm not quite happy with and glued on nylon tips that fly off or shatter

[Eglock]

Been playing Vic Firth for over 30 years. Really cool to see the automation for precision, but even better to see the "human" involvement - visual inspection, touch and feel... To create "The Perfect Pair"

[NeverSickAtSea]

Thank you, men and women at Vic Firth, for making us happier drummers.

Forever the hugest fan of ALL Vic Firth sticks. I primarily use both the 5A and 5A extreme. Wood and nylon tips for both. I also use 7A. Also the Steve Gadd and Dave Weckl models. ALL of those sticks help me with every musical situation I face. With Vic Firth you're not only investing in true quality, you're investing in a phenomenal legacy. After trying other brands in the past, I can honestly say I don't picture myself ever using another kind of drum stick. For as long as Vic Firth is around, that is where I will always purchase my drum sticks.

[evanlord]

I thoroughly enjoyed that there was nobody talking during the entirety of this video

[RjBenjamin]

I’m a 73 year old multi-instrumentalist and there is nothing like the feel of a fresh pair of sticks, and guitar strings

[JohnPrepuce]

I had the pleasure of meeting Vic Firth about 17 years ago. He was a great guy and really enjoyed our music. I exclusively play vic firth implements and recommend them to all my students. I've used other brands in the past but nothing plays like a Vic Firth. Their quality control is amazing too.

[lizardears]

Being a Forester and a drummer, this is extremely satisfying viewing. Wood is the ultimate renewable product 👍