Cymbals with a specific kit

moojii

Senior Member
Hey y’all

just back to drumming after a lay off and have picked myself up a lovely little Sonor player kit.
I think I’m going with hats, 1 crash and ride on such a little kit.

Question is. With a poplar kit would bright or dark cymbals suit it best.

Cheers .
 
The relationship between shell composition and cymbal frequency is meaningless to me. You can alter your drum sound through heads and tuning. Cymbals aren't quite as amenable to adaptation.

Do you want bright or dark cymbals? Cymbals that cut or ones that blend? Answer those two questions and purchase as appropriate.
 
Hi Moojii,

Welcome back. Always great to see someone picking up the sticks again.

Personally I like darker cymbals more, but I have some dark, some bright and some in between. It's really up to you.
Maybe a crashable ride is worth considering for a small setup. But your kit will sound great with any cymbals.
What sort of cymbals do you like best?
 
Hi Moojii,

Welcome back. Always great to see someone picking up the sticks again.

Personally I like darker cymbals more, but I have some dark, some bright and some in between. It's really up to you.
Maybe a crashable ride is worth considering for a small setup. But your kit will sound great with any cymbals.
What sort of cymbals do you like best?
Hey

started off years ago loving the brights. AAX etc but as I’ve mellowed I started to gravitate to darks.

nowhere really around my way to try any out.
 
For dark, i like Meinl. But not their actual Byzance Dark line.

most people consider their Byzance line as a whole to be “darker”, but I personally don’t think it’s that dark. Check it out, though. Might be what you’re after. The dual series is amazing. Not a huge fan of the way they look, but the sound and feel is unmatched IME.

Zildjian’s K custom darks aren’t all that dark to me, but definitely more tame than their other offerings. They also got some K Special Dry cymbals available. You can check those out too.

as for Sabian, I’ve never had any experience with them. But they are always kinda bright and clangy IMO. They have that new HHX Complex line, that’s supposed to be a little more… well, complex. And “dark”.

Larger sizes could also be a consideration. I personally like to stay 18”+.
 
Yeah, pretty much anything will work. It's more important for the cymbals to be appropriate for the music you want to play than for them to somehow pair with the drums.
 
Hey y’all

just back to drumming after a lay off and have picked myself up a lovely little Sonor player kit.
I think I’m going with hats, 1 crash and ride on such a little kit.

...... bright or dark cymbals suit it best.
I prefer dark ...... and that's irregardless of wood type. Don't let "poplar" influence you.;) Get whatever you want.
 
Why don't you just ask this in your existing thread? That would be easier for everyone involved. :)
 
My stereotypes would be maple (Ludwig) with Zildjians, birch (Premier) with Paiste, 80's rock drums with Sabian, because that's what those British rock drummers tend(ed) to play. ;)
Honestly there's no such rule that certain woods go with certain cymbals. I use Ludwig drums with Zildjian and Paiste cymbals, and plan to throw some Wuhan into the mix as well. I'd say Paistes are more "focussed", kind of like regular Zildjian K's but brighter. Zildjian A's are looser, K's are more focussed but Keropes and K Cons are looser again (and darker).
With a small, 2-cymbals-only kit, I'd get a crashable ride and a rideable crash for maximum versatility. Cymbals like Paiste 2002 Mediums, 602 Mediums and Heavies, A Zildjian Crash Rides (same as Medium Crashes), Medium Rides and Sweet Rides are solid choices for this type of sound.
 
Paiste Masters. They sound nice.
 
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Could check out the ZIldjian City Pack. Little drums w/ little cymbals. I've played this pack and they all sound good, especially hats and ride, and the 18 ride is definitely more ride than crash w/ a dry 'tah' great for groove base music. And the 12" hats are fun and funky. If you want to 'rock out', you are not going to get Bonzo swagger anyways. These little kits in my experience, though fun, don't project as well as normal kits and poplar is not very dense so don't want to over-power too much.

 
Do you like cherry pie, apple pie or cheesecake?
The same applies to instruments. Pick whatever flavour you like.
I play mostly (progressive) rock/metal and if i should follow the definitions of the companies i should be playing Paiste Rudes, Zildjian A Heavies or Meinl Classics Custom Extreme Metal etc. But i favour thin, washy and jazzy cymbals and got a couple of those. Follow your ears :)
 
Going with hats plus two cymbals, suggest you make those two cymbals multi-purpose. Crashable-rides or rideable-crashes. Something like a medium to medium-thin 22" ride, and a thin 20" crash/ride.

Start by figuring out what sounds good to you. Don't get hung up on any branding re genre or use. If you dig the sound of cymbal, buy it.

If local stores don't carry much of a selection, YouTube channels for Memphis Drum Shop (aka mycymbal.com), and Drum Center of Portsmouth are great for comparing cymbals. Boston Drum Center and Timpano Percussion also have some good comparison videos.

Playing technique can limit or expand the sound pallete of a cymbal. If a specific cymbal stikes your fancy, search for other demos of that cymbal being played by different people. Note the weight on the videos you really like. If you end up ordering, ask for something in that weight range. I cannot speak to every company, but I have been really lucky/happy with every Meinl cymbal I have ordered this way.
 
I like both for various reasons. I think you might to once you do some (headphone) youtubing. If you are anything like me you'll lose a bit of sleep over this one.
 
I sort of have this type of OCD with my kits.
Through the forum you can see pics of my kits that are using this ‘guideline’.

I thought of the cymbal types available for those kits at the time and gave it a go, it works for me.

Of course it’s all controlled environment and nothing moves in/out routinely for gigs and sessions.
I’d dare not ask anyone here this type of thing, like asking for x product advice way too many answers.

For instance:
I will use my AA/HH for my Rogers jasper kit larger mult-use cymbals 21” ride, 22” crash.

For my Pearl birch/mahog, it’s the AAX/HHX combo, but I use no crashes larger than 20” though right now I have 22” AA crash/ride for ride that I LOVE.

With my Ludwig Vista anything goes.
 
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