Paiste 2002, B8 but why do they sound so good?

dpk204

Senior Member
I've used, B8 and Sabian Pro and they obviously sound different than cast bronze cymbals. I was at guitarcenter the other day and I played a pair of 2002 medium hi hats and I was amazed at their sound. I thought the chick sound was incredible and the sticking was great.

I always thought that they were made from some special alloy but I understand that they are made from B8 alloy. Why do they sound so good?

Do you like them?

Also do you think $199 for a pair of medium hi hats is a good deal also $199 for a matching medium ride?

I recently sold my Sabian Pro line and am in the market for some cymbals. I had budgeted for an Avedis pre pack with the 16 and 18inch crashes (which we discussed earlier) but after hearing the 2002's, I just might go for those.

Any thoughts?
 
Paiste 2002s sound great. I think it's not the alloy copper to tin ratio so much as the hammering and lathing that defines their sound.

Usually Paistes are brighter than B20 bronze but that's certainly not always the case.

A 2002 ride and 18" and 19" 2002 crashes with some sound edge hats are a great choice. Not really jazzy but so what.
 
Paiste does the manufacturing to make them sound that way. Paiste spends much more on those B8 cymbals than Sabian and the others. Well, Meinl makes very good B8 cymbals too. It all depends on the hammering, lathing, ect. Peace and goodwill.
 
I am a HUGE Paiste 2002 fan...........I love them. I had a 2002 Power Ride but Sold it as I got a chance to buy Paiste rhythmatist Blue Bell Ride (Stewart Copelands Ride) so I snapped it up.

I have a 18" 2002 Power Crash and I love it. Best Crash I've ever owned......so impressed I've just sold my 18" Signature Power Crash to buy another 2002 Crash

Just need enough dollars to sell my Signature Heavy Hi-Hats to buy some SoundEdge hats
 
I think everyone that has commented here has answered your question pretty well and I really have nothing technical to add to their comments about how they are made or why they sound so good. However, that will never keep me from speaking up! Seriously, as a n00b drummer in the mid 70's---yes, I'm that old!--I remember my girlfriends dad bought a killer stereo with some high end German speakers---forget the name of them now--and the first thing she and I put on the turntable was some Emerson, Lake, and Palmer. I swear to God I heard things from that stereo I had never heard before and the most telling was Carl Palmers Paiste cymbals. There was only Zildjian and Paiste at that time (?) and they simply sounded so much better than anything we'd heard before. If I ever hit the lottery, it's Sonors, Evans, and Paiste all around. I believe they make the finest cymbals in the world. Many recording engineers will testify to that as well. Good luck with your purchases.
 
Also do you think $199 for a pair of medium hi hats is a good deal also $199 for a matching medium ride?

New 14" 2002 hats presently list for $562. So if you can get a new 14" (or 13") pair for $200, that is well over 50% off. If they're 15" hats, even better. To answer your question directly, Yes... That's a fantastic deal. If they're used, then it is still a fair price, if they're in very good overall condition. The price for the ride seems fair too. IMO.
 
The Paiste 2002s were the top of the Paiste line back in the day. Sabian B8s are decidedly, not top of the line. There's a definite difference in manufacturing regardless of metal used.

My Guitar Center had a 2002 24" ride in stock, and I swear, now I realize why John Bonham played a 24". If only my cymbal bag could carry a 24" cymbal....
 
Thanks for the replies. I knew when I played those 2002 medium hats, that they were something special. I'm just deciding between the medium and the sound edge. I saw that 24" Bonham ride too...it's a beast.

Somebody once told me that Paiste 2002's were not good "all around" cymbals and that they were meant for heavily amplified music and they were meant to be hit hard.
 
Somebody once told me that Paiste 2002's were not good "all around" cymbals and that they were meant for heavily amplified music and they were meant to be hit hard.

Well, it seems that Paiste marketed 2oo2s for rock and amplified music, but I use my 2oo2s in quiet situations a lot. I think they're far more versatile than many give them credit for. They are great and durable and can take a beating from the hard hitters. Take a light stick and hit them lightly and you still have a great sounding cymbal for quieter music. Since I use my 2oo2s for lighter music, I use smaller sizes and thin to medium models and stay away from the big and heavy or power models (although I do own a 2oo2 Power ride just in case I ever need the volume).
 
When the 2002's came out, they were meant to compete with Zildjian A's - which was pretty much all you could get at the time (this is the '70s). I think the adjectives about the music they were meant for are really just, adjectives.
 
