Best cymbals for £600 ($950)?

Pedro38

Junior Member
I need to upgrade my cymbals badly and was wondering what cymbals are the best for this price range so I know what to look for! (£600, $950)

They would mostly be used for playing metal and rock styles, but would also need greater versatility to occasionally play various other styles

Any advice to what to do would be much appreciated!

Thanks!
 
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Check out Sabian AA and AAX. There are videos on Sabian's website. Good luck.
 
With that budget, you could get just about any set of used cymbals you wanted with a little patience and frugality. So I recommend going to the store, getting a general idea of what cymbals you like, and then looking for those cymbals on the used market. Best of luck.
 
With that budget, you could get just about any set of used cymbals you wanted with a little patience and frugality. So I recommend going to the store, getting a general idea of what cymbals you like, and then looking for those cymbals on the used market. Best of luck.

Once again I have the issue of not being able to actually try any decent cymbals. Also decent used cymbals are far harder to come by in the UK (Sounds stupid but I've looked for quite a while now).

Any more experiences with these price of cymbals that could help me out?
 
Don't know what's around where you live, but Guitar Center in the US lists 10 different manufacturers that offer cymbal packs:

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Zildjian,Cymbal-Packages-Cymbals.gc?o=2

(look on the left side under 'brands' and click 'more'.)

I like Zildjians and they offer several packs in your price range.
I've got a couple Paiste rides that are pretty good too. Don't know too much about the others though.
And it will depend on what you want to use them for too.
 
Don't know what's around where you live, but Guitar Center in the US lists 10 different manufacturers that offer cymbal packs:

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Zildjian,Cymbal-Packages-Cymbals.gc?o=2

(look on the left side under 'brands' and click 'more'.)

I like Zildjians and they offer several packs in your price range.
I've got a couple Paiste rides that are pretty good too. Don't know too much about the others though.
And it will depend on what you want to use them for too.

Oh how I wish we had shops like that in the UK, the UK version of that site doesn't seem to stock sabian, zildjian, paiste or meinl
 
I assume that you are looking to obtain a complete set up of cymbals with this $950? I got all of my cymbals for well under that total! I think that you may be able to do the same, and have a nice bundle of cash saved for some later purchases, maybe new heads, or a throne.

Aside from looking at different brands/qualities and whatnot, you should probably figure out how many cymbals you want! I can give suggestions for individual cymbals (that I like, but you may not) but its harder to do that for a box set.

If you are looking for a five-piece (hi-hats, splash, small crash, big crash, ride), invest more into the hi-hats and the ride, as they are the "pattern" cymbals (most used).

My cymbal recommendations:
Paiste:
Virtually anything at the Alpha level or above, great cymbals. Depends on style.
Especially love the Paiste Signature Dark Energy Rides, or the Twenty Series
Hats: Signature Series Sound Edge.

Sabian:
AAX Stage Ride, or Projection Ride
Anything in the HHX, or HH series

Zildjian:
The Constantinople Ride, for jazz!
Also look at the K series, little darker, but (I feel) better than the A or A Custom

Those are the "Big Three" cymbal makers, but there are tons more (Wikipedia "Cymbal Manufacturers"). Matt Nolan is in the UK as well, although the prices there are...bit high...

Maybe this helps! Good luck finding some nice Bronze to add to your set!
 
Oh how I wish we had shops like that in the UK, the UK version of that site doesn't seem to stock sabian, zildjian, paiste or meinl


You're kidding - what do they show? Eliminate Sabian, Zildjian, Paiste and Meinl, and there's not much left.


What's available for you to pick from.
 
You're kidding - what do they show? Eliminate Sabian, Zildjian, Paiste and Meinl, and there's not much left.


What's available for you to pick from.

Stagg and Bospherous- I had a look. I don't think I'd bother!
 
Mycymbal.com will give you a pretty good idea of what most cymbals sound like, base your opinion off that. Never buy a cymbal just because of a name that someone else likes, they don't have your ears. It's all about how it sounds to you,
 
If you're thinking of Paiste, I can strongly recommend Julian Marsden: http://www.ecymbals.co.uk/

Give him a call, you'll be amazed at what he can offer.

Thanks that looks like a great site for paiste!

Does anyone know a out the Alpha Boomer range, how do they compare to the metal/rock alpha ranges? Because I can't personally tell where they fit between the two

Plus for the drummers from the UK, have anyone seen somewhere where you can buy the zildjian heavy pack with the Z3 A-custom mix, I can't find it anywhere in the UK!
 
Thanks that looks like a great site for paiste!

Does anyone know a out the Alpha Boomer range, how do they compare to the metal/rock alpha ranges? Because I can't personally tell where they fit between the two

Plus for the drummers from the UK, have anyone seen somewhere where you can buy the zildjian heavy pack with the Z3 A-custom mix, I can't find it anywhere in the UK!

Regarding Paiste; just contact Julian either by email or telephone. If you want to, tell him I sent you. He can answer any question about Paiste cymbals you'll have as he's been involved with them for over 20 years.


Happy hunting.
 
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