Vater celebrates 25th Anniversary in 2017
The Vater family has been crafting drumsticks for over 60 years. They created hand-turned sticks for Philly Joe Jones, Buddy Rich and Elvin Jones in the mid 1950's. They provided America's legendary drum shops with their own private label sticks through the 60's, 70's and 80's right through to today. Also, it is no secret that Vater helped create the sticks that launched the Zildjian Drumstick line and made some of the hickory and maple drumsticks for Vic Firth in the 80's.

In November 1991, Alan Vater made the decision to put the Vater family name on the drumsticks. The Vater Drumstick Brand was first publicly introduced at the Pasic Show in November of 1991, with the full launch at the NAMM Show in January of 1992.

Jack Adams' round badge Gretsch in Gold Satin Flame
Beautiful drum history from the Vater Percussion family

Chad Smith on being a Vater Drumsticks Artist for 25 years


Chad Smith's Vater Funk Blaster drumsticks
Same grip as a 5B but with a beefier taper for some extra weight up top and acorn tip. Great for heavy, solid playing. Hickory.
Check the Funk Blasters on Vater.com.

"My own rule has always been that I would never endorse any product that I wouldn't buy myself, if endorsements weren't an option. That's exactly how I ended up with Vater in 1992.

They had an early reputation among players as making great sticks. I checked out their sticks on my own, got used to them, and then began what would become a now 25 year relationship with the company. Their quality control is great, the sticks always feel good, and each pair is consistent.

I just love how it's still a family business, starting with grandpa Jack, then going to Clary, and down to Alan and Ron. No corporate sell-outs here, folks. These guys live, sleep, breathe, eat, and dream of drumsticks. They get good wood about good wood, and are totally obsessed with making the best sticks possible.

Over the years we've had some pretty outrageous fun and the Vater's have always treated me like their brother. Together, we have celebrated life milestones like birthdays, weddings and the births of our children. They have always made me feel like a member of their family.

Together we developed the Funkblaster model, which today is still my stick of choice. Vater combines both kick-ass production techniques with a work hard, play hard attitude. It's always been an easy decision on who to stick with (pun intended!). They never let me down.

The Vater staff enjoy their work and I enjoy hanging with them whenever I can. They better keep it up, ‘cause I plan to keep playing until the wheels fall off!!!"
- Chad Smith