I recently went to a percussion camp at west chester with thom hannum and i saw many of the tenor players using vega tenor sticks. My school uses the vic firth aluminum mallets with the hard plastic round head.

What is the difference between them and which would you recomend?

Not too sure whether it's just me, but when I played with mallets, it seemed like it was A LOT easier to do doubles and scrapes.

One other difference, are rim shots. Obviously one will sound more sharp, and the other will be more metallic (metal on metal)

Other than that, I can't really recommend one, because I mainly use vegas :p

i like mallets better than vegas
and for stick i perfer the hybrids over vegas because they ate front heavy like mallets so they dont mess with your muscle memory during stick changes

tom angust hybrid all the way!

I use Vega's myself..why? I do not know, I just love the feeling better then mallets..and its more designed to "cooperate" with the music im playing this year.

yeah i dont know about vegas everyone i talk to loves them but i just hate the feel. i bought a pair based on others opionions and i just dont like them. they are great to use on my hh quad pad tho

Mine was compared to 2 other pairs: MT1A's and Ralph Hardimon Tenor Sticks...out of the 3 pairs I liked Vega the best on my Quints..but the Hardimons are pretty good themselves. I do want to try the Tom Aungst Tenor Hybrids one day though.

our tenor line uses the vic firth mt1a and mt4a. iono why but we just do

VF by FAR has some of the best tenor mallets and sticks you can buy.
I'm hearing some pretty sweet stuff about the new Augnust hybrids. And Vegas are pretty sweet sticks.
Hardimon's are real smooth to play with.
Really no matter what stick you go with you can be sure its well worth the cash.

My favorite would have to be the hybrids. Sounds like a stick, feels like a mallet.

But anywho.
Different mallets and sticks are for different uses. I see tenor lines switch between the 2 all the time.
For rim shots I'd say sticks. I like the warmer and less metalic tone.
I hear sweeps or scrapes are easier with mallets.
But anywho.
Its all based on preference.

Mallets like the MT1A(-S) will have a fat, round tone compared to sticks because of the weight and the larger contact patch. Because of the size of the 'cookie', more of the mallet head contacts the drum. Sticks, with their smaller bead, will tend to have a sharper, thinner sound on the drums.

Mallets tend to be easier to navigate around the drums because they're a few inches shorter. You don't have to worry as much about your hands getting in the way of one another. (With the smaller "airspace" over small block tenors, this is really apparent.) Sticks have their own advantage in this regard, though: Because they're longer, your hands may not have to move quite as far side-to-side to get from drum to drum.

Mallets tend to feel a little end-heavy because they are end-heavy. It can be a little more fatiguing than the natural balance of a stick.

Overall, I don't think one is really better than the other -- just different. I'd consider the size of your drums and the sound you're looking for when choosing between them.