Satisfying cymbals? Yup, but I mix and match. I'm not loyal to any brand.
I have been playing drum set for over fifty years, and I have been through MANY cymbals. What I have now is the best I have ever had, all Sabian.
AA 21" Bash Ride (my favorite ride I have ever played)
SR2 18" Thin (great crash and very rideable)
AAX 17" Studio Crash
AA 16" Thin Crash (20th Anniversary model)
SR2 Hats (medium top, heavy bottom)
The crashes all blend very well and sound great together. The hats sound great in big rooms and outside but not so much in small rooms. Do any of you have satisfying cymbals? Peace and goodwill.
Mark Wellman - drummer for Jesus; Mapex MPX snare, Mapex Black Panther Venom snare, Mapex Saturn bass drum and toms / Sabian AAX, SR2/ Evans / LA Backbeat
Church Drummer's Army
Satisfying cymbals? Yup, but I mix and match. I'm not loyal to any brand.
Still loving my Legacy's....so musical. Looking to add an ozone crash and maybe a 15"
Legacy.jpg
Ludwig Classic Maple 22x16,10x8,12x9,16x16
7" Moon Gel Practice Pad
Sabian HHX Legacy
Decide whether this is love for the craft or simply an ego thing
http://www.redskymary.com/ NOT MY BAND, JUST A GREAT LOCAL BAND WHO SHOULD BE SOOO MUCH BIGGER IMO
I have over 200 Sabian cymbals in my collection.... I also own multiple Sabian display cymbal trees and a lite up sign.
And I thought I was a cymbal freak...
I've had a Sabian HHX Evolution 18" O-Zone for a few years now & love it. I have just bought an 18" AA Rock Crash in natural finish but I am not sure if it will fit in with my other cymbals. If not, I can exchange it for a AAX 18" Thin Crash which is darker
The Varukers.
D299C177-7AD4-44CF-901F-B0C207FA7D1A.jpg
My 28” Sabian medium ride leaned up against my vintage Star jr. kit.
Here is my 2022 update. Two days ago I went to C&M Music in Lafayette to buy a drum set. They did not have a set that I wanted, but they did have some cool cymbals. So I bought two cymbals. First, was an SR2 19" Heavy, which is a great ride for only $150. Second, I bought some XS20 14" Hats, which I really like. I went back there yesterday and bought a Mapex Armory 14x5 Sabor snare that has a maple/walnut shell. So now I have two sets of cymbals.
Set One, all Sabian
19" SR2 Heavy (ride)
18" SR2 Thin (crash-ride)
16" AA Thin Crash (20th Anniversary Model)
14" XS20 Hats
Set Two, all Sabian
20" HHX Evolution Ride
17" AAX Studio Crash
15" SR2 Thin (crash)
14" SR2 Hats (medium top, heavy bottom)
Set at Church, mostly Sabian
21" AA Bash Ride
18" AAX Studio Crash
18" Zildjian K China
17" AAX Concept Crash
16" AAX Concept Crash
13" Paiste Alpha Medium Hats
10" SR2 Thin (splash)
Peace and goodwill.
Last edited by Drumolator; 01-01-2022 at 09:00 AM.
Mark Wellman - drummer for Jesus; Mapex MPX snare, Mapex Black Panther Venom snare, Mapex Saturn bass drum and toms / Sabian AAX, SR2/ Evans / LA Backbeat
Church Drummer's Army
Just bought a (very) cheap AAX 20" Stage Ride to try out
The Varukers.
I'm a Sabian guy, too. I'd love an AA/AAX ozone or china to round out the set. I have a 10" Paise Alpha splash that sounds really cool, but it's not on the kit right now. I'd really LOVE to not care about mix/match brands but I'm just ocd enough for it to annoy me. LOL
Kevin
DW Performance series - Gun Metal Metallic Lacquer
24/12/16 6.5x14
Sabian AA/AAX hi-hats & crashes
Sabian HHX Evolution ride
Drummers can be very tempomental.....
My story continues. The AAX 17" Concept Crash at church is lower pitched than either the AAX 18" Studio Crash or the SR2 18" Thin. So I brought the 18" Studio Crash home. The strange thing is that the 17" Concept Crash is very low pitched, but the 16" Concept Crash is very high pitched. I prefer to use three crashes at church because some songs need them. So this is what I am planning to do. My AA 16" Thin Crash is right between the 16" and 17" Concept Crashes. That leaves me with these.
