ProMark Drum Sticks - Mike Portnoy Drumsticks - ActiveGrip For Secure, Comfortable Grip - Gets Tackier As Your Hands Sweat - Active Grip Finish, Oval Wood Tip, Hickory Wood - 1 Pair

So my experience with Promark sticks has been bad, to say the least. Over decades of playing, every time i have tried a promark branded stick they broke like twigs before I could get any nicks in them -and this goes for even timbale sticks. It has been disappointing because some models were perfect for the applications. these (the anton Fig model) made it past the 40 minute mark. Now- that's just the durability bit.- of course drumsticks are a personal reference and an application thing-as far as genre and sound and style and so forth. I use several different models of sticks depending on the piece of music. so when I read the specs on the Anton Fig model, things like the length and taper and balance seemed to suit certain areas of playing that I could use. They have a decent balance and good rebound -much due to the round ball style tip. This is also great for use on the cymbal bell, as well as nice definition on the cymbal body as well. for the most part I use longer sticks like these, and while they come in a little bit shorter than another model I use, the strike point ( the place on the tip that makes contact with the drum or cymbal surface) is exactly the same on both because of the more rounded tip as opposed to the arrow like shape of the other. I like the feel of the grip material as well. And they are more durable than the promark I've used in the past, and a number of other models I use from other makers. the body of the stick shows very little wear after 40 minutes (and I put the sticks through the heavy test) and the tips look untouched- which for me is almost more important- having started in the heyday of nylon tips, but of course needing to move to wood because they just don't make every model with plastic tips, I will add 2 or 3 coats of lacquer to all new wood tip sticks that i buy to give them a little more resistance to chipping. I didn't do thst to these because it was a test run-and I didn't want to take the time if these were going to break within 20 minutes like all the previous promarks I've had. So -I can recommend these highly if all the specs meet what you need.

Bought this as a christmas gift [originally] for my best friend & fellow musician [drummer] he is always super appreciative anytime I get him something but when I mentioned they we're Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater's signature [and explained the cool active grip tech/and why mike designed em that way or what the product info said haha] he was psyched, snatched em up and started paying on his backpack. He likes them I know nothing about drums other than what I know from being a studio engineer/producer/instrumentalist and osmosis, but he noted they we're weighted more than his usual sticks [I would assume reg 5bs not sure] and he really liked the grip tech - that stuff is really cool I could even see the advantages just holding them myself... All in all 10/10 for the company! ... NOW here's where the issue is I'm not going to rate these sticks poorly, for the non-care thats clearly put into storing [at this point any musical equiptment, even sticks - going to sweetwater or musicians friend &c - its always a bad idea!] these sticks in the bin, I'd assume haphazardly just tossed into a bin of them... because I had to send them back 3 times [and the third time I said screw it and hope my buddy doesn't care] First batch: they looked fine, until I was going waiting for my man to drop buy and just giving them a once over, and moving the packaging ever so slightly [in a way that REALLY made it look like someone just moved the packaging up, its a cardboard sleeve, to cover the defect and send it out NEW....cute] revealed a long scratch [ie through the black active grip technology], rotating the sticks I notice some more dings, and when I took them out all the way - there were atleats 3-4 dings in the black through to wood small but noticable... whatever, send em back - stuff happens! Second pair: Not as bad as the first ones but there were dings, a small scratch [through the active grip black tech] and looking at the bottom of the sticks they were scuffed like they had been dropped on the rounded bottom of the stick again damaging the, pretty thick mind you, active grip black "tech" thats on these promark sticks... part of the selling point! Sent it back... this time miffed Third Pair: Same issues, but this time I'm like man I feel terrible because this is a gift for my good friend, yes, he won't notice or care, but I DO! If It was just my sticks, I probably would've said screw it and kept the second pair but i wanted to get my friend ones that were NICE, signature series from an artist I know he likes or atleast thats a prolific player, and I wanted them to last [I'm forever seeing my mans piles of broken sticks, and if Im gonna pay good money I want them to be sturdy, to last as long as possible, to not have any structural integrity issues that I cannot see because they're internal perhaps!] 10/10 FANTASTIC STICKS highly recommended on all levels, price points great etc. LESSON: DO NOT BUY THESE or ANY OTHER MUSICAL PIECE OF EQUIPMENT [even a small accessory] FROM AMAZON <-- They do not care enough, period. Yes I used the official buy it [not even the buy new, and AMAZON is the first and cheapest - which obstensibly is the same thing but no I did not even do that, nor would I ever buy musical equiptment from a third party through amazon... but honestly THIRD PARTY SELLERS ARE MORE COMPETENT THAN THIS [most of them] but clearly AMAZON isn't

These are my favorite sticks. They are lighter than my Vic Firth 5A sticks, and I have not dropped a stick since buying them. Not too sticky, as I originally feared. Just right. I will buy more as these wear, but they are holding up really well so far.

