Why Zildjian ?

[evans_69]

When you watch Kerrang or Scuzz e.t.c. why do 80% of drummers use Zildjian ?
is it because of better sponsorship, endorsments, quality e.t.c.... i myself prefer Sabian and Paiste... what are your thoughts on this ??

[tamadrummer132]

its cause.... zildjian is a cool name!!!

lol jk im not really sure... but quality wise i think that paiste/ sabian are at the same level
they all have crap cymbals, they all have good ones

[fooleeze]

Personal taste. Many people listen with their eyes and buy based on brand. Many people actually prefer the sounds of one brand over another.

I'm sure sponsorships/endorsements play a big part in it, but Zildjian does have the history and longevity, and are the most well known of the brands, so I'm sure that keeps a lot of drummers coming to them based on name alone.

Me, personally, I don't prefer the sound of most Paiste cymbals, but I'd be a fool to ignore all of their cymbals based on the name alone. I'm sure there are cymbals by Paiste that I would love their sound, so I will give them a chance and let my ears decide.

[Sesh]

When you watch Kerrang or Scuzz e.t.c. why do 80% of drummers use Zildjian ?
is it because of better sponsorship, endorsments, quality e.t.c.... i myself prefer Sabian and Paiste... what are your thoughts on this ??

I'd say it's partly because Zildjian have been the "industry standard" for so long. Most people choose zildjian when they buy their first set of pro-quality cymbals, and if you grow up playing them and love them, why change? I think they have a very positive brand image, are more readily available than other brands, and so are the obvious choice. I'm not neccesarily saying that's how it should be, but I think for myself if I was shopping for an endorsment deal I'd stick with what I know, and that's zildjian - I grew up wanting them, and I still love them now I actually own a load.

[bonzolead]

Because Zildjian is "the only serious choice" I like Zildjians for there sound,my dad always played Zildjian so I kinda got spoiled,i've played paiste but I think there too tinny sounding,and the other zildjian brother owns Sabian but I don't. care for Sabian either.Zildjians to me have a more warm,more body to them.i've never played bosiphoris cymbals and i've heard there good cymbals but I won't. say until i hear them.just like someone told me Camber cymbals sound good but I beg to differ.It's. like anything it's. personal preference just like some people like Chevy's and some people like everything else LOL.

Bonzolead

[onemat]

I agree with Tamadrummer. Each of the bigger cymbal makers make great and not-so great products. In the early sixties Zildjian was all I ever heard about. The family business started in what, 1623. I think they are the the oldest family business in the US too.
My mom went to Connecticut college in the forties and one of her friends married either Robert or Armand, I don't remember which. I remember her telling me she new "one of those boys".
I play Zildjians because I'm old school, and they impressed me when I was young. Soundwise, I know I could find cymbals I'd love from Paiste, Sabian, Bosphorus etc. It's that psychological brand-thing maybe, but my Zildjians have always pleased me. I keep waiting to win a set of something new from Modern Drummer...
Matt

[rendezvous_drummer]

I switched from sabian to zildjian because of the sound of the K series Hi Hats and Crashes. I love the 21" A series sweet ride, put that up with an A Custom 18" crash, 10" A custom splash, 18" and 16" K dark medium thin crashes and 14" K dark Hats, you have yourself (imo) the best combo. Paiste makes great cymbals too aswell as sabian, but I think the top three factors on why people choose a certain brand is:
1) Sound quality
2) Endorsement deals
3) Other artists who use the cymbals.

My reason is number one.

[Sesh]

I switched from sabian to zildjian because of the sound of the K series Hi Hats and Crashes. I love the 21" A series sweet ride, put that up with an A Custom 18" crash, 10" A custom splash, 18" and 16" K dark medium thin crashes and 14" K dark Hats, you have yourself (imo) the best combo. Paiste makes great cymbals too aswell as sabian, but I think the top three factors on why people choose a certain brand is:
1) Sound quality
2) Endorsement deals
3) Other artists who use the cymbals.

My reason is number one.

I'm right with you on the 21" sweet ride, god its beeeeeaaaaaaautiful! I bought one on the spot in a shop earlier this year when I tried a few out (ping ride, rock ride,K rides, loads of them), it's so versatile - great stick sound, great crash sound, perfect balance for me. I( can't stress how much I love that cymbal!

[Drummer Karl]

*light cough*:

Zildjian, founded in the 17th century by an alchemist - Avedis I.

The oldest cymbal brand (as far as I know)...I love to use not just Sabian or so, also ZILDJIAN. awesome cymbals with character.

no other cymbal brand can produce this original sound, especially of the Ks and the Avedis line...yo, these rides sound...amazing!

also, I love the advertising and and their sponsoring.

Karl

[Skitch]

I'd say it's partly because Zildjian have been the "industry standard" for so long. Most people choose zildjian when they buy their first set of pro-quality cymbals, and if you grow up playing them and love them, why change? I think they have a very positive brand image, are more readily available than other brands, and so are the obvious choice. I'm not neccesarily saying that's how it should be, but I think for myself if I was shopping for an endorsment deal I'd stick with what I know, and that's zildjian - I grew up wanting them, and I still love them now I actually own a load.

I would agree with this because before John Bonham in the Sixties, Paiste didn't have as broad appeal in the US. Most of the marketing was by Zildjian and most of the well-known drummers played Zildjian.



Mike

http://www.mikemccraw.com
http://www.dominoretroplate.com


http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=drummermikemccraw

[rendezvous_drummer]

If I could afford Paiste 2002's, I'd buy them. But the price of Zildjian is awesome....if only Paiste was cheaper.

