Need some cymbal recommendations.

R

RaxCity

Senior Member
Hey guys, I am looking for some recommendations on cymbals to buy. I am thinking of buying another crash and a new ride cymbal. Here's my current setup:

13" Istanbul agop xist hi hats
16" Zildjian medium thin crash
20" Sabian XS20 ride

I play mostly unmiced at church so I don't want anything too loud or bright. I'm thinking of getting an 18" crash, probably a zildjian a or a custom, but any other suggestions are welcome. For a ride I'm looking at the zildjian 22" a medium ride, but I just listened to stairway to heaven and I really like the ride sound on that song, so something similar to that would be pretty cool.

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to all your suggestions.

Rax.
 
I think Bonham was playing a 22" Paiste Giant Beat on that song. It's a good sounding, versatile ride that is very crashable.
 
Also, another cymbal I was thinking about is the Paiste 18" Giant Beat as a crash, but since it's B8, I'm not sure how well it will fit with the rest of my cymbals that are B20.
 
RaxCity said:
I play mostly unmiced at church so I don't want anything too loud or bright. I'm thinking of getting an 18" crash, probably a zildjian a or a custom, but any other suggestions are welcome. For a ride I'm looking at the zildjian 22" a medium ride,
Click to expand...

I would say all the ones you list qualify as 'bright'. You may wish to look at the K line or the HH or HHX line in Sabian, somewhat darker.

IMO there is no such thing as 'too loud' a cymbal. The volume will be up to you, in your hands, how you play it in any setting.
 
If you're looking from something brighter than the Sabian(I have an XS ride too),I would look at the Agop Ist since you already have a pair of their hats.
I've got a 21" that is definitely brighter and more "A" sounding than the Sabian.
 
opentune said:
I would say all the ones you list qualify as 'bright'. You may wish to look at the K line or the HH or HHX line in Sabian, somewhat darker.

IMO there is no such thing as 'too loud' a cymbal. The volume will be up to you, in your hands, how you play it in any setting.
Click to expand...

I think what I meant is that I don't want anything brighter than my A crash, because I tried some 2002 crashes at a store and they definitely sounded brighter and louder than my crash. I know that volume is more to do with the player than the cymbal, but I prefer the softer sound of thin or medium thin crashes to heavy crashes. That's why I will probably look at zildjian A 18" medium thin or thin crashes, as well as the paiste giant beat 18", which definitely seems like a thin, quieter cymbal.

Since K's and HHX's are a fair amount more expensive than A's or AAX's, I'd prefer to look at A's, but probably thinner, lower pitched models.
 
I saw a good deal on a Paiste Signature 18" Fast Crash for a similar price to zildjian A's, so I'd be really interested as to how well that crash, as well as the Paiste Giant Beat 18", would go with my other B20 cymbals, since I know that both Sigs and GBs are different alloys.
 
Thin crashes and medium rides would be perfect for versatile, not too heavy, not too expensive, nice sounding cymbals. The brand and range is less important that the weight.
 
RaxCity said:
For a ride I'm looking at the zildjian 22" a medium ride, but I just listened to stairway to heaven and I really like the ride sound on that song, so something similar to that would be pretty cool.
Click to expand...

If you're looking at an A 22 Medium Ride, check out the 22 K Dark Medium Ride too if you can find one. I had both for a while, but sold the A Medium as the the K Dark Medium does everything I wanted from the A Med, and better (IMO). It has a nice ping, and a little more wash with better crashability. Both have great bells.

(... and I have used the K Dark Med to play Stairway, haha! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zit-2zGldQ )
 
Last edited:
RaxCity, this year, Paiste has added 19", 22", and 26" sizes to its Giant Beat line of cymbals.

Maybe the 22" is right for you?
 
I've had the regular Paiste 2002 24" ride, the Giant Beat 24" and the 2002 Big Al Reverend 24" ride. The regular 2002 is too heavy and pingy for Bonham noises, the 24" Giant beat too lacking in stick definition although the warm wash is kinda nice. The Reverend Big Al 2002 24", whatever it's called is the one you want for getting as close to Bonzo's ride sound as possible IMO. What it is is a bit thinner 2002 ride that has Giant Beat hammering and lathing as I recall. Plenty of stick definition with the low wash and great crash-ability the normal 2002 ride lacks. Seeing as how I liked all versions of reissue 20" Giant Beat multi's I'd love to get my hands on the 22" version if it's not as washy as the 24" GB.
 
Slammintone said:
I've had the regular Paiste 2002 24" ride, the Giant Beat 24" and the 2002 Big Al Reverend 24" ride. The regular 2002 is too heavy and pingy for Bonham noises, the 24" Giant beat too lacking in stick definition although the warm wash is kinda nice. The Reverend Big Al 2002 24", whatever it's called is the one you want for getting as close to Bonzo's ride sound as possible IMO. What it is is a bit thinner 2002 ride that has Giant Beat hammering and lathing as I recall. Plenty of stick definition with the low wash and great crash-ability the normal 2002 ride lacks. Seeing as how I liked all versions of reissue 20" Giant Beat multi's I'd love to get my hands on the 22" version if it's not as washy as the 24" GB.
Click to expand...

I just had a listen to those rides and I liked them all, but I feel like there should be something in between the regular 2002 ride and the rev al big ride, since the 2002 ride is too heavy and pingy and the rev al big ride is too thin and doesn't have enough definition. That's why I'm leaning more towards a zildjian for my ride.
 
If you want to try Zildjians then do try the 22" K Lite or K Light ride, whatever it's called. Worked wonderfully as does my Bos Traditional 22" Thin ride. Neither is too light nor too trashy for rock and both stand up to a good smacking without the wash getting away from you.
 
RaxCity said:
Also, another cymbal I was thinking about is the Paiste 18" Giant Beat as a crash, but since it's B8, I'm not sure how well it will fit with the rest of my cymbals that are B20.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't sweat it too much. The best bet is to bring those cymbals to the store with you so you won't be picking a cymbal that's too close to what you have now.

I did a recording with some extra dry Meinls and a Paiste B8 china. That combo shouldn't work together at all, and it didn't sound all that great at my ears, but under the mic it was perfect.
 
Alright guys, I think I found the cymbals I am looking for. After listening to a bunch of cymbals on mycymbal.com, I think I'll probably get an Istanbul Agop 18" crash and a 21" medium ride. They sounded really good to my ears, not too bright, not too loud, and a pretty good price as well. Cheers for all the help guys!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top