Product Close-Up Vic Firth Barrel 5A and 5B Drumsticks, Split Brushes, and Tala Wand Bamboo Slats Clarity, balance, and control are what’s up with these new implements. Always looking to fill voids in its catalog with products that drummers need, if not demand, Vic Firth has put out a handful of new items that are destined to become standards in many players’ stick bags. Let’s take a look. 5A and 5B Barrel Drumsticks Some of Vic Firth’s most popular sticks feature round barrel tips instead of the company’s standard teardrop tip. Yet the highest-selling models, 5A and 5B, weren’t offered with anything but teardrop or nylon tips until earlier this year. To make the 5A and 5B Barrel models, Firth shaved off the top of the teardrop tip, rounded it, and added a bit of length to the butt end so that the stick still measures 16″ in length. (The […]