Cymbals/How far to go

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Burnt Ernie
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Cymbals/How far to go

Post by Burnt Ernie » Sun Apr 18, 2021 2:00 pm

Hi,all! So I Play guitar in a couple bands in mpls,bass in another,and drums in another. I'm old. I've been playing since 8th grade. Not saying I'm any good,but,whatever...
Band I'm drumming in is recording at Ed Ackerson's (R.I.P.) Flowers Studio next month in the very capable hands of Kris Johnson. I have a nice 4 piece early Yamaha kit with recut bearing edges,a Slingerland Gene Krupa Chrome over brass 5 1/2" snare, a 50's Zildjian 22 ride,a Dream Bliss 20" crash/ride,and a zildjian 18" crash. My hats are mismatched stuff I've had around forever. They're ok. Just ok. We are a 3 piece,will be tracking live,and using room sound as much as possible. As a (mostly) guitarist,I see the prices of cymbals and puke a little bit in my mouth.
Here's the quandry-
I LOVE big hi hats 15" or bigger. Did some stuff with Steve Jordan a LONG time ago-he used 2 17" crashes for hats. It was awesome.
I LOVE Paiste Giant Beat cymbals,they sound like heaven,and are ridiculously expensive.
I REALLY like The Dream Bliss series. Kinda close,but highly inconsistent.
I know i should regard this as an investment,but as a guitarist,I can't see spending $1000+ on something I'm gonna hit with a stick,and hope it never breaks. Anyways,school me Obi-Wan!
I am the Walnut

Burnt Ernie
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Re: Cymbals/How far to go

Post by Burnt Ernie » Sun Apr 18, 2021 2:04 pm

Should also point out-It's a The Who/60's/Motowny thing. Big Band sounding drums/Lust For Life kinda thing. Lotsa Tambo/Maracas/cowbell. 3 minute long hooky guitar rock. No Clicky Drums.
I am the Walnut

Burnt Ernie
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Re: Cymbals/How far to go

Post by Burnt Ernie » Sun Apr 18, 2021 2:12 pm

Pair of Giant Beat 15" Hats is $600.
Crashes are $380-500.
Crash Rides are $400-$600.
I am the Walnut

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Re: Cymbals/How far to go

Post by A.David.MacKinnon » Sun Apr 18, 2021 4:16 pm

Have you got drummer pals? Can you borrow/rent what you need?

Cymbals are often what separate drums tracks from great drum tracks. Bad cymbals and bashing are unfixable. You can't drop in good samples to repair bad cymbals. You know this already.

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Re: Cymbals/How far to go

Post by digitaldrummer » Sun Apr 18, 2021 5:08 pm

I rarely buy new cymbals. the prices are crazy. the cymbals you mentioned don't sound like bad ones - you could do a LOT worse. if you like the Dream cymbals you might also check out the Istanbul Xist series. they are "affordable" but sound really good (very close to K Customs to my ear). I've seen some big hats (and there are plenty of videos on Youtube to get an idea) Also I had a pair of 15" bliss hats once that was inexpensive and sounded really cool. Only reason I got rid of them was that I got an excellent deal on some K Zildjian Light 15's. But I know the Dream cymbals have gone up in price a bit the last couple years too.

I had one Giant Beat. I have been playing drums for many years (and had many years of lessons early on) and have only ever broken one cymbal (and even then I'm not sure if it was me or someone else I had in the studio... and it was a $40 Wuhan china so there's that). I had an 18 Giant Beat and after a month or so of playing only in the studio, I found the edges of the cymbal had a bunch of tiny dents. the edge was super thin. I like thin cymbals and I have others (including other Paiste's). No dents. I contacted Paiste and they told me I don't know how to strike cymbals properly. I about lost my shit, but instead I will never ever pay them any money ever again. but they don't give a crap either. :shake:
Last edited by digitaldrummer on Mon Apr 19, 2021 6:28 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Cymbals/How far to go

Post by digitaldrummer » Sun Apr 18, 2021 5:16 pm

Mike
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www.doubledogrecording.com

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Re: Cymbals/How far to go

Post by standup » Sun Apr 18, 2021 6:38 pm

I'm a minor fan of Stella Mozgawa, and I think she was using a pair of 16" crashes as a hi hat at some point.

We picked up a pair of Agop "Mantra" 15" hi hats a couple years ago for a price in the $200's, apparently they go for a lot more than that now.

They're cool. But not cheap.

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Re: Cymbals/How far to go

Post by standup » Sun Apr 18, 2021 6:45 pm

Oh, and we also (we because my wife is the drummer, not me) picked up an Agop Xist 20" crash for not too much, maybe $175, it has a cool complex tone, lots of weird overtones that I like a lot. I think Agop Xist is cool stuff. My wife eventually ditched a big, medium weight vintage Zildjian ride for an Agop signature ride that she liked a lot more. Not cheap. Also. But sounds great, much better suited to her playing.

