Cymbals Selection for an intermediate player

[make1]

Hi there,

First post here (but have been stalking this forum for quite some time!)

After years of procrastination I have decided to upgrade my cymbals for home recording. The set is Yamaha Power V series that came with Zildjian Scimitar 20" Ride+16" Crash+14" HH that I bought 13 years ago or so. The drum itself sounds decent and tuned but the cymbals sound horredous through the mics. Can anyone recommend an upgrade? My budget is around $350, and I am into Rock/Funk genre. Any suggestion is welcomed. Thanks.

 

[toobalicious]

as has been discussed previously, your best bet is with used zildjian A or sabian AA or AAX--- those kinds of cymbals. $350 is just not enough to buy a whole set of new, quality cymbals, but on the used market, your money goes a lot further. buying cymbals without hearing them is a crapshoot, but at those prices, you can just resell it and buy something else. i guess i have owned 30 or more cymbals over time while looking for the right ones. many of those were bought used, and sold used-er.
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[BlackHawk2029]

yup yup go used ziljian. i got a 20" medium ride, 16" medium thin crash, and 14" new beat hihats for around 300, so i'm sure you can find something. all of those were zildjian A too.

 

[Bungletronics]

i've always played sabian aax. i think they're great cymbals. aax 16" metal crash and 20" aax metal ride are my favs.

 

[Elton Bear]

I've played rock and funk for a few years, now getting more into Jazz and blues, and I've kept with the same hand-me-down cymbals I've always had - 70s Zildjian Avedis 20" Ride, 15" crash (I'd probably choose a 16 but the ride has a great crash on the edge so I can use the 15" for more cutting stabs etc.), and 15" Paiste hi-hats. strange sizes but my Granddad was a big-band drummer and needed to cut through a 10 piece horns section

Therefore, I second getting yo' ass on eBay and looking for anything from Zildjian A, K, or (maybe) Z, '60s through to early '80s.

 

[toobalicious]

FWIW, i have never met a Z that i liked, and i even tried to. i bought a 21" mega-bell ride in the 90's (what WAS i thinking?) and tried to make it work for me. of course, back then i just bashed on skins like a beginner (which i was). looked cool, but i sounded like a fecking blacksmith sometimes. clangor deluxe. luckily, they were still somehow popular, and i was able to trade it for a new (96-ish) 20" A medium ride, which i also found hard to get along with, but i digress.
now, i prefer the thinnest cymbals and use skinny sticks .
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[Elton Bear]

now, i prefer the thinnest cymbals and use skinny sticks

Same choices over here! I was talking about old Z cymbals, 70s etc.

 

[MidiPunk]

Go to a 'big box store' like Guitar Center, hit their cymbals, note favorites, find used on ebay. $350 won't get much new bronze.

I recommend Zildjian, Paiste, Wuhan, and Sabian

 

[ranjam]

A lot of local music stores have a used or consignment section. But what everyone else is missing is this; live cymbals and recording cymbals mean two different things. Just using any Sabian AA or AAX rides and crashes can have way too much ring or wash to them if you don't chose carefully; they were designed for the hard rocker who needs to cut through a loud band on stage (as implied by Elton Bear). Anyway, you are after something thin and with a fast decay. You aren't bashing them in your home studio (I hope), and you can actually pick them to be almost 'melodic', if that makes any sense. Smaller diameter and thinner cymbals have a higher pitch, so pick a pitch that complements the kit and other instruments. toobalicious has it; thin, thin, thin! You tune your kick to compliment the bass, don't you? Pick your cymbals to compliment and blend with the other instruments. Keep these as recording cymbals only. And you can do a lot with $350; I am in Canada and I do just that. I probably have about six full cymbal sets , but they each go with a different kit and/or are used for different situations. For the loud gigs I use big cymbals, and have even used a pair of 16" thin/medium AA crashes as hi-hats ! It works well, believe me. But for recording, simple 14" New Beat hats, a pair of thin crashes (16" and 18") and any good 20" ride are all you need. Look at Meinl, or even Dream if money is an issue. Mix and match. Ty the Meinl hats, maybe Sabian AA crashes if you choose say the Fast 17" or the Extra Thin 16", and then try Zildjian's 16" A Custom Fast Crash, and their Dry Ride. You should find them used, so if you don't like them, you can flip 'em over and not lose any money. Try the Cymbal Cellar web site; he has a lot to choose from, and there are sound samples.

 

[PhilGood]

I agree with "buy used good stuff" if you can find it on eBay or elsewhere.

I did, however, get a surprise the last time I walked into the drum dept over at "Banjo Mart" and played a couple sets of Sabian XS-20 high hats. They had a sound very similar to top line hats they were next to, and a killer price. I tried some of the rides and crashes too. Not bad at all. They'd probably be pretty good after a nice break-in period. When I have some extra cash I may grab some. I've got enough good cymbals now, so having extra isn't going to hurt anything.

 

[i play drums]

yeah XS-20 and zildjian ZHT are really good for 'cheap' cymbals

 

[ranjam]

If you find 'old' Meinl, they are also surprisingly good for cheap cymbals. I have a set of Spezial 70 hats and a 16" Laser crash that I let my son use on his kit. That and a B8 ride cost me a total of $130 believe it or not. They sound fine as he bashes away to his Geen Day play-along CD. I haven't recorded them, but a guess is the Laser has too much wash, while the hats would sound very good. But they are good cheap options.

 

[toobalicious]

yeah XS-20 and zildjian ZHT are really good for 'cheap' cymbals

XS-20 are B20 bronze whereas ZHT is B12. i would expect B12 to sound closer to B8 (like the scimitar) than B20 (virtually all "pro" cymbals, paiste notwithstanding). paiste's signature alloy is B15, so there is a thought as well. then again, neither the XS-20 or the ZHT are hand hammered or lathed, so there is that. and that is a large contributor to a cymbal's sound. try it. take a crap cymbal and pound on it with a ball peen. now hit it. cymbal modification is a serious hobby for some folks. often those hobbyists will us the XS-20 cymbals as a "blank", since heavy varieties are available, and it is basically the same bronze as their top-line stuff, but a lot cheaper since they are stamped.
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