A new tip on an iconic stick...The Fusion Acorn is the same design as the classic Vater Fusion but with an acorn tip for a warmer cymbal and drum tone. American Hickory dowels have to meet very strict quality characteristics to be made into a Vater drumstick. Vater's Hickory is stress released which is done by slowly raising the temperature at the end of the drying cycle for 8 hours. This relieves the stress in the wood and produces straight sticks that stay straight.