Choosing a new cymbal set up.....

[enfreaquez]

Hey everyone, I'm new here. I'm revamping my cymbal setup (and I'm not even a real drummer, just a hobbyist). I have all sabian B8 cymbals, 16 and 18 inch crashes, 20 inch ride, 14 inch hats, and a 10 inch splash. I'm looking to find a somewhat versatile setup to play rock, funk, jazz, fusion etc. with while remaining in a relatively reasonable price range i.e. nothing over 1100 or so USD total. I was looking at the Zildjian A Custom pack, then I would get an 8 or 10 inch splash separately, but I'm not quite sure. I really like the sound of the Benny Greb Meinl ride, but I'm not sure how versatile it is and whether it can do more than just jazz. I can't decided between 13 or 14 inch hats, if someone could explain the difference, that would be awesome. I'm sorry that I'm so new to cymbals and this thread has probably been started multiple times, but I figured this would be a good place to start looking.

P.S. I accidentally started this thread under a bad name "cymbal help...." just disregard it and comment on this one.

[ENRICO]

if you want versatile cymbals , you should be looking at:

zildjian a
sabian aa
istanbul xist

versatile sizes about sizes:
hh: 14
ride:20-22
crash:18
splah:8-10

[braincramp]

Nothing wrong with the custom A's you mentioned great very popular cymbal!!!

[Ainulindale]

the difference between 13" and 14" hats? similar to the difference between your 16" and 18" crashes, the larger cymbal is going to have a lower tone and more body, hats in particular tend to be more defined when smaller or heavier, generally anyway, let your ear be the judge...

Zildjian A's are as versatile as a cymbal line could be, 13" New Beat Hats, 21" Sweet Ride and 16"/18" Medium Thin Crashes, would let you play a variety of music, the Armands are very nice too...

could also check out Sabian AA, Paiste Alpha and anything used

[MikeM]

A Customs and Avedis box sets are both nice (assuming you're a Zildjian fan, which I happen to be). If it were me, I'd do the Sweet Ride Avedis Box set for maximum versatility. I believe that one comes with 14" New Beats, but if you wanted 13"s, you could probably arrange a swap.

I'd take the Avedis over the A Customs because I much prefer the Avedis rides in general. And to a lesser degree, the hi hats. I might like A Custom crashes slightly better overall to the Avedis, but it is only a slight preference and doesn't come close to outweighing my preference for Avedis rides and hats.

The best part is that the Avedis set will set you back $100 less than the A Customs.

As for the 13" vs. 14" part. You really need to go and check some out and decide which ones you like better. I've owned both 13" and 14" New Beats and they are really different. The 13"s are more articulate and sensitive, and can be really fun to play on because of that. But on the downside, they are ridiculously bright and don't really have the headroom stay versatile in a loud situation. They hit their max volume too quick for my taste, which is why I switched to 14"s. But if you like the hh sound of Neil Peart or Stewart Copeland, they may be just the thing for you.

[enfreaquez]

It's very funny that you recommend the A series Box Set with the Sweet Ride, because at this point in time, I didn't see many responses, so I sort of decided on that and I plan on ordering it too. The only issue is, everywhere I see it it's back ordered and will take like, 40 days to get and I'm not really prepared to wait that long for these, but when you buy the box with sweet ride, they give you the 18" medium thin crash free and if you buy all of the cymbals separately it doesn't come out to as low as the box set. Any recommendations? I've decided on 14 inch new beats, 16 and 18" medium thin crashes, either the sweet ride, or save up more money and get the Meinl Benny Greb Sand Ride, which I think is absolutely stunning (if you guys know anything similar but cheaper, that would be cool, I know the Sabian HHX Manhattan Jazz Ride sounds incredible, but that's even more expensive than the Meinl one, but I digress). I also want to get some sort of 8 or 10 inch splash, any recommendations? I've only played on my friend's 8 inch A splash and I like it a lot, but I'm not sure if there is something better. I suppose I should probably go play all sorts of cymbals and decide for myself, I just like to have all of you guys to help guide me. thanks again.

