Even considering the fact that Vater is here selling their defective product for the half of the price, these sticks are good. The geometry of the stick is identical to "A class" Vater 5B, so the balance and feel are the same. Half of the brick (12 pairs) was warped, but the "curve" is bearable and is not disturbing the playing feel. In fact, in the past I've had several warped Vater sticks from "A class" batches. The only difference is that they are covered by guarantee and Goodwood are NOT. Other "cheapo" feature are that Goodwood pairs are not "computer matched for perfect weight/pitch" as Vater advertise that for their premium sticks, which is, in my experience, just a marketing talk. I've had (too) many Vater's totally mismatched by pitch and with signifcant differences in weight, thickness and even slightly different tip(!). So, just take all the sticks out of the sleeves, roll them over the flat surface for straightness, feel them in the hand for weight and lightly tap them against your head/scull for pitch and then pair them together for perfect match. Goodwood is good value.