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Re: Cymbals/How far to go

Post by Scodiddly » Sun Apr 18, 2021 7:19 pm

If there was ever a situation that screamed "rent what you need for the session", this would be it.

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Re: Cymbals/How far to go

Post by drumsound » Sun Apr 18, 2021 10:07 pm

https://www.hazelshould.com/ has good prices and good recordings of the cymbals for sale.

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Re: Cymbals/How far to go

Post by The Scum » Mon Apr 19, 2021 10:30 pm

Once you've got a sense of what new ones sell for, you can recognize bargains when they crop up in CL/MGR/Pawnshop...

...but bigger hats are kinda oddball, and don't show up as often as 14"s do. Grab 'em when you see 'em.
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Re: Cymbals/How far to go

Post by permanent hearing damage » Tue Apr 20, 2021 6:35 am

i'm a 5B basher and have been cracking cymbals for much of the 25 years I've been playing. I kept a few that had sentimental value and recently sent two busted rides to a local cymbal maker to machine them down into a pair of 16" hihats. It was like $150 and well worth it to give some busted cymbals new life.

If you don't have a pile of busted cymbals around, I'm sure you could find some for next to nothing.

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Re: Cymbals/How far to go

Post by drumsound » Tue Apr 20, 2021 6:54 am

permanent hearing damage wrote:
Tue Apr 20, 2021 6:35 am
i'm a 5B basher and have been cracking cymbals for much of the 25 years I've been playing. I kept a few that had sentimental value and recently sent two busted rides to a local cymbal maker to machine them down into a pair of 16" hihats. It was like $150 and well worth it to give some busted cymbals new life.

If you don't have a pile of busted cymbals around, I'm sure you could find some for next to nothing.
Who does that cut down service? I know the Maxwell will re-lathe cymbals, and I'm tempted to send them an 18" A Custom I only kinda like...

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Re: Cymbals/How far to go

Post by vernier » Tue Apr 20, 2021 11:39 am

Burnt Ernie wrote:
Sun Apr 18, 2021 2:00 pm
Hi,all! So I Play guitar in a couple bands in mpls,bass in another,and drums in another. I'm old. I've been playing since 8th grade. Not saying I'm any good,but,whatever...
Band I'm drumming in is recording at Ed Ackerson's (R.I.P.) Flowers Studio next month in the very capable hands of Kris Johnson. I have a nice 4 piece early Yamaha kit with recut bearing edges,a Slingerland Gene Krupa Chrome over brass 5 1/2" snare, a 50's Zildjian 22 ride,a Dream Bliss 20" crash/ride,and a zildjian 18" crash. My hats are mismatched stuff I've had around forever. They're ok. Just ok. We are a 3 piece,will be tracking live,and using room sound as much as possible. As a (mostly) guitarist,I see the prices of cymbals and puke a little bit in my mouth.
Here's the quandry-
I LOVE big hi hats 15" or bigger. Did some stuff with Steve Jordan a LONG time ago-he used 2 17" crashes for hats. It was awesome.
I LOVE Paiste Giant Beat cymbals,they sound like heaven,and are ridiculously expensive.
I REALLY like The Dream Bliss series. Kinda close,but highly inconsistent.
I know i should regard this as an investment,but as a guitarist,I can't see spending $1000+ on something I'm gonna hit with a stick,and hope it never breaks. Anyways,school me Obi-Wan!
Having til next month and tight budget is a challenge. More time, like 6 months, and buying used inexpensive cymbals, you can buy and sell until you end up with one or two good sounding ones.

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Re: Cymbals/How far to go

Post by DrummerMan » Tue Apr 20, 2021 2:31 pm

drumsound wrote:
Tue Apr 20, 2021 6:54 am
permanent hearing damage wrote:
Tue Apr 20, 2021 6:35 am
i'm a 5B basher and have been cracking cymbals for much of the 25 years I've been playing. I kept a few that had sentimental value and recently sent two busted rides to a local cymbal maker to machine them down into a pair of 16" hihats. It was like $150 and well worth it to give some busted cymbals new life.

If you don't have a pile of busted cymbals around, I'm sure you could find some for next to nothing.
Who does that cut down service? I know the Maxwell will re-lathe cymbals, and I'm tempted to send them an 18" A Custom I only kinda like...
I know that stack ring percussion has a new cymbal mod company and they've been doing cut downs along with re-lathing and hammering. Usually pretty great results from what I've seen on their insta videos.
Geoff Mann
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