Vic Firth Signature Series -- Jojo Mayer

Arrived quickly. These are my favourite as they are so lightweight.

As I write this Jojo's stick is out of stock. I am not surprised.Not living anywhere near a music store, "all" of my sticks are bought through Amazon. Some I like, others, not so much. Some I still use, most I do not. I thought I found the perfect stick in Vic Firth's Steve Gadd model; I was wrong. Enter Vic Firths Jojo Mayer stick. Now before I get into this stick, for me, if I had tried only VF Gadd or VF Jojo, I would have an absolute winner. Both sticks are wicked awesome. There are a few differences though that at the end of the day, have keep the Gadd model in my bag, and the Jojo model in my hands.Check out the pictures from left to right. All Vic Firth. 5a, Gadd, Jojo. The 5a replaced my long time friend, VF SD1. I was happy enough with the 5a, and from there I started experimenting with other sticks (only Vic Firth though). Along the way I picked up Gadd's version and LOVE'd Steve's stick. Absolutely loved them. In fact, the only thing I didn't love was all of Vic's marking quickly disappear so the stick is black (see pic). But no big deal.And then I read about Jojo's model and decided to give them a whirl. The day they arrived, I opened the box from Amazon with great excitement. And then I held the sticks and I thought I was sent the childs version. Seriously, I knew Jojo's sticks were shorter but it's funny how a 1/2 of inch makes a world of difference. Think about the thousands of people jumping from a 5a to a 5a extreme (which I have) and falling in love with the Extreme simply because it's all of 1/2 inch longer? So why can't the same be true of a stick 1/2 shorter? It sure can.Firstly though, notice the length differences in the 1st picture. Jojo is the obvious shorty of the bunch. All 3 have different tips. I prefer Jojo's tip on toms and the snare and Gadd's on Cymbals. Secondly, I play with a loose grip for better feel. The Gadd sticks tend to "vibrate" in my hands when playing, probably because Steve's sticks are thinner (see the picture) and I play with a loose grip, but the Jojo sticks? Well, they are much fatter than Gadd's, so Jooj's stick "settles" in my hands nicely. No vibration, little movement, dare I say, almost perfect? Really, this stick just fits!Jojo's stick feels thicker than a 5a, but it's not. Really, I thought I was holder a lighter version of my older SD1's. Jojo's is incredibly balanced and because of the tip, and probably the very cool (and different) taper in the body, allows the stick to "come back to me" easier (almost efortlessly), if that makes any sense.I play single stroke rolls for 10 minutes "every" morning (4, 3, 2, and 1 minute) with increased BPM's of 10, 20, 25, and then 30. On the 4, 3, and 2, I used to swap out Jojo's for Gadd's half way though. And the difference in feel was remarkable. The lack of vibration in my hands, also remarkable. I no longer swap out sticks as I only use Jojo's. It just feels right. Again, if I had only played with one stick, that one stick would be a winner!Oh yeah, I get more "feel and rebound" with Jojo's stick. I have average sized hands for someone 5' 11' sitting at 172lbs. So maybe someone with larger or smaller hands than me will have a different review?And don't let a reviewer sway you away from using these sticks because they claim the sticks aren't "loud enough." Hogwash. I played Iron Maidens, "The Trooper" last week and right into "For Whom the Bell Tolls" with Jojo's stick and I was plenty loud. Just because a stick is shorter doesn't translate into the stick playing like this or that. I can play uber soft and gentle and quiet with these sticks as well. Saying these sticks can't be loud is like saying a pro can't pull a good sound out of a $300.00 set of drums. Of course they can, they are pro's for a reason!P.S. Like me, shorter sticks might not sell you out of the box, but try them for a few days. And then holy cow, wait for the "feel" results. I'll never use a 5a again unless I am asked to sit in and those are the sticks I am handed. That said, Jojo's sticks are small enough that I could always have a set in my back pocket ready to go :-)Happy drumming!

Quality is excellent. I feel like they're very well balanced sticks. I don't like heavier sticks - I consider 5B too heavy and 5As too light. I heavily used Josh Freese's H 220 model prior to these. They were too long for my purposes in the end, though I still like those sticks. I've used Chad Smith's, Travis Barker's, and Danny Carey's signatures as well. They're all too heavy and long. Possibly I'm too weak and short.These are a short and fat 5A. What I liked about the sticks I previously mentioned was the thickness. This brings that thickness (diameter if you're fancy) to a shorter lighter stick. This has suited me perfectly and I hope they never stop making them.

These are the first sticks that I really liked - discovered them 6 years ago. After that, I've owned and played 11 different VF models (thinner & thicker), but last week I ordered these again and the moment I started playing I just felt at home.The only other pair I would still use is VF Signature Peter Erskine Ride stick. It has a great balance that works amazing for ride cymbal, but not so much for hi-hat work. So I use Peter Erskine model for jazz and Jojo Mayer's for everything else.Honorable mention: VF Dave Weckl Evolution sticks: solid all-rounder, very similar to 5A dimensions, but has a different balance, the one I much prefer to 5A, which has always felt too front-heavy for me. The only drawback is that the orange paint on Dave Weckl Evolution always ends up staining the white-coated drumheads.

This fits my daughters tiny hands very well. My daughter is 10 but wears a size 8 - she's only 55 lbs and 4'1. She's a tiny girl so having light drumsticks is really key. I found that she enjoyed drumming more with these then her previous pair. These were recommended by her drum teacher. I would recommend.

Used to use the ORIGINAL Dave Weckl sticks, Don't know what Vic Firth did but the new ones are not the same. Starting looking for replacement found these. Wow I have been playing drums for almost 24 years these drumsticks are EASILY the best sticks I ever used. BUY THEM!

I agree with what another reviewer said: There is just something about these sticks. It's hard to put into words. It just feels right. They're slightly thicker than 5As, which is perfect for me because 5As feel just barely too thin. I originally didn't like them because they're just more than a half inch shorter than the typical 16" stick. But that issue was mostly just because I wasn't used to it. After playing with them for a while, they feel better than any other stick I've ever played. To give you an idea, my two other favorites are the Dave Weckl Evolution and the Shogun 5A. While I like both of those sticks, the slightly thicker Jojo sticks just feel right. While thicker, they feel lighter. I guess you just have to try it to see what I mean.

Kind of short, maybe for a younger drummer.