Just did a little comparison test to see how my new favourite sticks (Tama Oak Japanese Fire 7A) are holding up against my old favourite (VicFirth American Hickory 7A).
I played the same 12 songs with each pair, and there is a clear winner (IMO), the VicFirth stick looks frayed and the tip is damaged, while the Tama stick looks fine:
(Above image is of the two right hand sticks)
I just hope they doesn’t destroy my cymbals :-)
I always thought Hickory was supposed to be the best type of wood for this, but clearly the Japanese Oak is superior in this case.
Surprised me too :-)