Cymbal rankings. How would you list them?

[dem372]

ok, I have what might or might not be an odd request. I am going to upgrade my snazzy B8's, and what I was hoping is that someone would be willing to rank the cymbal manufacturers and the models. So for instance, what are the top 3 or 4 lines of Paiste, and the top 3 or 4 lines of Sabian etc... Are Sabain HH better than AA, or HHX, or Vault, ahhhhhh...too much, it makes my head spin. Anyone feel like making a nice, simple, pretty list for me?

[Drum Phil]

Look at:

Sabian AA/AAX/HH/HHX/Vault/Sig
Zildjian A/A Custom/K/K custom/EFX
Paiste Signature/2002/Traditionals/Dark Energy/Giant beat
Meinl Byzance/MB20 (not too up on meinl lines)

[dairyairman]

haha! practically impossible! once you get into the pro level cymbals of all the major manufacturers, it comes down to personal preference and maybe price. the different lines sound different for sure, but only because they're designed for different musical styles and personal tastes. at that level, it's hard to say one is "better" than another.

[dem372]

thanks man, thats perfect.

What are your thoughts on The Paiste Rude line? Always liked the looks, but they seem like they might be heavy.

Also, is Wuhan making anything even close to the ones you mentioned?

Thanks again.

[Drum Phil]

Rude thin crashes, chinas and rides are nice. The normal crashes are far too heavy though

[dem372]

dairyairman- I guess what I am looking to do is avoid buying the "next step up from beginner" cymbals. I want a good price, but dont want to screw up and buy something only a bit better than what I have.

[aznriceball]

^good mentality

i would go far as to say that wuhan are good intermediate cymbals, and would be suitable if u liked their sound, because some of their cymbals are great sounding (the traditional splashes and chinas), and i actually prefer the sound of the 16" S series crash over some avedis/aax crashes.

[dairyairman]

dairyairman- I guess what I am looking to do is avoid buying the "next step up from beginner" cymbals. I want a good price, but dont want to screw up and buy something only a bit better than what I have.

have you looked at sabian? they're pretty reasonably priced for a high quality cymbal. wuhan is the ultimate when it comes to quality vs. price, but i wouldn't put them at the same level as zildjian/paiste/sabian.

[aznriceball]

id put the trad splashes against the regular hhx splashes

[dairyairman]

i forgot about that. wuhan splashes and chinas are serious contenders.

[Josiah]

Wuhans are great, but lack in the durability department in a BIG way.

Pretty much anything in the lines above the begginer ones is high end for hte big 3. There is also UFIP, Istanbul, etc smaller cymbal companies.. just as high or higher quality, much more cost though.

As far as the bgi 3 goes.. for the regualr cymbals (anything not budget) the prices between the 3 are so close that it's all about your ear.
Sure a Sabian 16" crash might be $9 less then the Zildjian wich is 6$ less then the Paiste...

But considering it's at least $160, does the few dollars really matter? I don't think it should considering the sound is what you must hear every time you hit it.

[Damo]

Forget brands.

There are B20 cymbals, then theres everything else.

[Seafroggys]

There's B20, and then there's 2002s :cool:

[the fat llama]

go to a shop and try them out....its ur preference

[Damo]

i forgot about that. wuhan splashes and chinas are serious contenders.
For the first month...

[Seafroggys]

My wuhan splash i've had for over a year. Of course, its only been mounted for about 12 of those months, since i had to borrow an arm for awhile and then had to return it before i bought my own.

[pitchfork]

There's B20, and then there's 2002s :cool:
Indeed paiste 2002, for b8 bronze they are absolutely amazing cymbals.
Wuhans are also amazing.

[Chris]

UFIP-All lines, then Ritmo and then Primo (they are both garbage, stay away from them).

[MXicanDrummer]

Buddy,
different cymbals,
different sounds for different types of music.

[DxRocker]

Istanbul ftw? :D


haha, j/k

Go to a shop, sit down at some of the kits and get funky. You'll be able to size down your amount of choices pretty quickly as you will encounter sounds you love/hate.

Then the most difficult part comes: choosing the ones you love the most from among those you love :D

[Bowler]

Whats the story with stagg?

[Peechka Beats]

Yeah, just like others have mentioned, you need to go in to a store and clank on some and see what you like the best.

Then you will spend hours on finding the right mix of cymbals from the diffrent sizes and flavors to suit your needs.

I remember when I bought my current set of cymbals, zildjan K's, I think I kept on returning 2 cymbals over and over, like 3 times, because when I brought them home and listened to them they did not sound right/matched. Thank god for Guitar Centers return policy. The dude even told me after I initlially bought them, "Take them home, try them out, and if they dont sound like you like them to, return them and well exchange"

And you should do the same, because cymbals are an expensive investment, $150-$300 per each one adds up, so you better be sure you got what you want/like.

[Grumma]

AAXplosion cymbals pwn

[Jezen]

Istanbul Agop: Rank = #1.

/Discussion.

[Damo]

Thank god for Guitar Centers return policy. The dude even told me after I initlially bought them, "Take them home, try them out, and if they dont sound like you like them to, return them and well exchange"

I get around that by telling customers to bring in their existing setup. I then setup a kit for them instore so they can match everything before they walk out.

[Josiah]

Oh now that's called Heaven.


Where does this Heaven exist? I want to vist it. I bet in Heaven the kit is a sonor designer series too... I see a large plasma tv... there's tropical drinks... lalalaalaperthlala lala

[DxRocker]

you forgot to mention that those drinks are being served by topless brunettes J :cool:

[Drum Monkey]

I get around that by telling customers to bring in their existing setup. I then setup a kit for them instore so they can match everything before they walk out.
That's the way it is at a drum store not too far away... You pick the cymbals you'd like to try out and they'll set them up on a kit downstairs in one of the studios... I'm sure you can bring in your own cymbals to match them too as well. That's the way to do it ;)

-DM

[dem372]

Ok, went and hit some cymbals and then did some pricing...what are your thoughts on these packs/prices:

Found a Sabian AA pack for $450...a Sabian AA Rock pack for $550...and a Zildjian A custom pack for $650.

Just from hitting the AA's and the A customs in the store, I did not really hear a $200 difference there. But, without playing them awhile, who knows. Any thoughts on why there would be such a big price difference...

These packs include 20" ride, 16" crash, 14" hats, and they toss in a free bag.

[Sean]

I would eally suggest staying away from packs...Unless those are EXACTLY what you want/like.

[paiste cymbals]

Paiste (http://www.paiste-only.com)is a great cymbal company. I have used them since day one:thumb:
Ive never had a need to try others:naughty:

[Caleb3221]

I took a brief haitus from remembering to visit the forum often for a while, but I hope we have not come to accept people who are both spammers and brand whores in one post? I agree with the pack sentiment, don't get those. The return policy in most stores is an absolutle lifesaver. Seriously, make as much use of that as you can.

[not fishbulb]

There's B20, and then there's 2002s :cool:


Translated: There's B20, and then there's B8s :cool:

And Damo, you said there's B20 and there's everything else. Meaning... that B20 are better than everything else?

[paiste cymbals]

I took a brief haitus from remembering to visit the forum often for a while, but I hope we have not come to accept people who are both spammers and brand whores in one post? I agree with the pack sentiment, don't get those. The return policy in most stores is an absolutle lifesaver. Seriously, make as much use of that as you can.


In America, you can choose what ever brand you like. Spammer...."insert fav insult here" to you too:thumb:

[Icky_Mettle]

Translated: There's B20, and then there's B8s :cool:

And Damo, you said there's B20 and there's everything else. Meaning... that B20 are better than everything else?
Yes.