your most regretful cymbal purchase?

**Der Trommler** · #31 (**permalink**) 03-28-2010, 12:38 PM

Never trust a recording of any cymbal (or drum for that matter) as the way it will sound when you hit one in person. Recordings can be manipulated to make them sound better. I use the demos as a place to start my search, they let me know which cymbals I would be interested in hitting so I don't waste hours slapping everything in the store.

As Luke said, five of the same identical cymbals will have five completely different sounds. That is why we tell you to hit them in person before buying them.

As far as Zildjian goes, they make very good cymbals but I have had no luck myself finding any that have the sound I prefer with the exception of a ride. I can feel your pain.

resonut · #32 (**permalink**) 03-28-2010, 02:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luke

I think your problem is just that no two cymbals are alike! I listened to 5 sabian aaxplosion crashes and none of them sounded the same.

I believe thats true with Zildjian especially, never buy until you try. Ive also played sabians AAexplosion crash cymbals and the consistancy is far greater than say the Avedis zildjian line. Paistes consistancy is flat out remarkable from what ive experienced over 15 years. Im just done with zildjian PERIOD. I had a gut feeling not to purchase this ride from past experience and i should have listened to that small voice. In conclusion ive yet to be disappointed with a mail order upper line Paiste EVER. I could smack myself in the face for this

.

littlekid · #33 (**permalink**) 06-05-2010, 11:34 AM

My Worst Cymbals Ever came with my first Set, Which was a mapex tornado 5 piece. It came with the standard no name cymbals, and the hi-hats used to invert if played too hard.

But more recently, since I've gotten a full new set, The worst one of purchased as a stand-alone, was a 16'' Mienl MCS Crash - It sound just as bad as the Solar Sabian it replaced - Choked the second you hit it. It was horrid. I've since replaced it with a cymbal that reads "Argent" - but have no idea of it's origin or where it came from.

K-SOLO · #34 (**permalink**) 03-06-2011, 06:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by resonut

I believe thats true with Zildjian especially, never buy until you try. Ive also played sabians AAexplosion crash cymbals and the consistancy is far greater than say the Avedis zildjian line. Paistes consistancy is flat out remarkable from what ive experienced over 15 years. Im just done with zildjian PERIOD. I had a gut feeling not to purchase this ride from past experience and i should have listened to that small voice. In conclusion ive yet to be disappointed with a mail order upper line Paiste EVER. I could smack myself in the face for this

.

I'm with u,Reso...The Paiste "Rock Alpha's" are simply "delicious!

Andy B · #35 (**permalink**) 03-06-2011, 05:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by straightaway

well
since i brought my first and so far only drumkit
in 1994 ive been using the same cymbals i brought which are meinl meteors.
one 20 inch ride
one 16 inch crash
and a set of 14 inch top and bottom hi hat cymbals.
i can honestly say that since the day i brought them they have never sounded as cymbals should.
for one thing the crash is just too heavy so that when i hit it with a drumstick instead of reacting with a clear crash sound, it reacts with a dead muffled kind of sound which cant be right for a crash cymbal?
the ride is even worse!
again the sound is dull and muffled no matter what stick i use, and trying to crash with the ride is impossible because you basically get no sound.
i mean the sound is there but its as if they made the ride too heavy so that when you hit it the only sound you get is anything but a crash sound.
even though i know that proberly doesnt make sense because there are heavy rides that ride good and crash too
but my one doesnt.
they are worse than crap.
and last but not least the hi hat cymbals.
they just dont sound right
trying to ride with them is impossible because there is just such a horrible sound which is overpowering.
i basically cant afford the prices of other cymbals
i dont earn enough money for a start.
so i guess that i will always end up going for so called budget packs which means basically cymbals that look like cymbals but sound nothing like a cymbal should.
last year i brought some zildjian rock dip drumsticks only to find that they just sound terrible on my meinls!
using them on my ride sounds so horrible it breaks my heart.
i mean ok the stick head is alot bigger than my jazz plastic tip ones
therefore there is bound to be a difference in sound when the stick hits the cymbal.
but i still think meinl meteor cymbals aint worth anyones cash.
come on share your horror stories about the cymbals you regret buying.

