Zildjian ZBT

[Nik276]

What do you guys think about Zildjian ZBT cymbals? Are they decent?

[jd09]

If you're just starting out, they're decent.

[backtodrum]

Sheet bronze cymbals and they are considered entry level, let my qualify that by saying they are the higher end of entry level. Cymbals like Camber are the bottom dwellers of the entry market.

[Ear_Drummer]

I've got the ZBT's 13HH, 18" ride/crash, a 14" crash and the 18" china...They're pretty good cymbals except the 18 crash/ride...it rings alot and has a weak ping to it, but the others are nice sounding, IMO and worth the money, plus they look pretty cool as well (see profile pic)

[Ear_Drummer]

Sheet bronze cymbals and they are considered entry level, let my qualify that by saying they are the higher end of entry level. Cymbals like Camber are the bottom dwellers of the entry market.

Camber!...that was the brand I bought for my first drum set a long time ago...yeah they are pretty bad.
But the ZBT's are a gaint leap for us budget minded drummers...they sound pretty decent...the hats have a nice sizzle, the crash is great, the china is loud!...but I would avoid the 18" ride/crash...just doesn't cut the mustard.

[Roger]

Recently I've grown tired on spending money on cymbals, one example is cracking my china, now the cracking in itself is an extreme issue but it's good as an example of my situation.

I went shopping for one as most cymbals are out of warranty at their time of death. Lower line cymbals have their good parts.

Like the Planet Z ride, decent but I wouldn't use that bell on a recording in fact upon checking out more cymbals I decided that I wouldn't use any bell on any lower line Zildjian on a professional recording. And so the answer to this problem is a Zil-Bell on top of a low quality ride and you would probably end up spending less than you would on a professional ride.

And then the ZBT China's the 18" was decent enough, but the 16" was no where near good enough though it probably something to do with the fact that it was just not the sound I was looking for. Looking further up the lines I found that the ZBT's were good enough unless I willing to spend more than $500 extra on an Oriental china by Zildjian.

Though with crashes here's where I get picky, in short I would not use anything short of a professional crash cymbal no matter how good it is.

However there is another use for ZBT's and that is in combination with a beginner kit it is extremely useful for playing messy shows with beer or in my case fire, fake blood and fake limbs covered in such blood going everywhere during guitar solos.