hats for recording

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tbone36109

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I'm buying new hats,mainly for recording, and which of the following do you guys think would be the best:
sabian aax fusion 13"
sabian paragon 13"
zildjian k 13"
zildjian k/z 13"
istanbul mehmet 13" radiant sweet hats
I play a pretty big variety of stuff thanks.
 
Paiste

The best hi hats i have ever used (in my opinion) are the Paiste Signature Sound Edge Hats. Pricey? yea. But you definetly wont regret it. I suggest you goto s tore and test those above cymbals, and the Sound Edge Hi Hats.
 
well i have played most the cymbols a little bit or atleast heard some sound samples but im not sure how well they are going to record cause my current hats sound good live but recording wise they arent that nice.maybe its my recording technique but i have tried alot of options
 
i've got my eye on a set of 13" A Mastersounds. don't like the A Custom Mastersounds much, though.....they're too brittle. but the regular A's i like a lot. i like the paiste sound edge hats too.

ain't no new set of hats cheap. that's why the mastersounds are about 12th in line on the "crap i gotta buy" list. i've got 2 pairs of (older) NewBeats that are sufficing for now.


cheers,
wade
 
Hats off!

I usually wear a backward baseball cap. A top-hat would look real cool in the studio, but it gets in the way with the headphones. :D

But seriously folks, the hats you mentioned are all good choices. You really need to find what will compliment your other cymbals tonally, and fit in with your playing style.

No two cymbals will sound exactly alike, and most cymbals will mellow with age. But you can still narrow your choices by deciding what fits your needs. If you indeed play a variety of styles, than you would probably want to get a few sets of hats. If that is not in your budget, Zildjian's 14" New Beat or Quickbeat hats have a broad enough sound for many applications.
Cheers, Rez
 
if im going for a smoother brighter sound that will work in alot of different rock genres out of my list what would you guys prefer(they are just the ones most avialable to me right now) matching them with my other cymbals isnt a concern cause im slowly replacing all of them and im starting with the hats so i will choose the other cymbals around the hats
 
RezN8 said:
I usually wear a backward baseball cap. A top-hat would look real cool in the studio, but it gets in the way with the headphones. :D
Click to expand...

Ya beat me to it...
 
I think I read somewhere that you should consider buying hihats that are a little brighter than you would want because they mellow with age. I guess that's cool in the long run but what about when you first get them? How long does it take for a cymbal to mellow?
 
It takes a looooooooong time for hats to mellow that much. I'd say at least 7-10 years.

Any particular reason you've limited yourself to 13" hats? Is it for higher pitch. One of the reasons I ask is I bought a set of Paiste 802s a while back because they were higher in pitch. I loved them at first, but now I regret it. They are great for lighter songs, but when I'm playing a heavy rock tune, they just don't work. I actually found a darker pitched set was needed.

Also I'm finding that even though a hihat might seem bright in a record, it is a bit of a deception. Hihats should really have more of a medium pitch.
 
all ican say is stay away from the zildjin titanium (the silver ones, whatever they are)

that's what i have and i couldn't possibly describe how bad they sound in a recording.

AAAAARRRGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
definatley go for a paiste set with a sound edge for recording, wouldnt trust anything else in the studio or live
 
tbone36109 said:
I'm buying new hats,mainly for recording, and which of the following do you guys think would be the best:
sabian aax fusion 13"
sabian paragon 13"
zildjian k 13"
zildjian k/z 13"
istanbul mehmet 13" radiant sweet hats
I play a pretty big variety of stuff thanks.
Click to expand...


You might want to check out the Sabian hi-hats that are an HHTop and a Leopard bottom. I don't recall the model at the moment, but I had those and a pair of K/Z 13"'s at the time, and the Sabians recorded a lot better. The Zildjians were a little too "clunky" sounding to me.


Tim
 
tbone36109 said:
I'm buying new hats,mainly for recording, and which of the following do you guys think would be the best:
sabian aax fusion 13"
sabian paragon 13"
zildjian k 13"
zildjian k/z 13"
istanbul mehmet 13" radiant sweet hats
I play a pretty big variety of stuff thanks.
Click to expand...

I can't comment on any of the above, since I never tried them. But,the most flexible HH I have found are Zildjian New Beats 14". I remember
taking them to a studio where they had about 6 pairs of HHs, and I ended using them because they were, by far, the best.
I suggest you stay away from too dry a HH sound, because you can always
tape mute an overly sizzling HH if needed.
 
Thinner cymbals will always record better because they are a bit darker and respond faster and decay faster, and that gives you a really dynamic cymbal sound on recordings.

When I moved to Paiste Signature series cymbals, I went with thinner cymbals and I love them. I would say stay away from anything that says "power" in the description - that means it is thicker and has more midrange. It will cut through well live, but won't record as well.

I've even found that I like thinner rides these days....after over 20 years with a 22" Paiste Rude Power Ride - I definetly prefer the textures and dynamics that a thinner ride give me.


The Paiste Dark/Crisp hats are pretty cool sounding. I want those for my extra set of hi-hats.




Tim
 
If you're going to use 13's I suggest the Zildjian K's you mentioned. I also agree with the guys who posted 14" Zildjian new beats being versatile. I've discovered that 15" New beats record well too. Good luck.
 
Tim Brown said:
Thinner cymbals will always record better because they are a bit darker and respond faster and decay faster, and that gives you a really dynamic cymbal sound on recordings.

When I moved to Paiste Signature series cymbals, I went with thinner cymbals and I love them. I would say stay away from anything that says "power" in the description - that means it is thicker and has more midrange. It will cut through well live, but won't record as well.

I've even found that I like thinner rides these days....after over 20 years with a 22" Paiste Rude Power Ride - I definetly prefer the textures and dynamics that a thinner ride give me.


The Paiste Dark/Crisp hats are pretty cool sounding. I want those for my extra set of hi-hats.




Tim
Click to expand...

Heh-heh! Yup, I've got a 22" power ride and I've about HAD IT with that cymbal. The pitch is too high even for a 22" and I lose control of it very easily. If I get into a groove and start laying into it, it overwhelms the kit. Time for a thinner ride!!

The only thick cymbal I ever heard work well was the old Zildjian Ping Ride.
 
ionno, i rather like my dry heavy ride and power crashes..
 
it depends on the music, but i like a thick ride, thin crashes and darker hats
thicker cimbals seem harder to record (to me)
 
well... I've never recorded, so I don't know the difficulties of thick cymbals in recording... But what I do know is that when I jam, my cymbals (most of them heavy) definetly sound great, and cut through the bass and guitar like... lasers cutting through... ionno... stuff... lol
 
giraffe said:
it depends on the music, but i like a thick ride, thin crashes and darker hats
thicker cimbals seem harder to record (to me)
Click to expand...

I second that. A thin crash explodes pretty naturaly. A thick crash you have to really lay into or it sounds like hitting the edge of a ride if you're not playing really hard. Darker hi hats settle into the mix better and the highs stick out on their own.
 
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