Chinas to buy

[that-guy-plays-drums2112]

What china cymbal should i buy next? i was thinking about a 14" Zxt total china.

[maddrummr]

why dont you save some money and buy a wuhan...theyre so much cheaper and better.

[dom]

i agree buy a china form the dudes who were the first to make them chinas from china just make since

[Thrasher92405]

I would save up and buy a Wuhan to becuse they sound great for that price,But they are kind of thin(not recomended if you use metal drumsticks.)

[Ozzy Biz]

I was having a listen to some cymbals on cymbalsonly.com the other day, working through the Bosphorus list, as they're the only cymbals I'll buy. I'm in love with them. Anyways, I'm really liking the Traditional series 18". Seemed about the perfect mix of trash, sustain, etc. very happy. I may just have to fork out the cash and pick one up.

[Southpaw]

I currently own 5 china cymbals:

Sabian HHX 20" - Dark and slightly gongy. Really complex tone. The most musical china I've ever heard. Versatile. Speaks with many voices.

Sabian AAX 20" Reverse China - This is apparently a custom cymbal. Bought it off e-bay and talked to someone from the Sabian factory about it. It is made like a Paiste Novo China, with the reversed bell. It is rumored to have belonged to Dave Abbruzzese, but I have no way to authenticate that. Nice, big sound. Kinda bright for a china, but still trashy and explosive. Great for riding on or near the bell or crash riding on the edge. Also good for accents.

Wuhan 18" - Hands down the loudest and trashiest of the lot! I have to be careful with this one. Great for loud, fast accents, but not musical enough for much else.

Wuhan 12" - Super fast. Almost NO sustain, but has a bell-like ring that carries on for a few seconds after the initial trashy-bright attack. I don't currently have this one mounted as it doesn't lend itself to anything I do. Hey... it only cost ten bucks brand new.

Sabian AAX 16" - This is the straight-up AAX China. A great little china, it is trashy and bright, great attack and short sustain. This one has a nicely musical tone. For my purposes, it is my favorite china.

[thumper]

I've owned a 16" Wuhan Lion for almost 4 years...I've tried a few other brands, but they sounded too "refined" for my liking. (The only exception being a 14"(?) Zildjian Sound FX-but at the $120 CAD price tag, I could buy 3 Wuhans for the same amount of money.)

[Velimor]

If you don't mind spending a bit more than the cost of a Wuhan, consider the Saluda Diamond china. Now, I don't know what kind of music you play or what kind of sound you're looking for, but I have an 18" one and I love it. It's very dark and complex, but its loud and has a slightly bighting trashiness. I think it would lend itself well to a variety of genres.

[Skitch]

I would save up and buy a Wuhan to becuse they sound great for that price,But they are kind of thin(not recomended if you use metal drumsticks.)


And the Wuhan Chinas are the Chinas that artists who had toured in Asia came back with. You can hear them on Rush, Journey, amd southern rock albums. I heard a jazz drummer (big band, actually) in Las Vegas using one of these as an alternate ride (20" - I think). I like these as the quintessential china.

Mike

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

http://www.youtube.com/drummermikemccraw
http://www.myspace.com/drummermikemccraw

[jonnodrummer]

i have a 16" wuhan china and it is a really great addition to my kit, i think it only cos me $40 when i was in new york

[harryconway]

I have a Zildjian 18" Amir II china. Big, bold and rude.

[Lifedrummer1212]

I have heard some of the top end sabian chinas i.e hhx, aax,aa, and they sound very proffesional, a sweet but trashy sound, not too expensive either

[jollymosher]

wuhan and saluda make great china cymbals. the wuhan is way cheaper though.

[dom]

wuhan is cheaper its good but the saluda will have A LOT better QC my wuhan is heaver on one side and the hole isnt centered. You wont have problems like this with saluda, but then my wuhan SOUNDs great and i really dont care that much about that stuff.

[Skitch]

My favorite China is the K Zildjian 17". The old pangs are very smooth sounding, if you can find one.


Mike

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

http://www.youtube.com/drummermikemccraw
http://www.myspace.com/drummermikemccraw

[punkdrummer1]

Right now i'm diggin' my 19 inch Carmine Appice Devastation China from sabian. Great trashy decay, and it just sound so beautiful.

I also love my 10$ 12 inch wuhan, but the whole is messed, but it still sounds great.

[Backwards Marathon]

at band practise today, i cracked my china in like 3 diferent places, so im going to buy a new one....probably a wuhan because theyre cheap. does anyone have experience with a wuhan? i know theyre really cheap, but are they durable? this is very important to me, seeing that my china is one of the main cymbal i use during practise.

[Pukeboy]

I own a 18" paiste alpha china, but find it far to loud. I'm thinking of selling it and buying a 14" china. Any ideas?

[dom]

at band practise today, i cracked my china in like 3 diferent places, so im going to buy a new one....probably a wuhan because theyre cheap. does anyone have experience with a wuhan? i know theyre really cheap, but are they durable? this is very important to me, seeing that my china is one of the main cymbal i use during practise.

what kind of music do you play? i have an 18" wuhan that i love. Ive had it for about 2 years and it has no sign of cracking. It sounds really good, but its gotten to be kinda harsh for my likeing, so i buried it(sort of) it has caused it to mellow out and did a kinda saluda earthworks thing to it finsh wise

[latzanimal]

My favorite China is the K Zildjian 17".

