Cymbal Shopping

getuhgrip

getuhgrip

Bring Back Transfat!
Time to toss the cheapie set of ZBT's. Hell, it was time to toss 'em the day I got them! :D

Anyway...I like a brighter, sizzly sound. Variety of quick and slower decay on crashes. I like a larger, more musical ride that doesn't sustain forever. I like hats that are thin and crisp sounding. Budget is way open for a change.

What ya'll playing?

And yeah...I haven't replaced my snare yet, but I'm looking at Supra-phonic, Black Beauty, and ddrum's Vinnie Signature.
 
Lol @ all of your contradictory criteria.

Go bang on some somewhere and decide for yourself. I use 2002's, but they're probably too manly for you.

Forget the dumb "Vinnie" signature snare. Total crap. You simply can't go wrong with the Supra or Black Beauty.
 
Greg_L said:
Lol @ all of your contradictory criteria.

Go bang on some somewhere and decide for yourself. I use 2002's, but they're probably too manly for you.

Forget the dumb "Vinnie" signature snare. Total crap. You simply can't go wrong with the Supra or Black Beauty.
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Manly cymbals....what a stud! :laughings:

No contradiction...bright, sizzly and crisp are pretty coherently similar. :p

Quick decay = "doesn't sustain forever."

Bright, musical....ditto. :p

Yeah, I'm going to have to go play some before just plunking a grand or more at MF. I'm not a big fan of dark, heavy sounding metal. Some thick cymbals just sound like fast decaying gongs to me.

The "Vinnie drum without rediculous dragon decals" is on the list cause it's a 6-ply maple and 8" deep. Big umph without sounding like a trash can. Again, I'm gonna go pound on some different stuff before ordering. I've got a pretty piss-poor record for getting burned on stuff I haven't tried or listened to. Nobody's fault but mine. Damn...I suck! :D

"Manly Cymbals" Yeah! Fuckin' A! :laughings:
 
Calm down, mr sensitive. Manly meaning that they're too big and hardcore for what you want. In your boxy, empty, unfinished, untreated room, my cymbals would sound like a cacophony of death. You need some nancy-boy dryish jazz type cymbals. :laughings:

I understand what you typed, it just sounded silly. Wanting "quick and slower" decays. Calm down, geezer. :rolleyes:


Have you ever played an 8 in deep wood snare? They're pretty dull and unresponsive unless you really pound the shit out of it, which I'm not sure your arthritic wrists could handle. ;)

Seriously, the Supra or Black Beauty will kill that Vinnie crap even with a halfass tune-up. :)
 
Is it just me or are cymbols way the hell more expensive than they used to be?

I bought my Sabian AAX hi hats for $148 brand new about 10 years ago. And that wasn't any kind of special deal. Now guitar center is askin $290. WTF happened? :mad:
 
Greg_L said:
Calm down, mr sensitive. Manly meaning that they're too big and hardcore for what you want. In your boxy, empty, unfinished, untreated room, my cymbals would sound like a cacophony of death. You need some nancy-boy dryish jazz type cymbals. :laughings:

I understand what you typed, it just sounded silly. Wanting "quick and slower" decays. Calm down, geezer. :rolleyes:

Have you ever played an 8 in deep wood snare? They're pretty dull and unresponsive unless you really pound the shit out of it, which I'm not sure your arthritic wrists could handle. ;)

Seriously, the Supra or Black Beauty will kill that Vinnie crap even with a halfass tune-up. :)
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Mom's gonna help me treat the "Explosion Chamber", and hopefully tame the wild sound-waves runnin amuck! :D

And that really is prerequisite to alot of gear selections this year. No, I haven't heard that big of WOOD snare, and your're right...it might sound like friggin' cardboard. :eek:

IBB - trucks, labor, fuel, higher import levys, surcharges on almost all metals, all wrapped up in a down-trodden economy...........
 
I'm not really too much of a cymbal guy. I haven't tried tons of brands and models. I do know that someone like you would probably be very happy with any of the middle-of-the-road models from any of the big name manufacturers. Don't go cheap, but you don't need the super pro stuff either. I'm a big fan of Paistes. I have them, use them, and will never change. They have a big line-up. They have a consistency to their sound that I haven't heard in other brands. You can hit two different 17" 2002s and they'll sound close. You can hit two different 17" Zildjian A's and they'll sound totally different. That's just my experience with them. Go to the big name websites and listen to samples. Paiste has a very extensive sample library.
 
I'd look around and see if there's some used cymbals on Craigslist.

I'd forget about what they're called, just try them, every cymbal is different. It really depends on what sound you want and the songs.

As far as snares go, get a used Supra for starters. I have an old one I paid $60 for. You can do anything with a Supra! I also have some 50's wooden Gretsch snares that have a low "CHUCK!" type of sound that I like, and so do singers because it goes under them.

If you're playing music that they will work with, the Wuhan cymbals (to my ears) sound very musical and have a trashy, cool sound, but they wouldn't work in all genres and I suspect they wouldn't handle a lot of hard playing without cracking.
 
I'm not a drummer (disclaimer), but sometimes I post here anyway - trying to keep all parts of the bell curve repr'sented.

I now idiotically have 5 snares, including a Supraphonic and a really deep maple Pork Pie that's 7 or 8 inches. I just put a really big snare on the Pork Pie and it's better, but everyone keeps reaching for the Supraphonic, and so should you.