Amazing Sticks. Very durable, they don’t seem to be wearing badly at all, and the grip is still intact and I’ve had them for a while. The grip technology on these is something else. I was extremely skeptical, and thought it may have been a gimmick or something but as soon as your hands warm up the sticks it has the perfect amount of tackiness. I couldn’t believe it. The tackiness of the sticks also helps build calluses too, so be aware you may get blisters from these if you don’t play often, but most avid players already have good build up already. I’ve played these barehanded and with gloves and both feel great. Can’t recommend these enough, it might just be a personal preference but these are up there with my favorite sticks of all time.

These are great sticks. I prefer the size/feel of the Rich Redmond 5B to the Mike Portnoy 420x ActiveGrip sticks (which are 5A) but both are good. The sticks are balanced well and not 'sticky'; they are more comfortable and gentler on my hands than wrapping sticks. I have purchased these elsewhere and they last a long time with no damage to the sticks or coating (and I play hard with lots of rim shots). I think these sticks are actually more durable than uncoated sticks. However, as other reviewers have stated, it may not be best to buy these from Amazon if you can't inspect them. The sticks that were sent appear to be 'seconds' - the red printing on them is smeared. I initially thought the active grip coating was scratched and chipped in a few locations because there are a few white spots and lines on each stick. However, when I went to a music store to buy the same sticks, I discovered that all of them had white spots. Apparently, white material from the packaging stuck to all of their sticks, but not just where the packaging was located on the base of each stick. The white lines and spots were on the surface and were able to be cleaned/scratched off of the sticks, leaving the coating underneath in-tact. So, I decided to keep the sticks from Amazon because the sticks are straight and I don't care that the red printing is smeared.

I thought I'd give these sticks a try because I already use a 16 inch long stick plus the 595 diameter is right where I want to be. I had a concern regarding the front-weighted stick, but after playing with them for an hour or two I had noticed that I needed less energy to play the same things I was already playing. With the other sticks that I used they were more weighted towards the back and unbeknownst to me they required more energy to put into the cymbals and the drums. Sometimes I would experience pain because I think I was over playing. Now, the sticks allowed me to relax more and I noticed my doubles are smoother using these sticks. I really don't have a sweaty hands, but I noticed once I started really getting into playing that the ActiveGrip did kick in and I noticed the stickiness come out. One thing that everybody should note is that if you haven't seen or felt the sticks and are purchasing them through Amazon when you get them you may notice that there is actually no noticeable extra grip. Active grip technology kicks in when you start to sweat. So, don't think that there is anything wrong with the stick when you get them. Again, it's when you start sweating is when the acting grip starts to kick in and the gripiness starts to show itself. Hope this helps! Definitely recommend them!

I have played drums for more than 30 years now. All through that time, when playing active rock and metal, the inevitable loss of grip on the sticks due to perspiration has been an annoyance. I have tried many remedies - some included a Pearl-branded grip tape that was wound around the butt of the stick where the hands grip, sticks dipped in resins and epoxy materials, non-wood sticks such as plastics and metals, even grip wraps meant for motorcycles and tennis rackets. All have been useful to some degree, but not fully satisfactory in playing. The wraps virtually eliminated the possibility of using rim shots as they deadened the stick and would eventually wear off. They also dramatically changed the diameter of the stick. I prefer a 5A-range, but would have to use 7A-range sticks to accommodate for the extra diameter of the wrap. Likewise, all of the dipped sticks felt waxy and had varying degrees of success. I have been a fan of Mike Portnoy since 1990. In the early 90's I had the chance to meet him on Dream Theatre's "Images and Words" North American tour. I found him to be a fun and engaging player, a "fan's player" as well as an inspired musician. That his name is affixed to these sticks is a bonus for the "fan boy" in me. The sticks themselves are very comfortable to play, essentially a slightly longer 5A, so it readily fits my preferences. The documentation from ProMark states that the stick is: 16 1/2" long with a diameter .565". The real attraction is the new "Active Grip" coating, which ProMark describes as "heat activated and gets tackier as hands sweat and body temperature rises." After playing out in several styles and environments, I can happily say that these sticks finally accomplish what others have tried for many years. As my hands and the environment was rising, I felt I had a solid grip on the stick for the duration. No slips. Likewise, these are hickory sticks - and they play and sound like my other hickory sticks. As an added bonus (video demonstration is attached), Mike Portnoy's "signature" is an ambigram - it's the same both upside and down (think the "Illuminati" signature in Dan Brown's "The DaVinci Code"). I could hear my inner 18-year old voice going "Duuuuude." Frankly, it captures Portnoy's fun personality to a "T".

I'll grant you, I haven't bought a lot of higher-end sticks. Always chewed through the bargain pile one toothpick at a time. But in doing some research, I decided I really wanted to try something better. I narrowed down exactly what I was looking for and found it all in these sticks. The fact that Portnoy is one of my all time favorite inspirations was just icing on the cake. They look, feel, and sound great.

Very nice product. Works as advertised. thanks

Fantastic

The black coating really makes a difference compared to normal drumsticks

Exelente produto

Le ho regalate...testate subito sembrano ottime!