[Homeularis]

What country are you in?. 40 days?, Wow!.
The older A Zildjian cymbal pack (exactly the same except there is a 20" Med Ride instead of the 21" Sweet Ride) is what I got new only a couple months ago because Dales Drum Shop had some left and I got it in 5 days 3000 miles to my door for $598 US.

I like the Med Ride much better than the Sweet Ride because it has a better and more defined ping and overall sound IMO.
Anyway, if you call around and search, maybe you'll find one or the other packs in stock.
Say, MF, GC, Dales, Music 123, Sam Ash...etc.

[ENRICO]

Originally Posted by enfreaquez

It's very funny that you recommend the A series Box Set with the Sweet Ride, because at this point in time, I didn't see many responses, so I sort of decided on that and I plan on ordering it too. The only issue is, everywhere I see it it's back ordered and will take like, 40 days to get and I'm not really prepared to wait that long for these, but when you buy the box with sweet ride, they give you the 18" medium thin crash free and if you buy all of the cymbals separately it doesn't come out to as low as the box set. Any recommendations? I've decided on 14 inch new beats, 16 and 18" medium thin crashes, either the sweet ride, or save up more money and get the Meinl Benny Greb Sand Ride, which I think is absolutely stunning (if you guys know anything similar but cheaper, that would be cool, I know the Sabian HHX Manhattan Jazz Ride sounds incredible, but that's even more expensive than the Meinl one, but I digress). I also want to get some sort of 8 or 10 inch splash, any recommendations? I've only played on my friend's 8 inch A splash and I like it a lot, but I'm not sure if there is something better. I suppose I should probably go play all sorts of cymbals and decide for myself, I just like to have all of you guys to help guide me. thanks again.

that's an awesome pack, my advice is that you play it for a while and latter on get the next cymbal, so that you figure out what do really need, may be you end up somethuing that you didn't know you need like a 20" crash

[MikeM]

Did you look online? It seems surprising to me that they'd be back ordered for that long since all the cymbals in that set a pretty much bread and butter for Zildjian - cymbals they should never run out of.

You should have enough left in your budget for the Sand Ride and a splash. Then you'd have two rides (with the Sweet Ride doubling as a killer crash) so you could sell (or return) one if you didn't want to keep it.

I haven't owned or used a splash in a hundred years (okay, 20) so someone else will have to recommend one of those.

[enfreaquez]

I'm in the USA, and I've been stalking all of the large music warehouse sites online and it says that, it's in stock, but there's a 37 day special order or something on the pack it's only 600 for all of the cymbals (this is the sweet ride, which I prefer to the med. ride) and I suppose I'll get like an 8in A Splash if I'm in doubt about them, and I honestly love those cheapy Wuhan China cymbals. I think the local shop has a used 20in K ride for like, 150 or something, so if they have it I'll be sure to pick it up. Does anyone have any other alternative to the Zildjian set up? Are there other companies should look at? I know Istanbul and Bosphorus make killer jazz rides. I love the sound of jazz rides that can handle a rock situation. I also prefer a darker crashable ride sound and relatively bright crash sounds.

Do any of you guys think that I should just buy individual cymbals and avoid the pack so I can select each component?

I know I obviously should be playing all of these cymbals first to make sure they're okay, but I'm rather busy with school so I don't have the time to go to a shop and test cymbals for a few hours. The local music supercenter is over 70 miles away from me, and the local shop only has A Customs, a few A's, and some Alchemy Cymbals, which I've never heard of, and like 2 or 3 used sabian AA things. I'm a lost excuse for a drummer and I have no idea what I'm doing.

[Homeularis]

Did you call all the places that I listed?.
Someond should have a A or A Custom cymbal pack for you.
I cant believe none of them do.

I would just buy the pack. I LOVE mine.
From what your saying, it sounds perfect for you.
But hey, thats just my opinion.
Do what your gut says to do.