Internet Samples?

[DaveyBoy]

Can you rely on internet samples for buying cymbals? Seeinng as my 'local' shop is a pain in the A** to get to, i try cymbals online but are they reliable?
Thanks
Dave

[Wavelength]

I don't think they are at all reliable. Even if they were recorded with top notch equipment, it still won't sound the same when you play it. Many things change the sound of a cymbal: the room, the stick you're using, your touch, where you hit the cymbal etc. Plus, there's no way of knowing what the cymbal feels like to play, which is very important when choosing hi-hats and rides. Generally you can hear whether the cymbal is any good or not, but that's pretty much as far as it goes.

[razorx]

the paiste ones are pretty close. i dont know about the others. i have never tried another brand.

[maddrummr]

i wouldn't trust them. Heck Sabian could post a AAX crash and say its a B8 for all we know.

Not saying they do that.

[fourstringdrums]

i wouldn't trust them. Heck Sabian could post a AAX crash and say its a B8 for all we know.

Not saying they do that.

They wouldn't have any reason to do that.

I've found them relatively close and if you have no other reference, will do just fine in making a decision. I got my Bosphorus from CymbalsOnly.com and he has samples of the exact cymbal that you'd buy. I've bought many and they all sounded very close to what I heard online.

[Drummer Karl]

This will never be totally relieable...like Wavelength said.
Live it will be definitly something different. It also depends on the room very much...so even if you test a cymbal in the store it can sound totally different at home. But still testing a cymbal live is the best way!

But I should shut my mouth actually...haha...because I did it twice! I bought two cymbals from cymbalsonly because I fell in love with em when I listened to the sound clips. Though I got what I expected and I love these pies!! I plan to buy another one from cymbalsonly...it`s always kind of a risk but because of good experiences with sound clips from cymbalsonly I`m gonna do it. The great thing about cymbalsonly is that you listen to the sample of that particular cymbal, not one which represents the line.

But doing it like this is a risk like I said...not a relieable way of cymbal shopping, so I`ll be calm now. ;-) You can just get the idea how it sounds and "feels".

Karl

[Class A Drummer]

For Sabian and Zidljian, the internet sound clips are not reliable at all. I tried 2 AAX 14" dark crashes next to each other, each sounded different, one sounded nice, other not so nice. Same with a few other sabians and Zidljians. Although i prefer Zildjian and Sabian to Paiste, Paistes sound is quite consistant.