Best intermediate series of cymbals?

[Con]

RIGHT GUYS THIS IS MY LAST (HOPEFULLY!) post of a question about intermediate.....etc WHAT IS THE BEST INTERMEDIATE CYMBAL SERIES AND REASONABLE PRICED???????

HELP.............

[Cullen Triner]

The Sabian XS20's are about the best sounding cym. for the money in my opinion. If you get a chance, try some out.

[mind_drummer]

I'd go with Dream cymbals - Bliss or Contact series.

HH B20 or B22 bronze with distinct tonal characteristic.

[Con]

IS DREAM, BLISS ETC canadian cymbals? i have not heard of them at all and to be honest do not sound very good? am i rong?

[maddrummr]

WHY ARE WE SHOUTING!!!!!!

go pro used you wont regret it.

[ValS]

RIGHT GUYS THIS IS MY LAST (HOPEFULLY!) post of a question about intermediate.....etc WHAT IS THE BEST INTERMEDIATE CYMBAL SERIES AND REASONABLE PRICED???????

HELP.............

i would recomend you, paiste pst5 cymbals, or better get some pro ones.. you can buy used, it will be much cheaper, lets say a bit used good zildjian cymbals , crash and splash will cost me about 200 $ together this week... ;-)

[Jeff Almeyda]

Buy used good cymbals on Ebay. As a matter of fact, many times the older cymbals sound better.

You can't tune a cymbal so you're stuck with whatever it is. Cheap cymbals suck.

[BertTheDrummer]

I'd go used Sabian AA (or AAXs) or used Zildjian A's, they are quite prevalent in the used market and you can find them for a lot cheaper and they'll sound a lot better than buying new intermediate cymbals. My 2 cents are that intermediate cymbal series are a waste of time because most of the time you'll want pro cymbals really shortly after that. If you want to buy new, either go with Dream Cymbals (they are made in China, but places like Front Range Bronze has sound clips that allow you to hear the specific cymbal), or just deal with your beginner cymbals until you can save up to buy pro ones.

[drozzy]

I'd have to say, if you are going new cymbals, Meinl Amun.

[tannerw_2010@hotmail.com]

i would have to say go with the paiste pst5 or the alpha. I have both of those, and i love them!

[Class A Drummer]

Save a little extra money and get a top of the line cymbal. It will eventually be better for you financially if you get a pro-line cymbal, because you wont have to sell your other cymbals and buy new ones.

Also, you want the best sound you possibly can acheive, so i think you should go pro.

[rendezvous_drummer]

I have a suggestion....it's called buying used pro cymbals for a swell price, rather than settling for "intermediate" cymbals. You can get a few nice A custom crashes for $60-80 each.

[crazyhorse]

I'm going to have to say it... Check out Saluda's Mist X cymbals. I wasn't that hot on Saluda until I went down to the shop and played on a few of them. The two Mist X's that I hit sounded damn close to my Paiste Signatures and I think they sell for the low $100's which is a steal for that kind of sound.

[mind_drummer]

IS DREAM, BLISS ETC canadian cymbals? i have not heard of them at all and to be honest do not sound very good? am i rong?

Wrong !

They are imported from china and transit in Canada. They sound very good if you're into real old turkish zild K's sound. They sell like hot cake for jazz fusion player.

Bliss series best suited for be-bop jazz fusion and Contact are for harder stuff.

[dom]

saluda
dream
used pro stuff

if you have a tight budget they take the cake i LOVE my saluda hats and 22'' contact!
Havent looked into dreams much lately tho have their prices gone up? i saw frontrangebronzes prices have almost doubled but im not sure if that is just them has everyone elses too?

[tooldrums1000]

zildjian zbt rock. Their perfect.

[punkdrummer1]

I'm pretty sure i've made this clear: SABIAN XS20 ROCK!!

Perfect for intermediete's to pro's. THEY ARE TOTALY UNDERESTIMATED!!

[spartanfan10]

DO NOT under any circumstance by Zildjian ZBTs. I have broken 3. I'm looking into the PST5s from what I've been told and will also take a good look at the used pro cymbals as well.

[drumhead61]

I'd go with Dream cymbals - Bliss or Contact series.

HH B20 or B22 bronze with distinct tonal characteristic.

This was exactly what I was going to say:

http://www.virtualcymbals.com

dream bliss are very good sounding cymbals

[wred]

Zildjian A's and A customs are REALLY common, versatile, pretty "generic" pro cymbals and can be found cheap used. Don't get intermediate.

I second the recommendation for Dream Bliss, but you said you don't like how they sound? Are you basing your opinion on video/sound clips?

[figure_02]

Meinl Classic and Istanbul Samataya are great for their price.

[805Drummer]

I have a suggestion....it's called buying used pro cymbals for a swell price, rather than settling for "intermediate" cymbals. You can get a few nice A custom crashes for $60-80 each.

$60??????!!!!! What craigslist location are you on?!

[Steamer]

Istanbul Agop Traditional or the new Azure line of cymbals. Superb quality traditionally hand made Turkish B20 pies for a good price which can cover alot of musical ground.

[crazyhorse]

DO NOT under any circumstance by Zildjian ZBTs. I have broken 3. I'm looking into the PST5s from what I've been told and will also take a good look at the used pro cymbals as well.

Don't go buy any "pro" cymbals until you learn to play is my advice ;) Or you'll just end up breaking more expensive cymbals.

