Good review
I am going to try to write this without being too much of a fanboy. I do not have a long history with Paiste. In my past, I have owned cymbals from every major company, to include some traditional Turkish. For my purposes, I prefer cymbals that have a bright, loud and crisp character. This type cymbal, IMO are not suitable for jazz. My main music types are rock/metal prog and fusion. These genres benefit the most (especially unmic’d) from the brighter cymbals. I can’t emphasize enough that I do love the traditional sound, but it’s the wrong tool for the stuff I play.
Originally, I set out to compare my 14” A custom master sounds to other hats for all the applicable performace standards. The strength of the “chick” was vital to me, as well as the ability to have some slosh.
My first round of testing (which included over 2 dozen pairs of hats from all the major brands) was simply testing for the power of the “chick” sound. Some sounds of cymbals can be subjective, but power and volume really aren’t. When a set of hats slams togeather and has a crystalline chick that is obviously louder than the rest…louder is louder. The 14” Paiste signature sound edge hats won the day.
The Paiste signature alloy is amazingly musical. It has a silvery decay that no other brand produces. There is a bell-like uniformity and a clarity that is unique. These hats are sensitive enough that they are able to produce a superb dynamic range. They are very loud when hit partially open and out-powered my 2002 sound edge hats. They also had that extra sweet/clear decay that my 2002 lacked. In fact, my a-custom mastersounds sounded almost murky side by side.
In my decades of playing, these sig se’s are hands down, my favorite all around hats. They sound blissfully musical, and deliver a beautiful tonality that none of my other hats could. I appreciate what Paiste was able to accomplish here. They made hats that can be used for metal, but they don’t ever sound ear-splitting or harsh like some metal hats can. They also don’t need to be slammed to get a full character from.
The Paiste signature hats are suitable for a wide variety of uses. They would not be my choice for jazz, where traditional or perhaps Paiste dark crisp would be much more appropriate. Icing on the cake…I purchased the set new for about $65 under MAP. Count me in as a Paiste fan.
Last edited by AL LOY; 04-08-2009 at 05:58 PM.
Good review
Ludwig Accent CS Custom- Black with Chrome Hardware
22 x 18 Bass Drum with Evans EMAD batter and EMAD reso
6 x 14 Snare with Evans Genera HD Dry batter over Hazy 300
12 x 9 Tom Remo Pinstripe over Remo Clear Ambassador
13 x 10 Tom Remo Pinstripe over Remo Clear Ambassador
16 x 16 Floor Tom Pinstripe over Remo Clear Ambassador
16 x 18 ^
Hey! That's the Hi-Hats I use!
- 1966 4-piece Ludwig Black Oyster Pearl
- 2000 8-piece DW Collector's Grey Swirl
- 2002 8-piece Pearl Masterworks GB Packer Gold
- 2008 8-piece Tama B&B Lava Glass Glitter
- Paiste Signature 12, 14, 14, 16, 16, 17, 18, 18, 20, 20, 22
- Paiste Formula 602 14, 14, 16, 18, 20
I use a 2002 sound edge hi-hat. I've been thinking of getting the sig.
Paiste Posse
14inch 2002 series Sound Edge Hi-hats
16inch and 18inch Signature series Fast crashes
20inch 3000 series Ride
18inch PST5 series China
Pearl Forum Series drum set
Pearl Chad Smith Signature snare(steel shell)
Tama Iron Cobra Chrome
RIP Frank - You will be remembered
$65?!?!?!
Yea those are definitely some awesome hats. I'm more into the 13" personally, but the 14" 2oo2 SE sounded sick.
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The good times won't roll themselves
Gretsch Renown Maple, Paiste Signature, Reflector, and Dark Energy
I have to give a nod to the 14" sound edge alphas, they rock. The 2002 se are great and the rude sound edge are totally brute force "metal. "
This might be my next purchase!
i hav them they rock
Pearl Vision VX jet black
Aquarian heads (Focus-X, Performance IIs, Super Kick II)
Pearl Free Floating Maple Snare
Vic-Firth 5B
Pearl Eliminators
Roc N Soc throne
14" Paiste Signature sound edge hi-hats
16" Paiste Signature full crash
18" Paiste Signature full crash
20" Zildjian K custom dark ride
20" Paiste RUDE china
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