[RudimentalDrummer]

Marketing (they had all the money)...Zildjian had Great Marketing and endorsed all the Top-Notch Players long time ago couple with Oldest History among Cymbal Makers......and so is a Well_Acknowledge Brand Name in Cymbal Making.

[Miggle]

For me... because stores in my country offer good discount to zildjian cymbals only. Altho some Sabian stuffs are priced good too. Paiste here costs too much!

About sound, I love the sound of Ks and Avedis cymbals. I like the sound of AAX stage crash cymbals, HHX series sound excellent! Paiste 2002 crashes are great for rock.

[Jeremy]

I love zildjians, but I also have a couple sabian cymbals, and i'd really like one of those huge 24" paiste giant beat rides. They all have good sounds in different aspects. For instance, I only like zildjian hihats for some reason, and paiste makes real good crashes.
a lot of the reason people play zildjian is because it's something of the standard cymbal sound. If you want a good simple sound, like you'd hear on a recording, zildjian's what you get.

[Cymbalrider]

I grew up around Zildjian myself. The only SABIANs I ever saw were B8s, the only Paistes were 802s and such. Therefore, I never understood the other brands. Of course I saw my share of bad Zildjians too. But you get used to that Zildjian alloy ring and seeing the name on everything and pretty soon it's just like a cymbal must have "Zildjian" written on the bottom of it to be real. I went for a few years without really playing drumset stuff and focusing mostly on orchestral stuff and marching percussion. Then about two years ago or so, I got into playing set again. So I bought a kit last year and I needed cymbals. I knew nothing about them, but I had Zildjian t-shirts, a Zildjian bumber sticker, a Zildjian CD case, and a few pairs of Zildjian drumsticks laying around. SO, I just said "Hey, you can never be dissappointed with Zildjian.." and I got the Zildjian Box Set with the 20" medium ride, 16" med-thin crash, 14" fast crash, and 14" new beat hats. Well, these things are nothing really like the old Zildjians but have worked OK so far for every gig I've had. I was beginning to think though that nothing could have the old sound I was looking for....then I heard Bosphorus traditionals. Now I simply await the time to sell my Zildjians and buy some of these Bosphorus cymbals. I would say though, that the Zildjian influence is pretty strong still. Although all my favorite drummers (those that are still alive anyway) play SABIAN, I still went for Zildjian because of familiarity with the product. I never saw SABIANs or Paistes anywhere I went so I never heard them for myself. I guess it's like shoes, if you bought shoes from one brand and they fit, even if they weren't the look you wanted, you might not go out looking for other shoes, simply because you already have a pair that fits. Zildjian is like Coca-Cola, SABIAN like Pepsi and Paiste like Dr. Pepper (its own little world). I would say now that Bosphorus is like the Coca-Cola in the glass bottles. Before I scare too many people away with pitiful attempts at metaphors, I'll stop talking....

[BoxcarDrummer182]

the reason why is because they have an excelent indorsment system. and they also are the leading cymbal makes, followed by sabian, then paiste. they use zildjian because its there sound. it seems to me that most punk drummers don't use paiste, they use zildjian or sabian. paiste is when you're looking for a surrtian sound. they use zildjian because they're amazing and blow sabian (even though technicly they're the same hammering and lathing thanks to out friend robert) and paiste off of our stands.

[Mediocrefunkybeat]

See... this is the thing.

The Sabian endorsement deals are MUCH more comprehensive generally than the Zildjian deals. Check it, how many specific signature lines are there in Zildjian? One? Two? Whereas with Sabian you just can't move for signature lines, for better for worse. Sabian will also still make custom cymbals to order (check out Bermuda's 30" AA Ride) whereas Zildjian will not.

Any cymbal company can be chosen when you're searching for a 'certain sound' and I use a mixture of many makes, but no Zildjian, partly because I can't afford them (much higher prices over here than they're worth to my ears) and partly because they don't actually do anything for me when compared to a company like Istanbul, who cost half as much as the Zildjian equivalents and create something unique.

Back in the 80's, Paiste was the leading seller. Now it's Zildjian. It's like any market, there's always going to be change. Zildjian is ubiquitous now as Paiste was in the 80's and given another twenty years, who knows? Stagg?

[BoxcarDrummer182]

i belive meinls up next for the big name, that and sjc is going to be the next dw, ocdp.

[konaboy]

For me it's always been about sound and when I started playing and got my first set back in the '80s I didn't hear anything from paiste that I cared for. I've just always preferred zildjians tone. Now that being said I was at Guitar Center yesterday trying out a ton of different crashes, being open minded, with another drummer for our church. I still didn't dig the sound of the Paiste's but did find a few Sabian AAX Crashes that I thought sounded really nice, I'd consider putting those on my kit if I needed another cymbal.

I don't care who's sponsored by who, they are getting paid to play the product.

[d.c.drummer]

i play zildjian becasue they sound really good. I play Sabian for the same reason. I tend to like all zildjian but i am in love with the sabian vault crashes.

[Mediocrefunkybeat]

i belive meinls up next for the big name, that and sjc is going to be the next dw, ocdp.

If the objective quality of SJC is anything like OCDP, then maybe and hopefully they won't be the next up and rising drum company.

[jollymosher]

Well why not? i think Zildjian has sort of become the popular choice. its the cool thing to play. i am simply amazed at how big of a sound they get too! I have looked into Paiste but so few people carry them! oh, and i have no idea what im doing with sabian, i dont understand what the purpose of each line is for!