zildjean k hi hats

[hankster]

i would like to upgrade my hats. currently have meinl mcs. i play 60's soul, blues and classic rock. the k zildgean hats , the more i hear them the more i like them. opinions?

[aceman]

Great choice for your style of music....Dont believe me? .. Ask Mr. Gadd! I just bought a set of 14" Zildjian A Mastersounds and they are a bit to bright and cutting. I wish now I had opted for the K's.. A little more mellow for what I need.

[KCDrummer]

I have 13" K's--I love them. They're incredibly versatile, haven't played a gig yet that they didn't sound great for.

[Skitch]

i would like to upgrade my hats. currently have meinl mcs. i play 60's soul, blues and classic rock. the k zildgean hats , the more i hear them the more i like them. opinions?

To which model are you referring to as there many models of K Zildjians. I have the 13" K/Z Hi Hats and these are fairly common and can be picked up quite reasonably second hand. These are very will suited to many styles of music! I also have the K Mastersounds and, while they have an intersting and intriguing sound, don't lend themselves to many musical styles and I would recommend paying the extra cash when a better option is available for less money. Furthermore, 13 and 14" New Beat hi hats pretty much broke the mold in the Hi hat world as I know of one Zildjian endorser who always goes back to these even after getting the latest and greatest from Zildjian. Lastly, I don't believe K Mastersounds were around back in the day when Steve Gadd was doing all of his legendary recording. He may endorse them currently. But this is kind of similar to the Art Blakey endorsing a model of Zildjian ride cymbal which didn't make production until 9 years after Art Blakey's death.


Mike

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


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

[Stu_Strib]

TI don't believe K Mastersounds were around back in the day when Steve Gadd was doing all of his legendary recording. He may endorse them currently.

The Gadd Session hats are distinctly NOT Mastersounds. The bottom hat on Gadd's hats aren't crinkled on the edges, and they are also lighter and unhammered. The actually sound nothing like the Mastersound line, and really don't sound like the regular K line. The excessive machine hammering and thickness of the top hat gives it a real dirty dark tone.

[aceman]

Great choice for your style of music....Dont believe me? .. Ask Mr. Gadd! I just bought a set of 14" Zildjian A Mastersounds and they are a bit to bright and cutting. I wish now I had opted for the K's.. A little more mellow for what I need.


The statement above doesn't say Steve Gadd plays K Mastersounds. It say's that I wish I had opted for the K's instead of the A"s. The K's are a bit more mellow compared to the A Mastersounds.

[Sesh]

The statement above doesn't say Steve Gadd plays K Mastersounds. It say's that I wish I had opted for the K's instead of the A"s. The K's are a bit more mellow compared to the A Mastersounds.

yeah, that's why stu_strib didn't quote what you said - we know you didn't say Gadd played mastersounds, it was Mike's post (which stu quoted in his reply) that implied that he thought Gadd endorses mastersounds.

I'd have to disagree with mike on one main point though, I play pretty much ever style of music (and I mean that seriously) and despite owning 3 sets of hats I'm always going back to my 13" K mastersounds for almost everything because they're so versatile and so damn great. In the last few months my mastersounds have been on a metal album, been used in a touring musical, been played in mellow pop gigs, loud rock covers gigs and many many many other diverse scenarios. I'm beginning to actually wonder why I own any other hi-hats because they only ever make it to the X-hat or the secondary cable hat, and even then I hardly actually hit them because I'm constantly comparing them to the K's!

[Drummer Karl]

I mean...what to say? =)

"If you like, show your pride, take a ride, do not hide, do not fight, just choose YOUR right."

hahahaha, now that was a sentence. :D ...and this sentence wanna tell you following:
If you like a cymbal, show that you like it, go to a music store, try them, and finally choose YOUR favourite.

BTW. those K hi-hats are coool!

Karl

[aceman]

Oh, I see now, Sorry, I scanned the posts super fast not reading what was written I guess. Anyway, The K hats are (as stated) very versatile. I like the sound of all the mastersounds but the K's top them all.

[hammertone]

I've been using 14" K's in a blues band and in a classic rock cover band and they have worked well in both settings.

Also used them in a Beatles cover band, but they sound nothing like Ringo's hats, an altogether different sound.

[hankster]

i appreciate the input. some people think i'm talking about the k mastersound hats. it's the regular k's.

