[rt55]

Depends on what and where I'm playing. In my variety band, we usually start the night with a dinner set...light jazz, standards, etc. That starts with Zildjian 7a wood tips (don't like the sound of plastic in cymbals), brushes, blastics. As the night progresses in volume and intensity, I progress upward in stick size. Vater LA 5a, then finally up to Vic 5B. If we're in tight quarters, I might stay with the 5a. If it's outside, or a big hall, I may skip the light lumber and go straight to the 5b. Of course, for rudimental snare stuff, you just can't beat a set of marching trees: Vic Firth Corpsmaster, or Ralph Hardimon, but I wouldn't use them on drum set.