Hi-hat purchasing advice

[Atterion]

I never had much luck with 12" hats live. I had a set of Sabian AA 12" hats in an X-Hat configuration, and they just couldn't cut it in the mix. But in fairness, I was playing in a really brutal metal band at the time. They might have cut it better, in a different musical setting.

 

[bubbagump]

I have keep switching between my A Custom 14s and New Beat 14s. Both aregreat hats, just different. My advice (as if it weren't said already 10 times above) is to hit the local drum pro shop or GC, etc. and try some out. One set will stick out as THE set and those are the ones you buy. Forget brand name... how does it sound?!?!?! Ispent $600 on a ride because it was the ONE. Good cymbals properly cared for will last a life time. I figure by the time I am done with that ride, I will have put fractions of a penny per day towards it. Cymbal prices are only absurd when looked at under the microscope. (Or so I rationalize...) Ipersonally woul drather save longer and pay more for something I am happy with and will get a ton of use out of over the long haul than compromise and always want to upgrade/side grade, sell, trade, borrow. I wanna play the cymbalss... not deal them.

 

[Fishmed]

Zildjian

I use Zildjian Quickbeats for Hi-Hats in my studio. For other cymbals I would stick with Zildjian A thin to med-thin cymbals and Med Ride.

 

[Atterion]

I have keep switching between my A Custom 14s and New Beat 14s. Both aregreat hats, just different. My advice (as if it weren't said already 10 times above) is to hit the local drum pro shop or GC, etc. and try some out. One set will stick out as THE set and those are the ones you buy. Forget brand name... how does it sound?!?!?! Ispent $600 on a ride because it was the ONE. Good cymbals properly cared for will last a life time. I figure by the time I am done with that ride, I will have put fractions of a penny per day towards it. Cymbal prices are only absurd when looked at under the microscope. (Or so I rationalize...) Ipersonally woul drather save longer and pay more for something I am happy with and will get a ton of use out of over the long haul than compromise and always want to upgrade/side grade, sell, trade, borrow. I wanna play the cymbalss... not deal them.

Well Said

 

[random.hero]

my friend has zildjian titaniums they are very decent...

i would recommend newbeats

 

[JoeyPazera]

I'm contemplating upgrading my hi-hats. Currently, my kit has a mixture of various cymbals, but the majority of them are Pulse 357s (custom made for Musician's Friend with the Paiste M63 brass alloy). They've been described as being basically the same as the Paiste 302 series, so that should give you a fairly good idea of the sound I'm getting now.

For the most part, I like the sound of these cymbals. The crashes have a nice, meaty sound, which is what I'm looking for in a crash, and the ride has a reasonable tone. The 14" hats, though, are too meaty, too trashy, too... whatever.

Anyway, I'm looking for something brighter, with more sizzle, less meat to the sound. I'm considering the Zildjian Titaniums (probably rock, though I'd be interested in opinions on the solids as well), but I thought I'd ask folks for their opinions before jumping off the deep end.

Thoughts on the Titanium series? Are there others that you think would be a better fit?

[Edit: Yes, I know that most folks think the Titanium crashes suck. I've heard mostly good reviews of the hats, though....]

[Edit 2: Okay, a couple of folks on here hate the Titanium hats, too. So what do folks think I should consider?]

I own the A custom Mastersound and they are wonderful

 

[The549]

Why do you hate the Zildjians, out of curiosity?




I have a couple of Wuhans mixed into my set, and yeah, they're a really different sound.

I'm talking about A's, K's, Z's etc...I understand why people like Zildjians, but most of them to me sound so clear/mass produced/bland...almost like computer cymbals. They have a great hi end ping and they're so clear...but they lack complexity. I'm not talking about wash, I'm talking about complex overtones. I like some older Zildjians and I like some K's, but most of their cymbals are too bland for me.
I don't like most sabians either.
I find that hi end paistes have a more complex sound (almost "crunchy" to me - very meaty), and I realy like some of their cymbals.

Some of this guy's cymbals have too much clang for me, but this guy impresses me a LOT: http://users.telenet.be/cymbzdrumz/

In fact, I'll post a thread about it, if you guys don't mind.

 

[TragikRemix]

Going from Pulse to Titanium means going fom inexpensive garbage to expensive garbage.

Pulse 357's are not cymbals...they're targets...children's toys. Get grown-up toys. Titaniums are just shiny ZXT's. They're shiny because market research shows that children are drawn to shiny objects...so are birds and monkeys.

you are TheBigFuckHead, on almost every thread you write on, however i agree here. Why cant you just be a little civilized? Man, when is the last time you got laid?

zxt's suck. i almost bought them, yes because they were shiny! but then i bought some "real" cymbals; zildjian z custom mastersound hats- i like them, they are quite bright though, not good for hard rock/thrash etc, paiste 2002 14" crash, i love it- a nice fast crash. i almost bought an orgasmic 15" paiste signature, but i put it off for too long and it was sold . i also have an ugly looking, but great sounding 18" advedis zildjian crash, probably from the late 80's, early 90's. ride cymbal= paiste signature prototype, also a killer cymbal if you can find it- my serial number is something like 000012 lol.

save your nickels and dimes and get quality zildjian, paiste, sabian, etc. buy used online, nobody is going to judge you for getting the same thing, just used, for less money!

 

[MadAudio]

My current hats are the Sabian "El Sabor" and I love them.

The best way to know a pair of hats is to audition them, of course. I don't know if that's an option for you.

 

[PhilGood]

I'm talking about A's, K's, Z's etc...I understand why people like Zildjians, but most of them to me sound so clear/mass produced/bland...almost like computer cymbals. They have a great hi end ping and they're so clear...but they lack complexity. I'm not talking about wash, I'm talking about complex overtones. I like some older Zildjians and I like some K's, but most of their cymbals are too bland for me.
I don't like most sabians either.
I find that hi end paistes have a more complex sound (almost "crunchy" to me - very meaty), and I realy like some of their cymbals.

Some of this guy's cymbals have too much clang for me, but this guy impresses me a LOT: http://users.telenet.be/cymbzdrumz/

In fact, I'll post a thread about it, if you guys don't mind.

When you play them in the stores, and when they are new, they sound very plain and boring. Play them for a while and they change. They get more complex.

I bought a 17" Explosion crash from Sabian (brand new and luck eBay auction) and was mad for quite a while. There was no dynamic range to the thing. If I hit it soft or hard, it wasn't getting very loud! I thought "explosion crash my ass!" Then, knowing that cymbals have to get the metal to relax and get used to how it vibrates, I decided to leave it on my set for a while and play it to see if it would open up.

It did!

Now it's one of my favorite cymbals for recording.

 

[Tim Brown]

When you play them in the stores, and when they are new, they sound very plain and boring. Play them for a while and they change. They get more complex.

I bought a 17" Explosion crash from Sabian (brand new and luck eBay auction) and was mad for quite a while. There was no dynamic range to the thing. If I hit it soft or hard, it wasn't getting very loud! I thought "explosion crash my ass!" Then, knowing that cymbals have to get the metal to relax and get used to how it vibrates, I decided to leave it on my set for a while and play it to see if it would open up.

It did!

Now it's one of my favorite cymbals for recording.

That's very true!

Playing on them is actually part of an ongoing "hammering" process.


Tim