[TenPastTen]

Cymbal buying takes a certain level of maturity in approach. Take for example, well, me. I was given my drums and consequently B8Pro cymbal pack (14, 16, 20). I was so excited about owning lots of cymbals that I got more B8Pros (18, 18 china, 10) about 6 months later. Now, I know there are somewhat polarizing opinions on the merits of B8Pros in regards to sound. But the bottom line is, if they were pro cymbals (or even intermediate) then pros would play them. And they don't.

So I found myself on a 2 year quest of cymbal shopping. I found i prefer the darker sounding stuff and ended up with nice mix of Sabian HHXs, with the occasional AA and AAX for a spot of brightness. I also scored a set of Paiste Twentys as well as a set of Masterwork Jazz Master series. I took a systematic and thorough approach to these major purchases and have not regretted owning pro cymbals.

I wasted time and money on the B8pro stuff and bypassed the lot of PST 5 and Meinl Soundcasters and other intermediate cymbals. I even took a run at the Xs20. You can get great pro cymbals for good prices with a little work and even more patience. Good luck.

[MaDaBe]

Paiste PST5 Rock cymbals sound so much like the old Paiste 3000 line it's sick and the 3000 line was a pro line. Don't listen to the nay-sayers who tell you to only buy pro. Go and find and listen with your own ears. Find what you like.

[TenPastTen]

Paiste PST5 Rock cymbals sound so much like the old Paiste 3000 line it's sick and the 3000 line was a pro line. Don't listen to the nay-sayers who tell you to only buy pro. Go and find and listen with your own ears. Find what you like.

An extremely fair point on the Paiste thing. And truly the best advice is to trust your own ears.

I assumed you are willing to spend intermediate money so you wanted the best intermediate cymbal. To bottom line my thoughts on the subject is for you to hunt great pro cymbals at intermediate prices. And to further MaDaBe's point, if you can find intermediate cymbals you like at beginner prices, then good work there, too.

[drumbandit]

Used K's and K customs are the way forward.Ebay

Tom

[sam42073]

I'm pretty sure i've made this clear: SABIAN XS20 ROCK!!

Perfect for intermediete's to pro's. THEY ARE TOTALY UNDERESTIMATED!!

Amen to that, man. No one ever talks about these things, and yet they are some of the best cymbals on the market, especially for the price. Although I've "upgraded" to AA's, I find myself going back to the XS's more and more.....

[Cymbalrider]

I would say Sabian XS20s. They are very similar sounding to AAs, but cost less. The best thing to do though is buy a versatile pair of real cymbals and even though you will have less cymbals you will enjoy them much more. Something like 14" Zildjian Armand hi-hats, 18" med-thin crash 20" ride will do fine. These are amazingly versatile for ANY style. Sabian AAX Studio models work well for this too. This set-up of hi-hats and crash/rides has been used for decades and works much better than sinking money into crashes, splashes, chinas, and such that you don't need. It's better to have just an 18" Crash/Ride and 14" Hi-hats than have stands full of cheap cymbals.

[spartanfan10]

Don't go buy any "pro" cymbals until you learn to play is my advice ;) Or you'll just end up breaking more expensive cymbals.

I appreciate that blatant shot at me. Definitely haven't been playing for 8 years.

I got a reply on my post about intermediate cymbals about massmusic.net and got a complete set of XS20s for a ridiculously low price on clearance, still brand new. Definitely give them a look.

[timmdrum]

I got a reply on my post about intermediate cymbals about massmusic.net and got a complete set of XS20s for a ridiculously low price on clearance, still brand new. Definitely give them a look.

You may have gotten a pack from the old design and not the newly revamped design, which isn't a big deal. I agree that the XS20's are the least expensive B20 bronze pies I know of with the possible exception of Stagg or Wuhan, and they do sound better than their price would indicate.

However, I also agree with the posts that state you (the original poster, not the quoted- well, this goes for anyone who needs the info, I guess) should go with the highest quality ones you can find, even going used, because you can't tune a cymbal. Unlike cheap drums, where with some good heads and some time spent tuning, you can make a bad drum sound ok, a cymbal sounds like it sounds and there ain't crap you can do about it. I'm still playing some of the same A Zild. & Sabian AA's that I bought with my first kit, '91 Tama Rockstars. (Not to brag, but coming from a great school band program, I've always had pretty good stick technique so I don't break cymbals much- only a 10" A splash and two small cracks [the beginnings of one of those "cookie bites"] in the 16" AA med. crash that's still playable.) I've been playing drumset for 17 years, some of it bashing with pretty heavy music, and I've only ever owned one set of hihats (slightly used [in '91!] 14" A New Beats), 1 ride (20" AA med.), two 18" crashes (only one in the setup though, and I got the used A med. in a trade for the AA med. 6 months after i bought it in '91), and two 16" crashes (again, only 1 in my setup, got a used A med. so I could retire the AA mentioned above). Get pro cymbals, make sure your technique is good so you don't prematurely break cymblas of ANY price range, and you'll be set.

[Fiery]

Everyone I know who had Xs20 has had problems with durability of these cymbals.

I would highly recommend Paiste Alpha, and also try PST 5, though they can be hit and miss.

[joshisaces]

I have a suggestion....it's called buying used pro cymbals for a swell price, rather than settling for "intermediate" cymbals. You can get a few nice A custom crashes for $60-80 each.

Not 80 bucks my friend.

[TheWonk]

I'd have to say, if you are going new cymbals, Meinl Amun.

Yes, Totaly agree . . Amun's are fantasic for the price, really underated cymbals.
Loads of pro's use em and they're not even that dear!
You wont regret buying these muma's :-)

Dan

[LeeLovesSabian]

I agree with maddrummer, buy cymbals that are top of the line, but used