Set One
20" HHX Evolution Ride or 19" SR2 Heavy
17" AAX Studio Crash
18" SR2 Thin
14" XS20 Hats
Extras
18" AAX Studio Crash
14" SR2 Hats (medium top / heavy bottom)
So, I may buy a 16" crash in the future so that I can use the 18" AAX Studio Crash, which is too close to the 17" AAX Studio Crash to use them together. Peace and goodwill.
Mark Wellman - drummer for Jesus; Mapex MPX snare, Mapex Black Panther Venom snare, Mapex Saturn bass drum and toms / Sabian AAX, SR2/ Evans / LA Backbeat
Church Drummer's Army
A couple of years ago I obtained a set of XR20's.
I sold them; not because they were unpleasant sounding, but because they were surplus to my needs.
I kept one of these XR20'S. The 18 inch China is gorgeous. Thing growls... I love it.
Acoustic & Electronic:
Pearl Prestige World Series WLX 1988
Tama Swingstar 1983
Tama Superstar Hyper-Drive (Birch) 2007
Ludwig Acrolite Snare 1976
Ludwig Supraphonic 6.5x14" 2021
Pearl Sensitone Elite Aluminum 5.5" and 6.5" Snare
Pearl COB Custom Deluxe [Gladstone] (75-76) Snare
Love Drum Co. Hammered Steel 5.5" Snare
Roland TD-1KV
Paiste
Accent 8"
Paiste Signature:
6", 10" Splash
14" Dark Crisp Hi-Hats
14" Sound Edge Hi-Hats
16", 17", 18",19", 20" Full Crash
22" Symphonic Med-Heavy (use as a Ride)
Paiste Formula 602:
22" Formula 602 Modern Essentials Ride
Paiste 2oo2:
22" Ride
16" Crash
8",10" Splash
Paiste 2oo2 Big Beat:
15" Hi-Hats
19", 20", 21" Big Beat Multifunctional
Paiste Sound Formula:
16" Crash
20" Full Ride (Frankenstein)
Paiste Twenty:
16" China
Paiste Alpha (original Swiss made):
12" Splash
Paiste PST7:
Medium
16", 18" Crash
20" Ride
14" Hi-Hats
Sabian:
XS20 18" China
AA 14" Fusion Hi-Hats
A few days ago, I asked my wife and son, who is a great bass player, to listen to crash cymbal combinations. They both picked the same pair of crashes. A few weeks ago, I did a hi-hat cymbal experiment with my two pairs of 14 inch hi-hat cymbals. So here is what I will be using, all Sabian:
19" SR2 Heavy (ride)
18" AAX Studio Crash
16" AA Thin Crash
14" Hats (SR2 Medium top, XS20 bottom)
Peace and goodwill.
Mark Wellman - drummer for Jesus; Mapex MPX snare, Mapex Black Panther Venom snare, Mapex Saturn bass drum and toms / Sabian AAX, SR2/ Evans / LA Backbeat
Church Drummer's Army
Ludwig Classic Maple 22x16,10x8,12x9,16x16
7" Moon Gel Practice Pad
Sabian HHX Legacy
Decide whether this is love for the craft or simply an ego thing
http://www.redskymary.com/ NOT MY BAND, JUST A GREAT LOCAL BAND WHO SHOULD BE SOOO MUCH BIGGER IMO
Another great score from thE BAY today.14 in.Sabian AA Regular Brilliant hats for a grand total of $90.00 including shipping.
Rick
Mapex Sabian Ludwig Saluda Assorted Snare Drums
I love thE BAY.I've gotten all of my cymbals from there. Not one over $100.00.
Rick
Mapex Sabian Ludwig Saluda Assorted Snare Drums
Being a cheapskate is not for the weak of heart. It takes a lot of patience, but it pays off in the end.
Rick
Mapex Sabian Ludwig Saluda Assorted Snare Drums
On Thursday we had band practice, and I used these:
19" SR2 Heavy
18" AAX Studio Crash
16" AA Thin Crash
14" Hats (SR2 Medium top and XS20 Bottom)
The ride and hats sounded great, and pitch difference between the 16" and 18" crashes was perfect. However, the feel when striking the crashes was too different due to the different thicknesses. So we did another test at home. Crash set one was the 16" AA Thin Crash and my 18" SR2 Thin. Crash set 2 was my 17" AAX Studio Crash and my 18" AAX Studio Crash. My wife and son listened separately, but they both picked the 16" AA and the 18" SR2 Thin. So, I will use them when playing indoors and will use the AAX Crashes when playing outside. Peace and goodwill.
Mark Wellman - drummer for Jesus; Mapex MPX snare, Mapex Black Panther Venom snare, Mapex Saturn bass drum and toms / Sabian AAX, SR2/ Evans / LA Backbeat
Church Drummer's Army
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