16" crash A solarish or solar it split and peeled all the way around.....all it is good for is nailing it to Justin Biebers head with a six inch nail.....which i would gladly do

slingerland59 · #36 (**permalink**) 06-04-2011, 02:36 AM

I bought a Jack Dejohnette signature Sabian ride -- dark, no grooves. It has exactly the sound I like. Amazing. I'll never give it up. At the same time I bought a matching crash. It sounded like sh#t -- way too thick and heavy. It didn't ring at all. For years I pretended it was a nice dark contrast to my other cymbals and I kept setting it up, only to hit it once or twice a night in the middle of a guitar solo or something. I finally traded it in a year ago for some used hardware. There's no use pretending. Some cymbals sound like crap even if they are beautifully made and ridiculously expensive.

drumtech · #37 (**permalink**) 06-04-2011, 11:51 AM

2 new Sabian Crashes - 16" and 18", Spring 1989 tour in support of a release. They were both high end, whatever that line was called - and sounded great. Both cracked within the first few dates. Fortunately the dealer in Atlanta where I purchased them overnighted two Zildjian replacements, and a Paiste to try - I still have them, no cracks.

Haven't touched Sabian Cymbals since. Will not recommend them.

jonestix · #38 (**permalink**) 06-04-2011, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by straightaway

well
since i brought my first and so far only drumkit
in 1994 ive been using the same cymbals i brought which are meinl meteors.
one 20 inch ride
one 16 inch crash
and a set of 14 inch top and bottom hi hat cymbals.
i can honestly say that since the day i brought them they have never sounded as cymbals should.
for one thing the crash is just too heavy so that when i hit it with a drumstick instead of reacting with a clear crash sound, it reacts with a dead muffled kind of sound which cant be right for a crash cymbal?
the ride is even worse!
again the sound is dull and muffled no matter what stick i use, and trying to crash with the ride is impossible because you basically get no sound.
i mean the sound is there but its as if they made the ride too heavy so that when you hit it the only sound you get is anything but a crash sound.
even though i know that proberly doesnt make sense because there are heavy rides that ride good and crash too
but my one doesnt.
they are worse than crap.
and last but not least the hi hat cymbals.
they just dont sound right
trying to ride with them is impossible because there is just such a horrible sound which is overpowering.
i basically cant afford the prices of other cymbals
i dont earn enough money for a start.
so i guess that i will always end up going for so called budget packs which means basically cymbals that look like cymbals but sound nothing like a cymbal should.
last year i brought some zildjian rock dip drumsticks only to find that they just sound terrible on my meinls!
using them on my ride sounds so horrible it breaks my heart.
i mean ok the stick head is alot bigger than my jazz plastic tip ones
therefore there is bound to be a difference in sound when the stick hits the cymbal.
but i still think meinl meteor cymbals aint worth anyones cash.
come on share your horror stories about the cymbals you regret buying.

Then why don't you get on you local Craigslist and buy some good cymbals? I live in a relatively small drumming community, OKC, and there are great deals to be had here almost daily. If you live in one of the bigger metro areas, you should be able to dump the garbage you own and get some really nice stuff. Right now, Wuhan has a really smoking deal on a relatively new design, they are called "Western Traditional" Google them and you can buy a complete set, 14" hats, 16" crash and 20" ride for less than 200. They are B20 alloy, hand hammered and are quite a bit lighter than the Meteor stamped and folded crap. I can't believe someone would play trash cymbals for almost 20 years when there are always C/L and other means of buying and trading cymbals and drums. Save up and buy them one at a time of that is the only way you can do it, but get rid of the garbage. What kind of drums are playing? Sound Percussion? Something similar to them? It may be time to upgrade them as well. Even a vintage set of 60s-70s Japanese drums sound better than those. Even in many cases they out perform Pearl Exports and the like. Many people ave no idea the wonderful sounds these old MIJ drums make. It takes a bit of work to get the up to modern standards, but that is what I am here for, to help others understand that they can make minor changes to even the cheapest crap drums and they instantly sound a world apart from what they were mere moments ago. Again, these are drums that can be had for, in many cases, less than 100 bucks on your local C/L if you live in an area that has a fairly reasonable sized city close at hand. If you would like the opinion of an internationally recognized historian on the subject of MIJ drums of that era, you are more than welcome to email me from the email function in your User CP.
This site is run by people that sell modern era junk drums, and this post may be deleted quickly so get my email ASAP and contact me and I will help you any way I can.