[Stu_Strib]

i appreciate the input. some people think i'm talking about the k mastersound hats. it's the regular k's.

Regular K's are pretty much the most versatile hats on the market. If you play jazz AND hard rock, they are the only hats that can do both with conviction. I would sugges Regular A mastersounds as a close runner-up, as they aren't as bright/harsh as the A Custom line.

Any doubt about regular K's? Check out Tommy Igoe's dvd, Groove Essentials. He covers pretty much every musical genre, and the hats never failt to impress. You'll notice the other cymbals get changed out, depending on the music, but the hats remain...14" K regular hats.

[golions]

Regular K's are pretty much the most versatile hats on the market. If you play jazz AND hard rock, they are the only hats that can do both with conviction. I would sugges Regular A mastersounds as a close runner-up, as they aren't as bright/harsh as the A Custom line.

Any doubt about regular K's? Check out Tommy Igoe's dvd, Groove Essentials. He covers pretty much every musical genre, and the hats never failt to impress. You'll notice the other cymbals get changed out, depending on the music, but the hats remain...14" K regular hats.

Spot on, Stu. I just went back to my A mastersounds (from the A custom's). The A custom's were too bright for me. The regular A's cut more with better wash.

Looks like I better give the K's a look ....

[Skitch]

yeah, that's why stu_strib didn't quote what you said - we know you didn't say Gadd played mastersounds, it was Mike's post (which stu quoted in his reply) that implied that he thought Gadd endorses mastersounds.

I'd have to disagree with mike on one main point though, I play pretty much ever style of music (and I mean that seriously) and despite owning 3 sets of hats I'm always going back to my 13" K mastersounds for almost everything because they're so versatile and so damn great. In the last few months my mastersounds have been on a metal album, been used in a touring musical, been played in mellow pop gigs, loud rock covers gigs and many many many other diverse scenarios. I'm beginning to actually wonder why I own any other hi-hats because they only ever make it to the X-hat or the secondary cable hat, and even then I hardly actually hit them because I'm constantly comparing them to the K's!

I haven't heard any 13" K Mastersounds but it wouldn't suprise me just as the 13" Quick Beat are the way to go in that model. I have yet to find a pair of 14" Quick Beats that have a sound that I like. The 14" Mastersounds are good but I feel that the sound is too dark. I always go back to the 14" New Beats or the 13" K/Z combos. Here is the point; I don't always go for what is the popular "everybody has these" gear. I have found that a 17" Thin Crash has a suprisingly good sound! We all probably have owned a 16" Thin Crash at one time or another and I can pick that one out. It may suprise you when you go a different way and try something that isn't on the "Most Popular" list.

Mike

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


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

[2d-chris]

K's forever :)

I have 3 sets of HH's and out of all of them the K 13" are pretty much always used.

[Sesh]

I haven't heard any 13" K Mastersounds but it wouldn't suprise me just as the 13" Quick Beat are the way to go in that model. I have yet to find a pair of 14" Quick Beats that have a sound that I like. The 14" Mastersounds are good but I feel that the sound is too dark. I always go back to the 14" New Beats or the 13" K/Z combos. Here is the point; I don't always go for what is the popular "everybody has these" gear. I have found that a 17" Thin Crash has a suprisingly good sound! We all probably have owned a 16" Thin Crash at one time or another and I can pick that one out. It may suprise you when you go a different way and try something that isn't on the "Most Popular" list.

I don't really think there are any cymbals that are on an "everybody has these" list - just from this thread alone there have been about 10 different sets of hi-hats mentioned in the context of most versatile/favourite. In terms of crashes, the same applies - I agree that there are a few crashes I don't buy because the sound reminds me too much of overused samples - the 15" K custom dark crash for example sounds to me like the standard small crash on every poorly programmed/midi pop-track. Equally though, the main reason I don't buy it is because I don't like that sound. Using a 17" thin crash instead of a 16" is personal taste - I do the same, because I like bigger crashes for most applications.

I'd like to think that no-one would buy a cymbal because of anything other than what sound you want to make yourself. The only exception I ever made to that was I bought a 22" K pre-aged dry light ride off ebay because it was a steal and whilst I'd never heard it, I knew vinnie used one with chick corea (and I like vinnies taste in ride cymbals generally so felt safe).