PAISTE PROTOTYPE CYMBALS?!?!?

I just bought a 22 inch Prototype ride and got a 20 inch China for free. The ride was priced at $348 but I got GC to drop that to $313, so I paid about $155 for each ( a real bargain for Paiste quality in my opinion). The ride is awesome, it's very heavy and has a huge bell that's brown & unfinished, the rest of the ride is brilliant finished. I love the sound of this ride! It's very bright, and because it's so heavy the stick definition is very pronounced. It has an extremely long decay with a very pleasant ringing tone. And the large bell is *extremely* loud and piercing, very high pitch and also has excellent tone. I've never heard of Paiste prototypes before. The guy at GC said it's cymbals that Paiste don't have in a regular line for some reason, which makes each one of them almost a one-of-a-kind, which I find very appealing. I wasn't even looking for a ride but was killing time while my girlfriend shopped for clothes next door, hehehee. Played it a little and was immediately hooked. Can't wait to play it out at a club date with my band. Oh yeah, the free 20inch China I got is also fabulous. I've never had a China before even though I've been playing for over 40 years, can u believe it hahaha. I read some other posters here who said GC regards these cymbals almost as trash, hard to believe. Of course I may have just gotten lucky with these 2, they were the only Prototypes in the store.
 
At my Guitar Center (East Brunswick, New Jersey) They had buy one Paiste Prototype, get the second one free (of equal or lesser value)

They sounded ok. If I had the money I would have focused on geting a crash, or they had these really cool 13" Hi-hats that sounded interesting. But I dont have $. ha =(

-MarkyMark
 
I saw a handful of varieties at GC. One was a black coated 20 china that looked like 2oo2 Wild hammering patterns. The most notable was the china/wuhan style bell rather than a Turkish bell.

I scooped up some T20 prototype 12in hats. They were very cool sounding. They look very similar to my other Twentys but had more peen hammering on them than my 13 Twentys. The sound is very quick and tight, and the size brightens up the dark tone of the alloy.

For me, it was a steal for some aux hats at $113.
 

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i have what i was told is a paiste 2006 prototype 14" hi hat
apparently its b8 alloys and is similar to the 2002's
thing is i have no idea what i paid for them or where to find any more
im trying to sell these but have no idea how much they are
 
you can't go wrong with the Prototypes as long as they sound good to YOUR ears. i tested a few at GC and would have had NO problem buying them if i had the $$$$!!!!
 
As you can see, this is my first, and likely, only post on this forum. I discovered this thread because I was looking for a 22" Paiste prototype ride for a friend. I couldn't find one on Ebay, so I did a google search and found this. I bought a 22" prototype ride in Denver this past January. I was out there visiting my GF's family and doing some snowboarding. On one occasion, my GF and her aunt went to get manicures, pedicures, and whatever else you get "cured" when you're a female with finances. I had them drop me off at guitar center before they went to the girly shop. I had no intention of buying anything, but when I heard that thing, I was done. I had them mail the one that was on the floor back to Ohio for me. I wouldn't recommend this cymbal to heavy hitters, as the wash can be overbearing if you can't control it. But for advanced players, this cymbal is VERY versatile. It has the best bell sound I've heard, the best crash sound I've heard from a ride, a great trashy wash that has the potential to be amazing if you have good control. Three weeks ago, I played a gig at in Marblehead, Ohio (for any NW Ohio cats out there). A piano player I work a lot with wrote a Cantata for Tenor, Soprano, Jazz Quartet, SATB, strings, and brass. Its a pretty bad ass piece, but that's neither here, nor there. I used the prototype ride as a suspended cymbal at the end of the last movement. The thing just TEARED through the place. I've never heard a cymbal sound so good on so many different things.

I also have experience with the 20" prototype ride. Everything I've said about the 22" can be said about the 20". I wont speak for the hats, crashes, or splashes, as I haven't heard them. But if you get a chance to buy a prototype ride, do it. Better yet, don't, but send me a message letting me know where I can acquire it.
 
I have about 25 cymbals from the big 3 plus a dream, wuhan....... my favorite crash is a paiste prototype
19" crash its a T20 which I am told means "twenty proto" . The twenty line is my favorite of any cymbal out there, whereas a 2K2 would be 2002. I would scoop up as many T20 as I could afford if they were available to me. Paiste does great things with the B20 formula 602's & sound creation are some of the most sought after cymbals on ebay and if history tells us anything when Paiste makes a B20 1. Its a great cymbal and 2. They won't be in production for too long.
 
The T20's are amazing sounding. Don't ring long after like many crashes. I like the crashes and 12" splash. For Rides I like Amedia, if you haven't heard them or played them google/youtube them or find a retailer near you. I like the Sabian B20's(which are now Neil Peart's signature series for Sabian) and any old hollowed logo Avedis from the 70's too. I've been playing since I was 14 and the stuff in the last few years there coming out with just blows my mind! If anyone's selling there T20's let me know. You can never have enough snares or cymbals, right!!!!!
 
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any Paiste prototypes i've heard at GC always sounded good to me.
 
I bought a paiste prototype from my drum teacher. It's a 20" china. It doesn't say prototype but i got it confirmed by Paiste that it is a signature prototype that was made in 2005. It is a beautiful cymbal and has no signs of wear. It was appraised at $500 and was the best investment of my career, and for only $50. Prototypes are worth the investment.
 
Notwithstanding my support of Mom and Pop music stores, The Guitar Center Stick Club is a great idea. I hit two different GCs in So Cal in the last two months. As soon as I buy my new sticks, like most of us, I smack every cymbal in the place. ..and there it was... the most original, dark,dry 20" out of them all. It was a Paiste Prototype. Marked down from $265 to $99. I scooped it up. It's my favorite ride next to the Sabian Jack DeJohnette Sinature 20" that's been my A ride for 20 years. This Paiste has been machine or hand hammered all over to where the shine is ground off in all the spots. Even on the printed logo. It's got an amazing garbage can / Tony Williams thing about it. What a score !
 
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Does GC still do this paiste prototype thing?

I go there fairly often and I've neither seen, nor heard of it.
 
I just picked up a used 18" Paiste Signature Prototype for only $114 at GC. It has been awhile since I've owned a Paiste cymbal. It's in great condition and the crash is full, not too bright with a medium wash. The tone is deep and it is very rideable. And it blends well with my other cymbals, which is important. I'm going to try it out on my gig tonight and leave the A Custom and AAX's at home.

Edit: I played it tonight and man this cymbal did a great job. It's a perfect stage crash because it sounds good at all levels of dynamics and gets louder than my 20" Amir crash. I think I got lucky finding this one. Great crash.
 

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