Hi Hat Help

  • Thread starter Thread starter guinsu
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guinsu

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I'm trying to pick out some new hihats for recording/live use. I'm not a drummer, but I am trying to get the best sound possible for my band. The drummer is using an old maple Yamaha kit, the cymbals are 16" and 18" Zildjian K Dark Thin Crashes and a 20" Zildjian K Custom Ride. The current Zildjian 14" New Beat hats just don't impress me, they are too bright, sort of washy and cheap sounding. We had tried a friend's old Paiste 3000 series (which I think has since been discontinued or renamed) from the 80s and that went very well with the other cymbals though may have been a tad bright.

I am looking for a set of hi hats that are more on the dark side,that aren't too washy or "tinny" and have a relatively fast decay. Any recommendations from the forum?
 
You might want to check out Zildjian K & K Custom Hats. They seem to work pretty well.
 
Zildjian does have hat's made for recording - I have the 12" A Special Recording......... and I Love them - the A's are bright so they aren't for you - - but they also have the NEW - K Custom Session HiHats....... these are a dark quick decay set also made for recording sessions.

Perhaps you can find somewhere near you that carries them so you can try them out.

Good luck

Rod
 
I have a set of 13" K Custom Dark that record better than anything I've owned. I bought them mainly for jazz, but they sound good in every music I play/record (jazz, country, pop - just about everything but punk/heavy metal).

They articulate well without being overly bright - they just seem too find a spot in the mix.
 
geet73 said:
I don't know if I'd want to use 12" hats. Eh.
Click to expand...

You aren't limited to 12" - they do carry other sizes - the 12"s were perfect for me as a 2nd set - those sit over my bass pedal and I play with a Pearl Remote. My mains are 14" Custom A's.

The 12's (for me) have a great recording sound.

Rod
 
depends on teh style of music really, clearly 14" AAX metal hats are not suitable for folk music. what do you play? and how much are you willing to spend as hi-hats can vary form £150 to £700!!!!!
 
The music is in the vein of Jimmy Eat World, Nirvana, Far, basically indie/emo. AS for budget, I am willing to consider anything resonable since I would also look at picking up a used set.
 
If those 14 inch "A" New Beats aren't sounding good, I am surprised. They are known for being very versatile.
 
One thing you have to remember too.. Their just tools for the artist. Some artist may not have the touch / skill to produce those wonderful tones. Get a good player on bad hats and they will sound decent. Get a bad player on good hats they will still sound bad.
 
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