I have 3 friends who went out and bought a 17" K Brilliant (just like mine) after hearing mine. Three different recording engineers have raved about it.

I also have a 20" Hi boy, a 20" Low boy, a 20" Z Power Smash, a 20" Z china, a 16" Oriental & an 18" Oriental. By far the 17" K is my favorite.

[dom]

I have 3 friends who went out and bought a 17" K Brilliant (just like mine) after hearing mine. Three different recording engineers have raved about it.

I also have a 20" Hi boy, a 20" Low boy, a 20" Z Power Smash, a 20" Z china, a 16" Oriental & an 18" Oriental. By far the 17" K is my favorite.

wow you have a lot of chinas

[latzanimal]

wow you have a lot of chinas

I can't seem to get rid of them. I like to have choices. Some work better for particular situations better than others. I also rent drums/cymbals to a local studio.

[Mendozart]

I own a mid 80's 20" Paiste 2002 china. Been using over 20 years and still love it.

[Skitch]

The one Paiste that I think is really innovative (and Paistes sound great!) in the Novo China. The bell is inverted so that you can play it as well!


Mike

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

http://www.youtube.com/drummermikemccraw
http://www.myspace.com/drummermikemccraw

[Deathmetalconga]

I've owned a 16" Wuhan Lion for almost 4 years...I've tried a few other brands, but they sounded too "refined" for my liking. (The only exception being a 14"(?) Zildjian Sound FX-but at the $120 CAD price tag, I could buy 3 Wuhans for the same amount of money.)

That's a good point about the Chinas. Wuhans have an authentic Chinese sound, while Zildjians have a European interpretation. Wuhans are fast, explosive and trashy, while the Zildjians have more breath, shimmer and gulp. There is no "best" here - simply which sound do you like more.

I played Wuhans for many years but I now use a Zildjian 18 inch A Custom China. I like the more complex, mysterious sound of the Zildjians these days.

As for the cost, Zildjians are made in First World nations. The extra money goes to pay livable wages, retirement and health care benefits for the artisans. Chinese products will have more mud and blood on them.

[GRUNTERSDAD]

And I have an 18 inch for sale for 30 plus shipping...Picture in the Classified section.

[Cymbalrider]

Best Chinas:
Bosphorus Hammer 22" China w/ rivets
Zildjian Swish Knocker 22"

[maddrummr]

There is no "best" here - simply which sound do you like more.



Just like all cymbals.

well pretty much

[Skitch]

As for the cost, Zildjians are made in First World nations. The extra money goes to pay livable wages, retirement and health care benefits for the artisans. Chinese products will have more mud and blood on them.

I think I am beginning to like you. China is a growing problem.



Mike

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

http://www.youtube.com/drummermikemccraw
http://www.myspace.com/drummermikemccraw

[fijjibo]

Wuhan all the way!!!!!

They rule!!!

Im going to end up with 50 of them on my kit...

[Solaris]

I'm using two at the moment:

19" Zildjian K Custom Hybrid China - lovely dark yet lively trashy sound. Just enough musciality to make it sing yet still dirty enough to wail on. Great decay, all around terrific cymbal, though, it is a pricey one.

20" Bosphorus Traditional China - Dark, warm china with a lower tone and a more gongier sound. Have used it in jazz situatiosn as an alternate ride and performed well. Some nice stick articulation around the bell but a little too washy on the body. In a rock environment it has enough volume to still cut through. A good secondary china.


See what you can find on Ebay, the Bosphorus was only 150 AUD second hand (though it has since crasked after only a few months). cymbalsonly.com is also another great place to go for cheaper cymbals.

[crazyhorse]

Saluda's effect cymbals all sound really friggen cool... i've got an 18" wuhan on the way that I'm going to pair with a trashy sounding splash I got from them.

Oh.. and I'm getting a paiste 18" china (and some other goodies) for building some guy a custom set and you don't get a much more musical china than the paiste signature

[Deathmetalconga]

I think I am beginning to like you. China is a growing problem.


Well, just don't ever, ever eat anything made in China.

[MoeDrummer]

I just saw today that Musicians Friend had a crazy deal on Wuhan chinas, grabbed up the 14" for 15$. Heck, I can buy a steak dinner for that much money, I may as well order 10 more and starve myself, ha.

Moe

[-tarek-]

Ok, yeah, Wuhans are good for the price. Any cymbal for 30 fu*&^%g dollars is a good buy! If you're going to get a mid-quality cymbal, I'd say forget and just get the Wuhan. But if you're ready to put down some $$$, get something nice (trust me, I've used many chinas, and a wuhan DOES NOT compare to high end cymbals.) After trying everything I could get my hands on, I settled on two cymbals that stood above all as my main chinas. I'm a big Paiste fan, and one of my main chinas is a 20" paiste 2002 Novo China. Holy hell that thing is phenomenal. It's very very powerful and has an excellent tone with a bit more ping than usually found in chinas. For my second main, I have a 19" Zildjian K hybrid, which is also amazing. It's much more mellow with more swish than the 2002. It's a great china, one of the only Zildjians I'd ever use. I have a few smaller wuhans and a 14" paiste Signature heavy China, but they don't sound as good... especially the damn Wuhans. Anyway, hope that helped a little. Try everything though, of course, and try not to judge by brand before hearing them! Too many drummers do that.