I bought this exact pack for my gigging kit. But note, they’re 15” K Light Hi Hats, not 14”. It’s a great setup, though I ended up swapping my 15s for 14” K Hats. Nothing wrong with the 15s, I’m just not a “big hi hat” kind of guy (to me, anything larger than 14” just feels sluggish).Memphis drum shop has a K cymbal set of their own which consists of:
14" K Light Hats
17 and 19 K Dark Thin Crashes
and a 22 K Light Ride
for 979.99.
I think its a steal!!
Hi, Squirrel Man. What is it about your K hats that you haven't warmed up to yet? I had a set years ago and could never get on board with them. They were just too dark and dry for my taste, but I prefer glassier, brighter cymbals.Hats are ok, still getting used to them.
Yeah, any transition can require a stage of adjustment. Ks are great cymbals. They're just not my ideal sound as a rule. Give those new hats some time. You might end up liking them. If not, you can always sell them should you want something brighter.Right, just that - darker and not as crisp as I might otherwise like. Too much bell sound if that makes sense.
20 years ago I had Zildjian hats, 14's and don't remember which ones but I don't recall ever looking at them and wondering about the sound, they just worked.
The cheap brass Meinl hats I was using previously seemed fine for what I was doing and I want to go back to them to see if I'm not suffering from cognitive error.
Things sound different after you play them for a while, like a brain adjustment thing.
Nothing wrong with owning more than one set of hats.I don't think I'm going to get rid of them right now, they're really ok for what I'm doing. Piecing a little band together maybe right now but I have the stuff I need right now. Down the road if/when I want to adjust things maybe.
Like you said, they're great hats and they are ok, really. I need to be playing more and judging personal tastes less.
Same here. If it sounds good I'll hit it. I never understood why I must use cymbals in a specific fashion. It's like assigning foods to silverware. I'll eat ice cream from a cup with a fork if I want to.A cymbal is no more versatile than the drummer who plays it. I reject the premise that cymbals are geared toward specific genres.
You're right about the unknowns of buying Zildjian B20 cymbals blind. It's rare for two identical ones to sound alike. Zildjian's casting process involves a lot of uncontrollable properties.A good cymbal combined with a good drummer equals a great sound that you can use for any genre.
I'd steer away from cymbal packs with B20 cymbals, when you're buying Zildjians no 2 sound alike unless your going for the S series which are a different alloy. I've heard K's that just sound crap. If you're laying down hard earned cash you wanna be wowed with what you walk away with.
I use K Dark Thin Crashes 19" & 20", I play 99.9% pop and rock and they do it in style but I picked them individually, same with the hats which are 15" K Lights but they only just edged out some 15" New Beats. There's far too many K rides to choose from and that's real personal choice!
I'm certainly not positing that Zildjian makes bad cymbals. The casting process naturally lends itself to variation. That's one reason it's celebrated. Many players admire the individual character that emerges from the casting cauldron.Just my opinion of course but I think a bit too much is made of this "no two Zildjians sound alike" thing.
Naturally, no two cymbals will sound identical, but two Zildjians in the same family, made the same way will sound much more alike than different. That is to say, if you hear a Zildjian 18" crash cymbal on YouTube that you like, go ahead and order the darn thing because what you're going to get will be pretty close to what you heard in the clip, all things being equal.
I'm completely comfortable buying cymbals unseen and unheard because I buy higher end items that are virtually guaranteed to be great. Sure, I would be super fussy if I was Ash Soan looking for a specific sound for the next Adele record, but I'm just a schmuck playing in basements and bars. The Zildjians that leave the factory are all pretty darn great and pretty darn consistent. At least, that has been my experience.
Then there's the whole playing in thing which is an argument for another day!You're right about the unknowns of buying Zildjian B20 cymbals blind. It's rare for two identical ones to sound alike. Zildjian's casting process involves a lot of uncontrollable properties.
I've encountered perfect predictability with Zildjian's S Family, which is far more reminiscent of Paiste lines than it is of anything else Zildjian is making at the moment.
Dude I'm definitely a fellow schmuck! I've bought a lot of Paiste blind but I use cast Zildjian because of the character you get and you gotta find that in person before spending K money.I'm completely comfortable buying cymbals unseen and unheard because I buy higher end items that are virtually guaranteed to be great. Sure, I would be super fussy if I was Ash Soan looking for a specific sound for the next Adele record, but I'm just a schmuck playing in basements and bars. The Zildjians that leave the factory are all pretty darn great and pretty darn consistent. At least, that has been my experience.
As always, cymbal preferences are similar to taste buds. We like what we like, and there's little we can do about it. Were I to leave the S Family behind, I'd probably go back to Paiste, which I played for many years. Otherwise, I'd go with Zildjian A Customs. I like more glass from my cymbals than darkness.Then there's the whole playing in thing which is an argument for another day!
Dude I'm definitely a fellow schmuck! I've bought a lot of Paiste blind but I use cast Zildjian because of the character you get and you gotta find that in person before spending K money.
Call me a fussy schmuck![]()
I'd say that's a fair claim to make. Again, it all comes down to the sound you're looking for and the degree of variance with which you're comfortable. Those factors will differ for every drummer.Unless you're looking for a really specific sound, you're pretty safe with Zildjian as a whole and even more so with Zildjian Ks in particular.