Zildjian zbt's prone to cracking?

breeeeza

Senior MemBREH
I have broken many of them but everytime i have watched myself back on video i am hitting them with the correct 'swooshing' technique (thats how i explain it :D )
I am ready to upgrade my whole set up but have restricted myself to sabian aa or sabian aax cause i have heard that they dont break and you get 3 year warranty on them anyway. But i want to know whether its just these shit cymbals that allways break or if im hitting them too hard. I would love to get a paiste alpha 18" crash but i havnt heard anything about them and would hate it if it broke.
Thanks

Edit: forgot to add but i have a sabian pro sonix 16 inch china that gets hit possibly the heardest and this hasnt cracked or anything. Thats why im getting sabians probably.
 
ZBT's are lower end, so I'm sure they are less durable than say an AAX. AAX's *can* break...any cymbal can, but if you break those you definitely have to check out your technique. I used Sabian Solar cymbals for about 2 years or so before I got all my AAX's, and they never cracked or anything.

But keep using that "swooshing" method, I know what you're talking about, and make sure to NOT set the cymbals flat. If you hit them on the edges they're more prone to cracking. Also make sure you aren't tightening the wingnut so much that the cymbal can't move freely.

Just my 2 cents.
 
Blue Groove said:
Brand has nothing to do with it. Sheet cymbals will break more easily than cast. Period.


yes!

sheet cymbals are all low end.

dont restrict yourself to buying crap. zildjian A, Z and K series, Sabian HH, HHX and AAX, paiste Signature, traditional, etc. are better 'cast' cymbals.
 
TragikRemix said:
pretty sure they are sheet- i dont like them IMO.
Really? Thanks. i havnt heard them in person yet but i love the sound of the paiste alpha 18" crash. But i want to ask the guy at the shop if he has had any returned cause it broke. If so then i wont bother. Thanks alot.
 
I use some really old cymbals... They're Avedis Zildjian turkish, no idea how old - probably from the 60s-ish, and I've never broken them, and neither have a number of SERIOUSLY hard-hitting drummers I know. Perhaps the ZBT's are shoddily made, but I can't see why you would be constantly breaking cymbals, especially with the right technique - which you do at least appear to understand from your (vague) description.
 
Yeah, brand doesn't have anything to do with it, I was trying to remember "sheet vs. cast", but it's been so long since I browsed drum forums.

Definitely go with higher end cymbals. 'Nuff said.
 
zbt's are cheap crap. They would probably break if you just left them in the closet for a couple years. It doesn't pay to buy cheap cymbals.
 
They all break,...eventually. Ive got 3 Signature crashes,one is cracked ,and 2 others that are,....malfunctioning? They inverted on themselves, so now they kinda look like a china, and sound like little gongs.(its kind of cool,in a way,.. yet very fucked up at the same time) Paiste was a big pain in the ass over waranty, so I said the hell with them. Ive been using Sabians for years now and have not had a problem..... yet. But then again, theyre AAs and HHs. For a little extra money, I would go with a higher end cymbal.
 
I don't think cymbals just all break eventually, not if you take good care of them. Even if I was still using Solars from years ago, I bet I wouldn't have broken one yet.
 
phaqu said:
They inverted on themselves

Was that the Paistes? I had a pair of hi-hats do that do me, i was playing away and suddenly lost all the tone - all i got was a hideous bin-lid sound :(
 
...

Alphas are sheet cymbals. I play Zildjians from almost every series but the zbts. I even have a trashformer from the zxt series, but it's supposed to sound bad. Sabian, Zildjian, Paiste, they're all great, play what sounds best to you, and for God's sake, don't by them mail order!
 
I've heard that all Paiste cymbals are sheet. I've never really looked into them, too expensive here in Australia, when I can get the sounds I want from Zildjian and Sabian.

Two of my ZBTs cracked, although one was because of an idiotic mistake I made with placement - the cymbal was too close to an inverted boom stand, and the edge cracked because it hit the stand while I was playing. But I've never broken any of my cast cymbals.

Just make sure you play them correctly, never get them wet or damp (I even try to avoid using bare hands a lot now, partly for finger smudges, but partly to make them last!), never lean them on their edge (like up against a wall), and never let a guitarist bash the shit out of them :-|
 
iancl said:
I've heard that all Paiste cymbals are sheet. I've never really looked into them, too expensive here in Australia, when I can get the sounds I want from Zildjian and Sabian.

Two of my ZBTs cracked, although one was because of an idiotic mistake I made with placement - the cymbal was too close to an inverted boom stand, and the edge cracked because it hit the stand while I was playing. But I've never broken any of my cast cymbals.

Just make sure you play them correctly, never get them wet or damp (I even try to avoid using bare hands a lot now, partly for finger smudges, but partly to make them last!), never lean them on their edge (like up against a wall), and never let a guitarist bash the shit out of them :-|
I can get a pieste alpha 18" rock crash ( which sounds perfect to me) for £100 but im afraid that it might break and paiste only give 12 months warranty where as the sabian aa metal x 18" crash whoich sounds damn good aswell is £152 but this comes with 3 yrs warranty i think. so..
 
breeeeza said:
I can get a pieste alpha 18" rock crash ( which sounds perfect to me) for £100 but im afraid that it might break and paiste only give 12 months warranty where as the sabian aa metal x 18" crash whoich sounds damn good aswell is £152 but this comes with 3 yrs warranty i think. so..

I'm almost certain none of the big three offer more than 12 months. You shouldn't be worried about breaking an alpha unless you break cymbals a lot, in which case work out what you're doing wrong before you get any new ones. I reckon you'll be fine with the alpha.

But then if you've got the money, i'd take a sabian AA over an alpha anyway.
 
...

Alot of times Zildjian and Sabian will even replace a cymbal past the warranty, especially if you get it from a good dealer (specifically a "drums only" store)

Only the Hand Hammered series from Sabian has a 2 year warranty (the longest for a main manufacturer) the rest are one year. Some music stores offer extended warranties though.
 
Blue Groove said:
Alot of times Zildjian and Sabian will even replace a cymbal past the warranty, especially if you get it from a good dealer (specifically a "drums only" store)

Only the Hand Hammered series from Sabian has a 2 year warranty (the longest for a main manufacturer) the rest are one year. Some music stores offer extended warranties though.
Thanks. I will ask at the store on saterday! cheers
 
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