Paiste 14" 2002 SE hats vs 15" Giant Beats

I have the chance to grab a demo pair of 14" SE hats for a great price and I've really been considering trying them out... I have a 24" and 20" Giant Beat on the way and was planning to buy an 18" Multi and the 15" hats to round them out... but then these 2002s popped up.

Generally, I really like the 2002s, but they're a bit bright for my tastes and I'm worried that the 14" SEs will be too brash for me... I currently use a pair of 404 hats that I LOVE, but they've patina'd quite a bit and are significantly darker than what I think of when I think of the 2002s I've owned.

Obviously, the 15" GBs will have a lower pitch and be a little more sloshy - but how will the 14" SEs compare? I know a lot of guys like the way that 2002s and GBs mix and I'm hoping the lighter weight on these will take out the glanginess I tend to hate in bright hats. By comparison, the GBs will be significantly more, even if I go used, which is why I'm thinking about taking a stab at the 2002s...

I generally play modern rock, heavy rock and (some) metal - I used to play all metal... but I've kinda gotten bored of it at this point!

Thoughts?

I had 14 SE hats. loved them at first but over time they grew too bright for me. They tend to have a very 'tinny' sound. lower pitched 15 SE's may have been better for me.

That said, I didn't ever really like the GB hats, I have GB crashes and rides, but the GB hats never appealed. I don't think they cut at all.

but like all cymbals, don't believe what i wrote. nobody can tell you but your own ears.

opentune said:

I had 14 SE hats. loved them at first but over time they grew too bright for me. They tend to have a very 'tinny' sound. lower pitched 15 SE's may have been better for me.

That said, I didn't ever really like the GB hats, I have GB crashes and rides, but the GB hats never appealed. I don't think they cut at all.

but like all cymbals, don't believe what i wrote. nobody can tell you but your own ears.

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Hmm... when you say they don't cut, how do you mean?

I really only use my cymbals for studio use, so I'm not really worried about them being loud in a band setting. Generally, I tend to prefer darker, smoother cymbals - but Paiste has seemed to be the only exception to that. Many of their brighter lines don't tend to be harsh to my ears and have a really smooth decay with plenty of complexity. I used to play all A Customs and have gradually strayed to darker lines since then - my GBs will be my "bright" set of cymbals, so I wanted to have some hats that worked well with them (not that my 404s won't). I've just tended to stay away from the bright sounding hats because they all tend to be harsh and clangy to me - the 2002s are a lot lighter than the ones I've owned in the past, though - which I'm thinking may mitigate those qualities significantly?

On the other hand - I know the SEs have a reputation of breaking because of the rippled bottom... I had K Custom Hybrids before that worked well for me... I'm not a heavy hitter, but when I get into it, I can be a little heavy-handed... kind of afraid of cracking them since the bottom is so light (by comparison, my 404s are actually lighter - 807/973g - so I'm not sure I should really be concerned)?

I mean, the SEs sound fantastic in all of the myCymbal.com videos - but it's kind of hard to judge them when they're being used with a full set of 2002s.

The 14" 2oo2 SE's do have a lot of highs, but they also have a lot of lows and mids too. I am amazed at just how broad the frequencies are. You probably would like the 15" SE's better because of the lower overall pitch. But I see that only the 14" is available for that great price. I personally like the overall sound of the 14" SE's better than the 15"s, but I seem to be in the minority there.

I never played a Giant Beat hi-hat, but I've heard from other drummers that they have much less volume than the 2oo2s.

MatrixClaw said:

Hmm... when you say they don't cut, how do you mean?

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Quiet. Lost in the mix. But all this depends on the music and setting of course.

See the 2002 are the same alloy but they cut better.
again its all personal. a good example of somebody using GB hats in a rock setting is patrick keeler. look up music by the greenhornes.

either way, you can't go wrong with paiste.

I don't think the giant beat hats are very good. They have a low sort of stick sound and aren't very lively.

2002's are very bright and precise. I'd take them (of the 2 choices).

I've been trying a bunch of hats in stores and the hhx legacy hats are prob my next purchase. It's all very personal though. Buying hats online is tricky because they have all these little nuances (if you pay attention) that you don't pick up on until you actually play them.

I tell you, I switch to Paiste a little over a year ago from being a long time Zildjian guy. I really like my family of 2002s. I went with the 15" 2002 SE hats. They are a little darker than the 14s I would say. And, I didn't care for them as much in the store, by themselves, as I do when I am playing with my band. I had become very accustomed to 14" New Beats. The New Beats had become my gold standard and basis of comparison. The Paistes began to shine played with my other Paistes and in a "band" setting. The just sound, already mixed-in. I have really begun to appreciate what they bring to the table, and that they mix so well with my other Paistes.

I would try to play them in a few contexts and make a decision from there. Buy what you like, and not just for the great deal. Guitar Center or CL usually has a lot of these used, and for a good price. In the end, you will have these hats for as long as you want, so saving money now, will begin to make less sense as time goes on. I don't see any reason for getting rid of either my New Beats or Paiste Sound Edges. I love them both and would replace both if I ever had to.

I've used both, the 2002 14" SE a lot, and the GB 15" more recently. I really like both, it's a case of horses for courses, neither is inherently better.

My hunch is that the 2002 might not fit with the rest of the set quite so well. Paiste have that distinct family sound so they won't sound completely unrelated, but my guess would be the 2002 will push in front of the GBs a bit. But if you play with that in mind it may be a non-issue.

FWIW I know a guy who is driving some genuinely loud vintage rock material with a pair of 15" GB no problems. They might be a bit darker and more subtle than the 2002 but they still handle rock.

I owned both the 14" SE 2002 and the 15" GB. The 2002 SE is a great hihat, very crisp, cutting , very responsive. the foot chick is excellent. The GB on the other hand I found sluggish, waker, less crisp, the foot chick was mushy sounding not as cutting or rponounce as the 2002 SE. Personally I much preferred the 2002 SE hihats over the GB hihats. The GB hihats are not bad hihats at all, just not what I prefer in a hihat.