This Carmine Appice Signature series is my new favorite stick. I play Hard Rock and I love it.

I started using these Carmine Appice sticks when they were first made Regal Tip. At that time they had a nylon or wood tip option with a better tear drop tip design, in my opinion.

Now that they are made by Vic Firth they only come in a wood tip. The wood tip does not cut as good as the nylon does on cymbals, so I think this is a downfall. I liked the Regal Tip teardrop tip shape better than the current elongated acorn tip with the Vic Firth model.

The sticks are very durable and take a long time with a lot of rimshot action before they start to splinter and eventually crack. This is a plus.

The varnish used on these Vic Firth sticks is also different on the Vic version than the Regal Tip style. When new the Regal tip version "felt" like a broke in stick. The Vic Firth model is very slippery when new and especially when they get wet with sweat. I actually had to take some sand paper to them to break these Vic sticks in. There is something about the varnish that Regal Tip uses on their sticks that makes them feel broke in when new.

These stcks have good balance and response. All in all they are OK.

You can play with these sticks for a very long time before they break. I have found them very durable and weighted to my liking.

I've used this stick since the design came out. I use a rudimental grip jazz and blues so the tip size works great. When I play rock I play match grip. It's great to just flip the stick and get the extra power. It's like two pair of sticks for the price of one!