Cymbals Dilemma

HBCast

Junior Member
Alright so i'm looking to buy cymbals for my new drum kit (Starclassic BB)
I play Mostly Rock/Hard Rock.
there's one big store in my city that only sells Zildjian , i went there to check out some cymbals , and to be honest , i didn't like any of them (well ,except one...)
kinda disappointing because i heard about How good Zildjian are but...meh.
I got another local store that sells paiste cymbals too, but i haven't went there to check them out yet.
There's this brand called meinl i've seen many drummers use , i checked some youtube videos of it and i gotta say it's the best i've heard.
the bad part is that they don't sell those in my country , therefore i can't actually try it and play it before i buy it. (every cymbal sounds different , right?).
my question is - do you think i should take the risk and order those (not so cheap) cymbals from abroad without trying them out first?
 
If the seller has a good return policy, then perhaps you can order what you want, and if you don't like them, you can send them back? It does suck not being able to test out what you like. But I will say that quality control for all the big cymbals manufacturers has gotten really good over the years and the sounds are pretty consistent (although not pin-point identical yet). So if you hear it on the internet, what you get should be very close.

What country are you in, anyway?
 
What kind of Zildjians were they? Zildjian makes several different lines and there are different weights and designs within those lines. What didn't you like about them? Can you describe what you're looking for?

I'm not going to try to tell you you should like Zildjian because many people don't. I like the Zildjians I own but there many that I don't like. It just depends on what they are. That said, I also like Sabian, Paiste, and Meinl and could be happy with sets from any of them as long as they were on the thin to medium-thin side and were more or less pro quality.
 
If the seller has a good return policy, then perhaps you can order what you want, and if you don't like them, you can send them back? It does suck not being able to test out what you like. But I will say that quality control for all the big cymbals manufacturers has gotten really good over the years and the sounds are pretty consistent (although not pin-point identical yet). So if you hear it on the internet, what you get should be very close.

What country are you in, anyway?

Wouldnt that just be a waste of time? If i order , return and order again ,.that can take up to a month or so. it's si
mply taking a risk. plus ill have to pay for the delivery both ways :/

If the seller has a good return policy, then perhaps you can order what you want, and if you don't like them, you can send them back? It does suck not being able to test out what you like. But I will say that quality control for all the big cymbals manufacturers has gotten really good over the years and the sounds are pretty consistent (although not pin-point identical yet). So if you hear it on the internet, what you get should be very close.

What country are you in, anyway?

Im from Israel
And i just found out there IS one place over here that sells meinl.
bad thing is the price , everything is like 300 USD more expensive than in the US/UK
 
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The only way I buy cymbals is with the understanding that I can try them out in the context of my kit and all retailers I have dealt with have no problem with that. A cymbal can sound great in the store, but once it is integrated in your kit, you may find it just doesn't fit, sound-wise.

Needless to say, I would not buy over internet cause it just gets too complicated.

High-end Zildjian, Sabian or Paste should be totally fine. Meinl are great, but if I were you, their lack of presence in your market would be a deal-breaker for me...
 
Wouldnt that just be a waste of time? If i order , return and order again ,.that can take up to a month or so. it's si
mply taking a risk. plus ill have to pay for the delivery both ways :/



Im from Israel
And i just found out there IS one place over here that sells meinl.
bad thing is the price , everything is like 300 USD more expensive than in the US/UK

Well, at least you can go and try them first. I've noticed that gear buying is rely expensive for folks in other countries and that's really ashame. I would think your choice to buy local or abroad would be balanced by international shipping rates. Good luck!
 
Unless the available Zildjians are student cymbals, they should not be 'meh'. They're professional-quality cymbals, and any random examples in the size and weight category you want should at least be passably OK-- I've heard plenty of not-very-exciting cymbals made by them, but very rarely anything that wouldn't sound perfectly fine in the appropriate musical situation. It sounds like exercising any kind of return option is not going to be practical for you if you buy the Meinls and don't like them, so I'd just choose between the available top of the line Zildjians and Paistes.
 
Seems odd to me that being as close to Turkey as you are, you dont have more options for hand made turkish cymbals. I would think that companies like Istanbul, Bosphorus, Agean, etc. would be easier and cheaper to obtain due to their proximity to Isreal.

If they are available and you are just not aware of the quality, I would look into some of those companies as they make exceptional, handmade cymbals.
 
You can call Tony here and talk to him all day long about your cymbal needs and he's more than willing to help.

Nothing beats touching and playing the real thing in person but the sound files are the actual cymbal he sells and are extremely close to what you hear in person.

He ships all around the world.

- Agop: http://www.cymbalsonly.com/

- Bosphorus: http://www.cymbalsonly.com/cymbals/Bos/bos.htm

- Sabian: http://www.cymbalsonly.com/cymbals/sabian/sabian.htm

- Paiste: http://www.cymbalsonly.com/cymbals/paiste/paiste.htm

- Meinl: http://www.cymbalsonly.com/cymbals/meinl/meinl.htm

- Zildjian: http://www.cymbalsonly.com/cymbals/zildjian/zildjian.htm
 
Unless the available Zildjians are student cymbals, they should not be 'meh'. They're professional-quality cymbals, and any random examples in the size and weight category you want should at least be passably OK-- I've heard plenty of not-very-exciting cymbals made by them, but very rarely anything that wouldn't sound perfectly fine in the appropriate musical situation.

He didn't like them, end of story.
 
Seems odd to me that being as close to Turkey as you are, you dont have more options for hand made turkish cymbals. I would think that companies like Istanbul, Bosphorus, Agean, etc. would be easier and cheaper to obtain due to their proximity to Isreal.

If they are available and you are just not aware of the quality, I would look into some of those companies as they make exceptional, handmade cymbals.
can you give me examples for some big name brands of those turkish cymbals?
 
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