I got a bunch of cymbals, mostly used and of a lot of different brands. The Paistes (including a 2002 and a couple that must be 40+ years old) keep finding their way onto the stands. If you're primarily recording and want fast crisp hats, maybe look at some 13 inchers. I don't know crap about cymbals.
 
Here's a thought:

I use all Zildjian Custom A crashes. Except for pitch, they mostly share characteristics. Having a matching set of cymbals is common and popular in rock.

Reading up on Jojo Mayer, I understand he deliberately chooses contrasting cymbals, to get the widest range of tones and effects.

If I had to do it again, I think I'd like Jojo's approach better.
 
Supercreep said:
Here's a thought:

I use all Zildjian Custom A crashes. Except for pitch, they mostly share characteristics. Having a matching set of cymbals is common and popular in rock.

Reading up on Jojo Mayer, I understand he deliberately chooses contrasting cymbals, to get the widest range of tones and effects.

If I had to do it again, I think I'd like Jojo's approach better.
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I'm leaning towards A's myself, and I concur with the contrast approach. I like having at least two crashes that are a relatively close match, but having a "special" timbered piece is cool for some songs.

I've got a lot of real estate around my set, so hanging a bunch of different, goofy cymbals is fun and easy to do. :cool:

Just think...next year I'll be flanked by congos, bongos, timbales and cannons! :D

Hey Greg...what's a good manly bongo these days! :p
 
I've always had at least one A custom crash on my set. I've had a 14 and two 16s. I don't see the purpose of having a bunch of crashes that sound the same or similar. I use different crashes under different circumstances and even with different chords and in different keys. Sometimes a certain crash cymbol just doesn't sound right in places where a crash is warranted.
 
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getuhgrip said:
You big bully, that would hurt! :mad:

If I hit my empty head with anything harder than a brush or a fuzzy mallet, I would cry! :D
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If you want the "manly, I know what I'm doing and consider drums musical instruments sound", then I also second Zildjian Custom "A's" (That's what I mostly use on my kit), but if you're into the "lower order of primate, wallop as hard as you can with baseball bats sound" then just about anything will do including ZBT's.
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Greg_L said:
The Custom A's probably would be a good choice for you.

But fuck man, do something about that room. :spank: :D
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As ya might have guessed, Mom left me a pretty good chunk of dough. The upside of that is I can hire some illegal aliens to help! :cool:

I'm going to do the perpendicular/stagered firing strips, and add rock wool before drywall.

What else would you do? Carpet, or no?

And no, I don't care what that RF guys says!!! :D
 
Through the years, I've used pretty much every type of Zildjian, Paiste, and Sabian out there... Not every SIZE of every model, but I've seen all the logos swishing at one time or another.

Stay away from the 'entry-level' and you're going to be fine no matter which of the 'big 3' you go with... But as has been said: Go and hit em before you buy. Even in a music showroom, you'll get a feel for what you're in for.

Your original post asked what we use, so here's my current collection. (I play and record everything from 80's butt rock to jazz):

Ride - 20" Sabian HHX Dry - 22" Zildjian A

Hats (main) - 13" Sabian Fusion w/AAX on top and vented HH on bottom. These will go with me into my coffin, I have never played a more responsive, musical set of hi hats. My buddy has a set of 14" Zildjian A's that are also some faves of mine, but they seem to be an exception to what A's normally produce. Don't get me wrong, A's are great, but my buddy has a set that are incredible sounding. - My remote hats = Sabian 14" AA

Crashes: 18" Sabian Virgil Donati signature - Big sound withount being too dark - 18" Zildjian Med Thin (from the 70's) - 16" Sabian Paragon (I will no doubt end up with more of the Paragon line, great cymbals) - 16" Sabian AAX - 18" Sabian AAX China - 18" Zildjian China Bow Low - 14" Sabian AAX Studio Crash - 12" Sabian AA Splash - 10" Wuhan splash - 8" Sabian Paragon splash.

So you've probably guessed that I'm primarily a Sabian guy, but I've replaced quite a few Sabian's as well (along with Paiste's and Zildjians) based on what sounded and played right for my situation.

Sorry for the drawn out response, but i needed to type at least 10 characters...

:drunk:
 
new beat top 14"
with some old sabian bottom... the two. thin top heavy bottom make a nice contrast. try it.
14,16.18 med thin customs
had a 20" sweet ride... don't like the bell but the tone is good
prefer my 20" ping ride
sabian chinas 14" & 18" left from old set. don't use them in the studio
8" & 10" custom splashes. just cause.
 
justadrummer said:
new beat top 14"
with some old sabian bottom... the two. thin top heavy bottom make a nice contrast. try it.
14,16.18 med thin customs
had a 20" sweet ride... don't like the bell but the tone is good
prefer my 20" ping ride
sabian chinas 14" & 18" left from old set. don't use them in the studio
8" & 10" custom splashes. just cause.
Click to expand...

I also like larger hi-hats. I use 15" hats, a K bottom and a Custom A fast crash on top with the screw turned so that the far edge is always just touching when they're open to give more sizzle.
I use my old Avedis 24" ride and an old Avedis 20" sizzle ride on the left side. 17" and 14" custom A fast crash cymbals and an older Zildjian 18" dark crash. Custom A 10" splash and a 20" Wuhan China crash that I often add to the kit for live work.

I own a ton of cymbals that I will add and subtract depending on what is needed for recording, but my basic kit uses the hats, the two rides and three crashes.
I play mostly jazz and some fusion. But I do a lot of studio work and I'm called on to play just about a little of everything, so the whole kit may change up a bit.
 
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