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Curious of what other metal drummers are using in their cymbal set up (we metal drummers have it worse off) - what cymbals people use which sound great, but are most durable too...

I have a Zildjan/Paiste mix, but that being because they're the ZBTs. But, to me, Paistes just sound amazing.

Paiste's sound the best but I break 'em in no-time. I've used Sabian cymbals since I was 10 years old, they sound great and are durable cymbals as well.

Sabian all the way for me, with all things considered.

Paiste do sound the best though....

I've heard people say that the 18" Wuhans are good Chinas.

i would love to be able to afford the paiste 2002 rude series cymbals, but, unfortunately, i cant afford to spend that much on cymbals. so i use the zildjian zbt series cymbals, they sound okay, but i use them, because they are cheap and im not about to spend $200.00 + on each cymbal (i use 5 cymbals, well 6 if you want to count both hi hats) every year or 8 months (depending on how busy i get with my band). its just not practical for me to spend that much money on cymbals like that. maybe one day when i can land some sort of endorsement or sponsor deal i will use the paiste's.

Zildjian has the best sound and durability IMO, but it´s a bitch everytime you have to pay up for new ones. Playing drums makes you poor.

Persuader wrote:Zildjian has the best sound and durability IMO, but it´s a bitch everytime you have to pay up for new ones. Playing drums makes you poor.

Yeah, serious dude. Just a new set of heads costs me like $40-$50! And guitar players spend like $8 for a new pair of strings! The bastards!

not to sound like a dink, but if you're playing them right, you shouldn't be breaking them. at least, not at any great rate (they're gonna break eventually). i used to go through cymbals like toilet paper, but then i watched a dave weckl three part video (the evolution one) about stick control, and i can still play metal (and loud too) but without breaking even my sticks. they just go soft after a while.... wait, that doesn't sound good......
i agree with ryan that Paiste cymbals sound pretty sweet.
i use zildjian though (i'm poor) and i've been happy with them for the last 15 years. they're durable, and the comany has a pretty good range. the oriental china "trash" cymbals are unbelievable. i also have a 20" earth ride that sounds pretty sweet.
i find Sabian cymbals to sound like gongs most of the time, but that's just me. though i will say though that Sabian seems to be a lot more open minded when it comes to experimental cymbals than any of the others...
so there ya go....

all this being said, does anyone just hate guitarists? lousy good-for-nothings, with their "big amps" and their "heavy guitar cases".....

Hey Ryan, didn't you record with broken Paiste cymbals for the oniric metal crap? I thought so...
LoL
Just teasing you mate, it sounds great'

I watched part of that Weckl video and it really gave me a lot of things to ponder and try out. I am not a drummer by any stretch of the imagination, even though I pounce on one from time to time, but even though Weckl sounded like a cult leader it was still very interesting to see.

Nummymuffincoocoobutter wrote:not to sound like a dink, but if you're playing them right, you shouldn't be breaking them. at least, not at any great rate (they're gonna break eventually). i used to go through cymbals like toilet paper, but then i watched a dave weckl three part video (the evolution one) about stick control, and i can still play metal (and loud too) but without breaking even my sticks. they just go soft after a while.... wait, that doesn't sound good......
i agree with ryan that Paiste cymbals sound pretty sweet.
i use zildjian though (i'm poor) and i've been happy with them for the last 15 years. they're durable, and the comany has a pretty good range. the oriental china "trash" cymbals are unbelievable. i also have a 20" earth ride that sounds pretty sweet.
i find Sabian cymbals to sound like gongs most of the time, but that's just me. though i will say though that Sabian seems to be a lot more open minded when it comes to experimental cymbals than any of the others...
so there ya go....

all this being said, does anyone just hate guitarists? lousy good-for-nothings, with their "big amps" and their "heavy guitar cases".....

This is what I think about breaking cymbals......

For example, Gene and I "Swipe" our cymbals, which is the correct way of hitting your cymbals (mentioned in many instructional videos). This does make them last longer BUT both Gene and I still break them with amount of touring, session work and practicing that we do. Cymbals do and will break over time, some faster than others, depending on how often you play them.....ride cymbals and hi-hats I almost never break though. So many other things are important, like how tight you have your cymbals set up, if they are slightly tilted or being hit straight on ect....

One of Gene's favourite cymbals, when we were doing the Keep it in the Family tours, was a broken mega bell ride ! That thing is huge and he still broke it over time, cuz he smashed the shit out of it, in the aggressive parts of SYL song's to get a trashier tone out of the cymbal. To get different tones out of cymbals, they do have to be hit in different ways. In the end, the correct way is to swipe them.

Again my personal preference is Sabian (been using them since I was 10 years old), I find they last the longest. I do agree that Sabian cymbals can sometimes soung gongy but I'm very carefull in the ones that I choose and they do have the best selection in cymbals IMO. There are so many differnt types of cymbals with Sabian. This is a great thing for myself and the various styles of music I record with my session work. In the end I find all the major cymbal companies out there have great cymbals and shitty cymbals, choose what sounds best to your ear and have fun !

Are you Gene's tech?

Hyde wrote:Are you Gene's tech?

LOL ! Nope......not Gene's tech.

We both hit hard and have talked about this situation while on tour with the SYL / DTB / ZH tours in 2003. I thought he would be another example other than myself, of a guy who hit's his cymbals correctly but still ends up having to replace them often, cuz of the amount of playing he does in a year.....that's all.

Oh... ok then. Damn... I was gonna ask you what his setup is. Well yeah... anyways, I've cracked my hi-hats and a crash within 6 months so could you explain this "swipe" technique? I'm probably gonna get either a new ride or a new set of hi-hats for my graduation, and I want to keep them for as long as possible.