Choasmaster
Member
This is just a slight recount of my experiences at a real drum store, and some appraise for Dream cymbals, which dont seem to get quite the attention i think they should have. i also thought i had something cool enough to post pictures of!
Yesterday i had the opportunity to visit an actual drum store, Lonestar Percussion in Plano, Texas. Due to where i live (an hour and forty-five minutes away, and the traffic you have to fight through to get there) i did not play on making it there for quite some time, and that i would just have to live with guitar center.
But as fate would have it, my brother just happened to be attending a baseball camp in Plano, and me being the opportunist i am decided to kill two birds. with a stone.
I walked into the store and was greeted to the sight of two fairly normal looking guys! they were helping another customer order some drums so i just kinda walked away to take in the sights... and how great they were! the front of house area seemed fairly small, but it might have been because they had about 15 drumkits all set up with their own cymbals, an entire wall lined with more cymbals, and half another wall with MORE cymbals! I was told a guy would be out in just a few to help me, and just as he said it did not take very long for some guy to ask what i needed.
I told him i was looking for a new cymbal and that i was thinking about dream. To my relief, he told me basically everything ive learned here from you guys and that i could not go wrong with buying a Dream. he then told me to follow him to the back warehouse and we'd try out some cymbals.
...Back warehouse?!
There were shelves upon shelves and boxes upon boxes in this place, it was huge and when we got to the back there was an entire rack of any cymbal i wanted to try out, just waiting for me! It may seem normal to some, but coming from where im at with the only music store being GC, walking into this store and without asking anything hearing the words "lets go try some cymbals out!" and being nonchalantly led into some warehouse from heaven was awesome.
he brought out a few Contact crash and crash/rides, and a few Bliss series "just for the heck of it". And when you guys said to try these hand-made, hand-rolled cymbals before buying because they all sound different... i did NOT realize just how significantly different they would be! after whittling my selection down to a 17" Contact Crash, he brought out 2 more of the same so i could choose from those. And my lord were they different.
One had an extreme amount of trashiness, and its attack was so shrill it took a couple of hits for it smooth-en out. Very bright. The other had a very dark sound, and actually had a soft attack and a sort of mellow to it. The complete opposite of the first (it also had an edge that curved downwards, kinda like an A custom). the one i decided on seemed to be the crossroads of both cymbals. it had a softer attack, but was bright and with just a hint of trashiness to it. I was practiced with my band later that day and everyone agreed that my new cymbal sounded sick.
Id definitely suggest dream to anybody looking for a cymbal on a budget, because like somebody said here they offer a high-end sound for a low-end cost. Just make sure you are able to hear the cymbal before buying! I was so glad i was able to visit this store which far exceeded my expectations, and thanks for you guys because most of the things i know of cymbals (and drums) has come from this forum!
Question-
With my positive experience and utter happiness with Dream, i think im going to be trying some of their bliss crashes, because he mentioned that they were more washy and thats another aspect im looking for. BUT, are there any other cymbals that yall would recommend for a dark, mellow and washy sound? i wish i had tried more out there but unfortunately the thought didnt come to me at the time : /
Thanks for reading!
Yesterday i had the opportunity to visit an actual drum store, Lonestar Percussion in Plano, Texas. Due to where i live (an hour and forty-five minutes away, and the traffic you have to fight through to get there) i did not play on making it there for quite some time, and that i would just have to live with guitar center.
But as fate would have it, my brother just happened to be attending a baseball camp in Plano, and me being the opportunist i am decided to kill two birds. with a stone.
I walked into the store and was greeted to the sight of two fairly normal looking guys! they were helping another customer order some drums so i just kinda walked away to take in the sights... and how great they were! the front of house area seemed fairly small, but it might have been because they had about 15 drumkits all set up with their own cymbals, an entire wall lined with more cymbals, and half another wall with MORE cymbals! I was told a guy would be out in just a few to help me, and just as he said it did not take very long for some guy to ask what i needed.
I told him i was looking for a new cymbal and that i was thinking about dream. To my relief, he told me basically everything ive learned here from you guys and that i could not go wrong with buying a Dream. he then told me to follow him to the back warehouse and we'd try out some cymbals.
...Back warehouse?!
There were shelves upon shelves and boxes upon boxes in this place, it was huge and when we got to the back there was an entire rack of any cymbal i wanted to try out, just waiting for me! It may seem normal to some, but coming from where im at with the only music store being GC, walking into this store and without asking anything hearing the words "lets go try some cymbals out!" and being nonchalantly led into some warehouse from heaven was awesome.
he brought out a few Contact crash and crash/rides, and a few Bliss series "just for the heck of it". And when you guys said to try these hand-made, hand-rolled cymbals before buying because they all sound different... i did NOT realize just how significantly different they would be! after whittling my selection down to a 17" Contact Crash, he brought out 2 more of the same so i could choose from those. And my lord were they different.
One had an extreme amount of trashiness, and its attack was so shrill it took a couple of hits for it smooth-en out. Very bright. The other had a very dark sound, and actually had a soft attack and a sort of mellow to it. The complete opposite of the first (it also had an edge that curved downwards, kinda like an A custom). the one i decided on seemed to be the crossroads of both cymbals. it had a softer attack, but was bright and with just a hint of trashiness to it. I was practiced with my band later that day and everyone agreed that my new cymbal sounded sick.
Id definitely suggest dream to anybody looking for a cymbal on a budget, because like somebody said here they offer a high-end sound for a low-end cost. Just make sure you are able to hear the cymbal before buying! I was so glad i was able to visit this store which far exceeded my expectations, and thanks for you guys because most of the things i know of cymbals (and drums) has come from this forum!
Question-
With my positive experience and utter happiness with Dream, i think im going to be trying some of their bliss crashes, because he mentioned that they were more washy and thats another aspect im looking for. BUT, are there any other cymbals that yall would recommend for a dark, mellow and washy sound? i wish i had tried more out there but unfortunately the thought didnt come to me at the time : /
Thanks for reading!