Alphas are really nice, their thin crashes and rock crashes sound great. I think if you still wanted some cheaper hi hats though, you should move up to the 2002.
My current cymbal setup is primarily Sabian XS20's(see signature below). Anyway, I'm considering giving Paiste Alpha's a try BUT here's the problem. NONE of my local stores carry Paiste. Would switching from XS20's to Alpha's be a fairly 'lateral' move or are the Alpha's an improvement. The only exposure I've had to hearing Alpha's has been through their website and based on the comments on this site. From what I can gather they have a very good reputation and are by no means an intermediate series. Any help is appreciated.
Kits
DW Performance(white marine): 8x7/10x8/12x9/16x14/22x18
Mapex Saturn III(transparent walnut): 10x8/12x9/16x16/22x18/14x5.5
Snares
Pork Pie 14x7 Cherry/Bubinga
Pork Pie 14x6.5 Big Black Bob
Mapex Saturn 14x5.5 Maple/Walnut
Homemade 14x5.5 Maple(10 ply Keller)
Cymbals
Sabian
14" AA regular hats
10" AAX splash
16" AAX Xplosion fast crash
18" AAX Xplosion fash crash
16" HH thin crash
20" HHX stage ride
Alphas are really nice, their thin crashes and rock crashes sound great. I think if you still wanted some cheaper hi hats though, you should move up to the 2002.
www.myspace.com/maudeephyfe
The good times won't roll themselves
Gretsch Renown Maple, Paiste Signature, Reflector, and Dark Energy
or save up and go for the sigs!
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
Kits
DW Performance(white marine): 8x7/10x8/12x9/16x14/22x18
Mapex Saturn III(transparent walnut): 10x8/12x9/16x16/22x18/14x5.5
Snares
Pork Pie 14x7 Cherry/Bubinga
Pork Pie 14x6.5 Big Black Bob
Mapex Saturn 14x5.5 Maple/Walnut
Homemade 14x5.5 Maple(10 ply Keller)
Cymbals
Sabian
14" AA regular hats
10" AAX splash
16" AAX Xplosion fast crash
18" AAX Xplosion fash crash
16" HH thin crash
20" HHX stage ride
What's your budget?
www.myspace.com/maudeephyfe
The good times won't roll themselves
Gretsch Renown Maple, Paiste Signature, Reflector, and Dark Energy
Yeph...
First of all, your budget....
I own Traditional Alpha....They're middle end Cymbal I think....
And If you go from XS to Alpha, I think there is not much different...
Andrew give you a nice advice...
Go with the sigs anyway....
That would be a great upgrade to your cymbals setup....
My Kit :
TAMA Imperialstar Midnight Blue
REMO Encore Heads....
Meinl Cowbell
16" Zildjian Avedis Thin Crash
16" Paiste Alpha Medium Crash
20" Meinl Rakes Medium Ride
14" Paiste 3000 Rude Hi-Hat
8" PST-5 Splash
6" Meinl Classic Splash
10" WUHAN S series Splash
16" ZHT EFX
17" Stagg China
P122 Double bass pedal
I don't think there's enough of a difference between the XS and the Alphas to go to all that trouble. If you're going to move to Paiste, I would jump up to 2002s or Giant Beats, which is the first step in the pro-level die-cast cymbals for Paiste.
Ludwig Classic Maple w/Supraphonic Snare
Sonor S-Classix
Paiste New Signature Dark Energy
Alphas are WORLDS better sounding than the Sabian XS20s. They are made from the same alloy as the awesome 2oo2s. They are pro level, priced at a working mans pricepoint. Don't poo-poo the Alphas til you try them out! just my 2 cents.. If you have the scratch, however...the 2oo2s or better yet the Twentys..WOW -Les
I noticed that..you weren't poo-pooing..just wanna clear that up.. However I will stand on my comment about the Alphas being WORLDS better sounding than XS20s...dont mean to offend anyone with that comment and I know that there are some guys who like the Sabians..so sorry. Whatever works for you!
Last edited by Lesizmor; 11-19-2008 at 05:27 PM.
the alpha's are great, I just updated to the signature full crashes.
But the 17" rock crash has such a sick sound that I kept it.
Go onto the paiste soundroom on the website
and match these cymbals
alpha rock crash 17
alpha medium 18
alpha metal ride 22
alpha sound edge hats
alpha china 16,18
I notice that the alpha series are great but very selective, so use the paiste
soundroom and compare cymbals.
Also these cymbals can take a beating
Those worked welll for me
Has anyone had trouble with their HiHats not being entirely parallel? my hit hats (PST5) dnt close all the way and its cus the top one is bent (from the factory) too late to claim anything now..what can i do?
6pc Mapex M Birch
-14, 10, 12, 14, 16, 22
- Evans EC2
- BP maple cherry 13x6 snare
-DW 9000 single
-LP black beauty cowbell
Cymbals
--Paiste PST5 & Sabian XS20 Wuhan and Avedis Zildjians (mastersound 13s and paper thin crash and medium ride)
i had that issue with my old 201 hats. i never ever heard of such an issue so i was quite surprised. mine sort of warped over time though and they never left the house!
I would contact Paiste anyway and see what they say. The worst that can happen is nothing, you may end up with a new cymbal.
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