Cymbal recommendations?

Hey people, I picked up the drums about 8 months ago and got myself a used ludwig kit with some shizzy zbt cymbals to learn on. Now almost a year later and a lot of time and work put behind learning my rudiments and techniques I'm looking for some new cymbals to add to the kit.

Don't even know where to begin, any suggestions would be great. I play mostly blues, rock, and hard rock. Looking for 2 good crash cymbals and most importantly to me...a good ride. Budget is around $7-800.

thanks!
 
What size are you looking for? Do you want to stick with Zildjian or are you open to other brands? If you're fine with getting used stuff, you can get a pretty decent setup in $800. I really like the sound of Zildjian A Series Rock cymbals, and the Sabian HH and AAX lines. I'm not a huge Paiste fan, but the ones I do like are the 2002s and the Rude line.
 
Meinl cymbals are really nice in my opinion. I have a Soundcaster Custom Powerful Ride and a Mb10 Medium Crash that I really like. I'm pretty sure you could get a couple crashes and a ride from Meinl and stay within your budget. You can check out their website here to listen to some samples of their cymbals.
 
I'm thinking a 16 inch crash and a 18 and then either a 22 or 23 inch ride. I want to note this would be for an "In house" recording set. It wouldn't be gigged and would be used strictly for recording. Open to all brands, I'm not particular as long as I like the sound. And I'm planning on looking for used stuff first to see if I can find some deals.
 
Everyone's opinion will vary greatly. For example, I love Sabians but apparently Jimmy hates them. The best thing you can do is to go to Sam Ash, GC, or any decent music shop and test out as many cymbals as you can. Thats really is the only way it should be done.
 
Oh and if this will be your studio kit, you might want to have a variety of cymbals. I don't know what kind of clients you get. Most serious drummers will at least have their own cymbals and snare, but if you find yourself with a drummer who has nothing you might want to consider getting a china and splash too. I'm not a huge china fan but from what I can tell, it's pretty common these days.
 
LOL! I don't hate Sabians. I use the inexpensive B8 crashes live because I'm a bit of a basher and can't afford to break pricey Paiste's. In fact my favorite ride all around is my 22" AAX Metal Ride. Sorry If I made it seem I was thrashing a brand. :D
 
I got the AAX Ride too, but the 20". I absolutely love the way it sounds. Supposedly, the way they make it, it's volume more or less stays the same no matter how you play it. Not sure how/if that works, but that's not why I like it. Just love the sound.

Yeah and B8s, they're entry level, so they suck just like the ZBTs suck. There are plenty of cymbals you can use that won't break soon, no matter how much you bash em. Paistes are known for being fragile, but I think the RUDE cymbals are pretty tough since they're heavy. Zildjian makes some pretty heavy cymbals too.
 
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The AAX line is nice, but I prefer the HH line. I've never owned either, but from just bashing around and hearing them at the stores, the HH's sound fuller and richer. Before buying my 2002's, the HH's were high on my list.
 
The AAX line is nice, but I prefer the HH line. I've never owned either, but from just bashing around and hearing them at the stores, the HH's sound fuller and richer. Before buying my 2002's, the HH's were high on my list.

Definitely. It's the highest line. If you're looking for a Sabian it doesn't get better than HH. I don't have any of the cymbals, but my hats are HH. The Sabian logo kinda sucks, but the big Hand Hammered written on it is pretty neat. Impresses even people who don't know anything about drums :rolleyes:
 
Definitely. It's the highest line. If you're looking for a Sabian it doesn't get better than HH. I don't have any of the cymbals, but my hats are HH. The Sabian logo kinda sucks, but the big Hand Hammered written on it is pretty neat. Impresses even people who don't know anything about drums :rolleyes:

That's one thing I like about my 2002's. Besides sounding awesome, you don't see em much in the local nobody bar/club scene. I whip those babies out of their case and the other drummers oooh and ahh. It's even funnier that I have them and can't hardly play for shit. Lol. They sound incredible live for what I play. The downside: they're expensive. If I break one, I will cry.
 
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