In the 1940's, Alan and Ron's late grandfather Jack Adams (a great drummer himself) opened Jack's Drum Shop in Boston. In 1956, Alan and Ron's Godfather, Fred Maichele, began hand-turning drumsticks, at the rate of six pairs a day, for Jack's Drum Shop. The reputation of these hand-crafted drumsticks began to grow among the area's top drummers, and soon players like Philly Joe Jones and Buddy Rich were seeking out these special sticks.

Vater's founder, Clarry Vater (Jack's son-in-law), continued the family tradition of Jack Adams and began to perfect the art of making drumsticks with modern machinery while maintaining the high level of quality that made the original sticks famous. These sticks were produced in the basement of Vater's own drum shop with the help of his two sons, Ronnie and Alan. With the popularity of these high quality sticks increasing, Vater moved to a larger facility and expanded its customer base from local customers to major companies such as Vic Firth and Zildjian.

During this period of intense growth, Vater perfected the design of its sanding equipment and developed its unique formula for finishing the sticks with a sealer and finish coat, giving them the special Vater feel that drummers love. And then, as now, strict quality control was the number one priority.

In 1990, Vater launched its own line of Vater Brand drumsticks, and quickly became one of the top drumstick manufacturers in the world. Today Vater, famous for superior hand-selected wood, continues to expand on the tradition of quality with the finest timpani, marimba, vibe and marching mallets, brushes, beaters, specialty sticks and accessories in the world.

As always, every Vater stick is made with the same craftsmanship, pride, and hands-on quality control that built Vater's reputation as the standard for drumstick quality. Under the expert eye of Ronnie Vater, Vater sticks are turned on back-knife; lathes, which require a high degree of hands-on production, but give you the classic hand-turned results, unlike other companies who use the multi-purpose grinding methods that utilize water in the shaping process. The sticks are rolled by hand (five times during the production process) and given a final inspection by Alan Vater before they are deemed worthy of the Vater name. Once labeled with the Vater logo and model name, Vater sticks are tone matched by computer analysis, assuring a perfectly pitched paired every time.