New cymbals - PAISTE Twenty and MEINL Byzance

dynomike · Post by **dynomike** » Tue Dec 23, 2008 3:26 pm

I just tried out of some of these new cymbal lines from two companies which I usually dislike. Both lines are awesome! The Meinl's can have a bit of a trashy Wuhan type sound but its actually cool... I played a Paiste Twenty 18" crash today which sounded just phenomenal, blew away the K customs that they had in stock at GC (I'm in Florida now on vacation). I think I'm gonna have to go pick it up, my self imposed $200 cymbal price cap be damned.

Also tried a K custom 22" medium ride which was very balanced and versatile... probably the best new ride I've heard (I usually go for the old A's since I'm very cheap). I'm gonna pick that up when I have some more cash too. 2009 will be a year of cymbals.

-Mike

Sean Sullivan · Post by **Sean Sullivan** » Tue Dec 23, 2008 4:23 pm

I'll have to hear the 20 series, I have a pair of Paiste Signature Dark Crisp hi-hat I won with a drum set at an estate auction that I really like. I used to have a set of Sabian Paragon which were nice, I disliked the ride a lot, so I'm in the market for a new ride and a couple crashes.

percussion boy · Post by **percussion boy** » Wed Dec 24, 2008 1:13 am

dynomike wrote:Also tried a K custom 22" medium ride which was very balanced and versatile... probably the best new ride I've heard

Zildjian's doing the Lord's work with the American K's, both the jazzy ones and the poppy ones. You can choose the flavor you need, and although the price is high it's not impossible.

If they were vintage, or handmade by elves, or seasoned in vats of cognac, people would be all over them.

kinger · Post by **kinger** » Wed Dec 24, 2008 3:17 am

I don't really have the coin for real cymbals, but I finally ditched my cheap stamped Zildjians and picked up a set of hand-hammered, cast Dream cymbals for my little studio kit. For under C$400 for five pieces, it's hard to believe how good they sound; my drum sound has definitely achieved the next level in quality.

cgarges · Post by **cgarges** » Wed Dec 24, 2008 9:30 am

I'm an absolutely die-hard Paiste guy. I mean, I own a few choice Zildjians and some other stuff, but for the most part, I'm a big Paiste fan. I also happen to own a bunch of older, discontinued Paistes made of B20 alloy, so when they Twenty series came out, I was really jazzed until I heard them. To me, the rides and crashes seemed kind of clunky.

I did actually buy a pair of 14" Twenty hi hats when they first came out last year and I really do like those. I wanted something that I could really get into and take out on the road without fear of them being lost or stolen or broken. (My favorite sets of hi hats for years had all been discontinued Paistes.) I'm really happy with the 14" hats, although now that they've got some lighter-weight Twenties out, I'm curious about trying those. I think a little more subtlety in that hats would be nice and I'm convinced that they could get around to making some really cool crashes and rides if they work at it a bit more.

I also just picked up a 20" Twenty Prototype ride in the recent Guitar Center Paiste Prototype sale and I like it a lot. The quality of sound is really dependent on stick type and I really dig it for quiet playing, but I think they're on to something with this stuff. I hope they expand the line quickly.

I've also always dug the Meinl stuff a lot. One of my favorite cymbals that I own is actually a Kent Super 21.5" cymbal made in the Meinl factory in Germany probably in the 60s or 70s. It's a very ECM-sounding cymbal, but none of the other Kent Supers I've played have sounded that good.

Back when I worked at a drum shop in the mid 90s, Meinl was DESTROYING the competition for good-sounding entry-level cymbals. After hearing them at a PASIC show or a NAMM show or something, I got our store set up as a Meinl dealer and we sold a TON of those cymbals and hand percussion stuff. They were also a really awesome company to deal with.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

PeterSawatzky · Post by **PeterSawatzky** » Wed Dec 24, 2008 5:14 pm

older, discontinued Paistes made of B20 alloy

+1 for Formula 602's. I just completed my set of pre-serials (14" hats, 18" crash, 20" ride) and they're just brilliant.

cgarges · Post by **cgarges** » Wed Dec 24, 2008 9:49 pm

Oh yeah. I've got a bunch of 602s and Sound Creations that I love.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

Sean Sullivan · Post by **Sean Sullivan** » Wed Dec 24, 2008 10:26 pm

Chris the only cymbals I have at the moment is a pair of Paiste Signature Dark Crisp Hi-Hats and I'd like a ride and two crashes to be my "studio" cymbals, in case I work with an drummer who only has Sabian B8s or something. What is something affordable (I'm not paying vintage prices) that is a good all arounder. Used A Customs are very reasonable, sometimes I can find a decent deal on a K, but I don't know much about Paiste. I had a set of Sabian Paragon, which is about as nice as Sabian gets, but I wasn't a huge fan.

Judas Jetski · Post by **Judas Jetski** » Thu Dec 25, 2008 12:30 pm

percussion boy wrote:If they were vintage, or handmade by elves, or seasoned in vats of cognac, people would be all over them.

BWA-hah ahaha ha ahahahahahaha *snort* hahahahahahahahahahaha! That's freakin' beautiful.

I got an A Zildj. 18" medium crash a couple years ago. It's beautiful. I auditioned a set of 13" Zildj cheapie hi-hats at the same time, I forget which line, but it was one of the "guaranteed-to-be-awful" ones. Anyway, they sounded spectacular! I went somewhere else to try another pair, didn't like them as much, came back to get these ones and someone else had bought them. D'Oh!

Sorry, I realize I'm a little off topic. But it's cymbals, which are by nature very exciting.

Heh... elves.... cognac... hehe..

cgarges · Post by **cgarges** » Thu Dec 25, 2008 9:36 pm

minorleagues wrote:Chris the only cymbals I have at the moment is a pair of Paiste Signature Dark Crisp Hi-Hats and I'd like a ride and two crashes to be my "studio" cymbals, in case I work with an drummer who only has Sabian B8s or something. What is something affordable (I'm not paying vintage prices) that is a good all arounder. Used A Customs are very reasonable, sometimes I can find a decent deal on a K, but I don't know much about Paiste. I had a set of Sabian Paragon, which is about as nice as Sabian gets, but I wasn't a huge fan.

It's really about whatever will work, sounds good, and people will be jazzed about playing. I can't tell you how many anti-Paiste guys have come up to me and been super-psyched about my cymbal setup. I know one dude, who was like "Mr. Sabian" who switched to Paiste after hearing the cymbals I was playing. Now, I really like the ones that I have, but I have a shitload of them and to me, they're all good, but not any more special than any of the other Paistes of the same model. It's so easy to walk into any store in the world and buy Signature fast crashes that sound like mine. But people who use my cymbals on sessions never complain about them and really seem to dig them.

In terms of Zildjians, if I were buying ONE set of cymbals for general use in a studio, I'd probably go with some thinnish A Customs. They're perfectly at home for rock stuff, country, metal, modern jazz, and acoustic music. But Zildjians are much less consistent than Paistes, so I'd be really careful about the particular cymbals I was buying and maybe have a drummer I trust who plays a wide variety of styles help pick some out. I'd be sure to get a set of hats, two crashes and a couple of rides to start, maybe expanding with a second set of hats and a third option for a crash.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

Judas Jetski · Post by **Judas Jetski** » Fri Dec 26, 2008 6:47 am

Yeah, in my experience it kinda comes down to the individual cymbal way more so than brand. I guess that's why I mentioned those 13" HH's.

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New cymbals - PAISTE Twenty and MEINL Byzance

New cymbals - PAISTE Twenty and MEINL Byzance

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