My time in an actual drumstore, Dream and my new cymbal

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.


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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.


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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!

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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!
 
This sounds familiar to me! I just recently got a set of new Dream cymbals myself, and among them were two 17" Contact crashes. I need to post some photos/videos/recordings of them up here soon as it's high time everyone heard them. Can't recommend Dream cymbals highly enough. Any UK forum members, head to Lincoln Drum Centre for the best selection and by far the best price on Dream cymbals that I've come across anywhere. And yes, definitely try them out in person, they sound so different cymbal to cymbal.
 
i just think its really cool knowing that each cymbal is its own character. Nobodys going to be able to get a cymbal quite like what you have
 
I've never even heard of a Dream cymbal until I joined this forum. High-end sound on a budget sounds good to me. Maybe better than an X20. I'll have to check one out if I ever come across some. I'd like to go to this NAMM show coming up and check out all these brands of cymbals that are becoming available. I'm really interested in what a Diril, Amedia and Bosphorus sounds like too. The NAMM show is really close to by to me in Anaheim and just a few days away.
 
This sounds familiar to me! I just recently got a set of new Dream cymbals myself, and among them were two 17" Contact crashes. I need to post some photos/videos/recordings of them up here soon as it's high time everyone heard them. Can't recommend Dream cymbals highly enough. Any UK forum members, head to Lincoln Drum Centre for the best selection and by far the best price on Dream cymbals that I've come across anywhere. And yes, definitely try them out in person, they sound so different cymbal to cymbal.

Great to hear you bought some. I thought you might after our grand day out, you did seem rather taken! To be fair, I was too.

As mad as this sounds, Dream remind me a little of K Zildjian. They put a lot of cymbals out with not too much quality control so you really have to pick and choose what you like. I hear old Zildjians were very much the same as this. The ones (Dreams) I've heard have all sounded great in different ways.
 
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As mad as this sounds, Dream remind me a little of K Zildjian. They put a lot of cymbals out with not too much quality control so you really have to pick and choose what you like. I hear old Zildjians were very much the same as this. The ones I've heard have all sounded great in different ways.

Yes Duncan, you're right, when I purchased my 20" K custom ride some 25 years ago, I had the oportunity to choose it at the main distributor warehouse through the friend of a friend who owned a music shop, I choosed mine in a comparison test with 10 other of the same models, and they all sounded different, I was amazed. I still play this ride today. :))
 
I find it very interesting. I think cymbals are much more interesting than drums. You can make most drums ostensibly sound the same as each other - cymbals not so much. Even how I play a cymbal will make the same cymbal with the same stick sound different from somebody else and often radically so. I think snare drums perhaps possess some of the same qualities.

When I'm talking about the 'Ks' I'm referring to the much much older Ks from the 1950s and 60s but I don't doubt that you're telling the truth for a second. Most cymbals are fairly inconsistent (within a ballpark) but older, handmade Zildjians were apparently very different from each other. That's why I find it so odd that old Ks (as in the really 'vintage' cymbals) sell for so much so often. There's no guarantee it's a good-sounding cymbal!

I also said in another thread recently that I don't usually bother with 'testing' cymbals much before I buy. That may seem odd to others seeing as I'm a cymbal nerd but actually first impressions don't matter all the much in my case. I can only usually tell whether or not I've made a 'good' purchase after about a year with the cymbal in question. After a year I've usually got some of the potential of the cymbal unlocked and have a rough idea of what it's capable of. I have an Istanbul ride I bought six years ago (the one I riveted) and I'm sure I haven't even scratched the surface of that item. The same with the Paiste ride I bought around three years ago.
 
When I'm talking about the 'Ks' I'm referring to the much much older Ks from the 1950s and 60s

I understood your statement in you first post, lol, but it's true, and you're right that the really old cymbals were very much different from one another to the point that some were actually "bad" cymbals, I even got a list that I found on a specialised drum magazine which relate to vintage research and facts, this list display the size, the weights (min & max) thickness of the old K and Avedis as to avoid the worst and too thicker one. :))
 
I first encountered Dream cymbals at Drum World in Tulsa (a Five Star Drum Shop). When I bought my 16" Contact crash, I set up my entire stock of giging cymbals so I could see how a Dream would compare/contrast. I found one that just fit the bill.

Alas, my kit along with cymbals was stolen last year. I have since replaced both piece by piece but I don't currently own a Dream. I wouldn't buy one again unless I could do the same thing again and the opportunity just hasn't presented itself as before. I know that I really liked the one I had and I hope that the S.O.B. who stole it is choking on it as we speak. (Yes, Zickos, tell us how you really feel)
 
I first encountered Dream cymbals at Drum World in Tulsa (a Five Star Drum Shop). When I bought my 16" Contact crash, I set up my entire stock of giging cymbals so I could see how a Dream would compare/contrast. I found one that just fit the bill.

Alas, my kit along with cymbals was stolen last year. I have since replaced both piece by piece but I don't currently own a Dream. I wouldn't buy one again unless I could do the same thing again and the opportunity just hasn't presented itself as before. I know that I really liked the one I had and I hope that the S.O.B. who stole it is choking on it as we speak. (Yes, Zickos, tell us how you really feel)

Thats just awful. luckily you were able to replace them in time, i know if i had any of my stuff stolen id be screwed. Hopefully that guy is choking.

And i did not know that stuff about Zildjian K's, though its obvious now, theyre hand hammered too
 
Your experience is similar to mine when I begun buying my A. Zildjians in the 70's. There was one store in my area that had them in volume, and I would visit it every month to have the sales people bring out practically their entire stock to compare them. Every one was veeeeeeeeery unique, so it helped that I had a clear idea of the type of sound I was looking for. I still have/use those A's to this day.

The same thing happened recently when I began buying Stagg Chinas. I would not only have stocks brought out, but I would go from store to store looking for "the one". In one store they had only one of each model, and I didn't like any of them. In another store, they had three of the one I wanted. So the sales person left me alone to audition each one. After I finally selected one and paid for it, I dove back again into the stocks just to get a feel of the other models.

I am sure the same is true for other instruments such as guitars (acoustic, electric, whatever), winds, pianos, everything. That's why I advise all musicians I know to playtest any instrument in the flesh before buying. I know that online buying is very convenient and often cheaper, but there is no substitute for laying your hands on an instrument, and hearing it with your own ears. Its often more than worth the time and effort.
 
I know that online buying is very convenient and often cheaper, but there is no substitute for laying your hands on an instrument, and hearing it with your own ears. Its often more than worth the time and effort.

While i had the luxury this time of being able to hear the product before buying, unfortunately for some its just not available. but i agree, its well worth the time and half the fun of it was the experience
 
There should be travel agents who package cymbal factory tours in Istanbul, Wuhan, etc. That would be interesting.
 
. Any UK forum members, head to Lincoln Drum Centre for the best selection and by far the best price on Dream cymbals that I've come across anywhere. And yes, definitely try them out in person, they sound so different cymbal to cymbal.

Wow, I was aware that Phil stocked quite a number, I bought a 20" Bliss Ride from him (£112) myself at the main shop, but I didn't realise they were one of the biggest stockists of Dream over here, very good!

To the O.P. glad you had a good experience choosing your cymbals, I find it makes the instrument all the more special when you've spent some quality time picking it out.

Kev
 
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