My 2002 18" Power Crash sounds amazing with rocket sticks when we play acoustic, and awesome when we are fully cranked............give me them over Zildjian any day
 
I hadn't played an acoustic kit for many years and when I got dug my old 2002's out of the loft, I though after so many years they'd be dated and that new ones would sound much better the local shop let me take home a few cymbals to try an AAX Stage Ride, AAX Stage Crash and a Zildjian Crash - I ended up taking them both back as they just didn't compete with my medium 2002 crash and Heavy Ride which are 30 years old!!
When I sold my kit years ago stupidly I let the 2002 sound edge HH's go with it, when I bought my new kit 1 1/2 yrs ago 2002's were on a clear out offer for £169, I bought those as they seemd like a good deal and recently took then into the local shop and tried out Zildjian Avendis and K's. AAX Stage and quite a few others, the only ones I may possibly have preferred were Meinl Byance but there so was so little in it it didn't justify the cost of changing.
 
In the late 70s and 80s (I'm that old too) I had a 2002 22" ride and 16" crash, playing rock. I was very satisfied.


Ruok said:
Well, it seems that Paiste marketed 2oo2s for rock and amplified music, but I use my 2oo2s in quiet situations a lot. I think they're far more versatile than many give them credit for. They are great and durable and can take a beating from the hard hitters. Take a light stick and hit them lightly and you still have a great sounding cymbal for quieter music. Since I use my 2oo2s for lighter music, I use smaller sizes and thin to medium models and stay away from the big and heavy or power models (although I do own a 2oo2 Power ride just in case I ever need the volume).

When I started up again last year I bought another 16" 2002 crash. Great cymbal - gorgeous, shimmery overtones, but I found it too bright for the lounge-y stuff I'm now playing.

I'm preferring darker cymbals for low volume playing because they are a bit more forgiving if I have an oops moment and open the cymbal up too much. You might have fewer oops moment than I do :)
 
I don't know what it is about the 2oo2's but I have been playing them on and off since around 1980.
They have a truly unique sound that I never get tired of.

I also play Zild K's and Agop's and I like them a great deal.

At least two or three times a week I find myself setting some of my 2oo2's on my stands and lovin them.

I will never part with my Paiste's.
 
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Yes there is something to be said about the 2oo2s. The cymbals sound great and look great with the red labels. I had another B8 cymbal set, the Paiste PST5. I added a 2oo2 18" crash and couldn't wait to upgrade the rest of my cymbals to the 2oo2 line.
 
I think that it's all about the type of Copper they use.
B8 broze consists (mainly) on 92% Copper ad 8% Tin, BUT Copper in it's natural state comes with Silver. A very famous-worldwide known drummer told me that he moved from a big brand to another when he started to break cymbals as a mad. He met a metal speciallist that told him that the brand he was using didn't have silver anymore on their cymbals. They take it out. So, my theory is that Paiste's 2002 alloy is not just Copper and Tin, but also Silver.
 
I'm pretty sure it's the same B8 formula...that's what makes it a B8.

The reason for the difference in sound is because 2002's a are cast individually and to a very strict quality control. Were as the Sabians, like most student cymbals, are cut from a sheet of B8 bronze and pressed into the shape of a cymbal before lathing.
 
The Paiste 2002s were the top of the Paiste line back in the day. Sabian B8s are decidedly, not top of the line. There's a definite difference in manufacturing regardless of metal used.

My Guitar Center had a 2002 24" ride in stock, and I swear, now I realize why John Bonham played a 24". If only my cymbal bag could carry a 24" cymbal....

It's what 24" bass drum cases, foam sheet, and towels, were invented for...they fit a 24" cymbal inside like a glove I've discovered :)
 
I'm pretty sure it's the same B8 formula...that's what makes it a B8.

The reason for the difference in sound is because 2002's a are cast individually and to a very strict quality control. Were as the Sabians, like most student cymbals, are cut from a sheet of B8 bronze and pressed into the shape of a cymbal before lathing.

I think this is the most defining answer to this 1,234 day old question! It was past due for the obligatory "YOU DO REALIZE THIS THREAD IS 3 1/2 YEARS OLD?!?!?!" (I too, like old threads about PAISTE)

Also, consider metallurgy i.e. the process of blending the alloy e.g. the temperatures, cooling rate etc... when comparing to other brands and model lines.

I started with no-name cymbals at first, graduated to Zildjian A's until I bought some black label 2002 15" heavy hi-hats (they're inked with the word ROCK on them) in the seventies and they just sounded better than anything else. I bought an 18" 2002 crash in the early eighties which led me to abandon Zildjian completely. I added a 16" Rude crash/ride when they first came out and it's been full on Paiste for me. Their consistency in sound and quality is amazing and they sound fabulous.
 
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