[Bo Eder]

Here I am showing my age - Meinl has been around for years. They were a relatively new name about 15 years ago, I believe the Raker was their first true professional cymbal, but over time they've created all kinds of nice sounding cymbals. I believe Thomas Lang was even using them (probably still does, even though he just went to DW).

The hard part, I believe, is that once you get to their upper pro lines, the price differences aren't that great, so alot of people probably just save up a bit more to go with one of the big three. A tougher economic thing is that the big three can discount heavily to attract buyers, whereas I believe Meinl's are probably right where they're at price-wise because of a lower mark-up. They aren't really prominent yet in stores like Guitar Center here in SoCal, but if you can find them, they do sound good.

Anyone here remember when there were only TWO cymbal companies to choose from? How 'bout when there was only the big FOUR different drum manufacturers (Ludwig, Slingerland, Rogers, and Gretsch)? Ah, the good ol' days!

[kylemiller@telus.net]

I bought a set of Meinl "Soundwave" cast bronze classic Hi hats a few years ago as a practice alternative to expensive Paiste Sound Edge hats, which I had broken. I compared them side by side in a music store and could barely tell the difference! I've used them ever since and they sound beautiful.

Kyle Miller, Vancouver

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