Need recording cymbal suggestions

I dislike the Z series a lot too, they're not very musical, just boomy and loud. Your best bet is probably going to a shop that has a wide range of cymbals on display that you can freely try out.

I personally dig thin, medium thin or medium cymbals. They can go from soft to loud and always sound good, whereas heavier cymbals really need to be hit hard for them to actually "light up". They tend to be really boomy too and much lower pitched, and also sustain for far too long. I also have to say that IMO bigger hihats actually sound pretty good, they've got a really nice "crunchy" sound when they're closed or only slightly open. I haven't recorded with them though; I've had the best results with 14" HH's. Also check if the hihats have something like the Meinl Soundwave stuff, at least I like their sound a lot better.
 
For chinas oriental is really were its at imo.
NEVER been impressed with ANY sabian china.

AAXplosion crashes are pretty nice too.

Im a fan of Zildjian hats, A Custom 14" mastersounds are awesome.
 
So the chinas already listed in the OP should be fine?

So, how's this looking then:

-Zildjian 21" Z3 Mega Bell Ride
-2 Zildjian Oriental Chinas
-3 Sabian AAXPlosion Crashes
-One unspecified 13" hat

Speaking of which... which hats should I be looking at here? I tend to like something crunchy and crackly rather than outright bright and harsh.
 
I'm a huge fan of the Zildijan "A - BRILLIANT" crashes... Lars used 'em on the Black Album & I've always got great results with them.


Hats: I've got an old set of Zildijans from the 70's that are warped, cracked, & on their last legs... ...but still sound better than anything that's come into the studio in the last 11 years. Just a wonderful "swish" sound that I've yet to find elsewhere.

I find the bigger, heavier hats record like shit.... they just totally dominate the drum mix. Go for something light weight & dark sounding.
 
they're all good cymbals, the most important factor for recording is thickness, or, better said, the opposite.

The thinner, the better. Not for reharsal/live cause they won't last a month.

I have a 13" AAX HH but I had better results with a thinner 14"
 
How did I know you would ask this question?

I'm 99% sure it is this one:

21" Z3 MEGA BELL RIDE
http://www.zildjian.com/EN-US/products/productDeta

I would recommend the Sabian Power Bell ride over it though; it sounds a lot more complex and has smoother overtones with a super crispy stick hit:

http://cgi.ebay.com/SABIAN-HH-POWER...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item3efd5c965e

Sabian hhx-celerator hats are awesome.

Any of these Sabian cymbals are awesome; I spent over a year purchasing and selling cymbals to see what worked best on my kit and ended up with these:

7” Signature Radia Cup Chime
7” Signature Max Splash
8” AA China Splash
13” AA El Sabor Salsa Splash
14” AAX Stage Hats
14” HHX-celerator Hats
14” HHX Evolution Chinese
17” AAX-treme Chinese
18” AAX-plosion Crash
18” HHX Evolution Crash
19” Vault Crash
19” Paragon Chinese
20” HHX Stage Crash
20” HHX Evolution Ride
20” HHX Legacy Ride
21” AA Raw Bell Dry Ride

The saddest part of all of this, is that I don't have a place to record drums anymore, but I'll sure as hell have a good collection of cymbals when I get my studio open :loco:
 
Fark me, that's rather comprehensive Greg. Thanks for all the suggestions.

That ride man... I could've sworn he brought a power bell into the session last time and i loved it. And hearing TWOAF, I absolutely LOVE that bell. Like LOVE 100%. He'll be getting it without a doubt. Unless there is a record out there using the Sabian Power Bell that you could point me to?
 
Okay guys, how's this sounding?

AAX Fast Hats 13"
AAX Stage Hats 13"
HHX Evolution Mini-Chinese 14"
AAX X-Plosion Crash 18"
V-Crash 19"
Sabian 16" HHX Evolution Crash Cymbal
zildjian 21" mega bell ride
 
Go into a shop and try these all out. At the Billy Hyde's Drum Shop in the City (its a drum-only shop, unlike the other stores), they've got a lot of cymbals on display which you can just go up and give a whack. Obviously they don't have everything but a good selection. Otherwise go to the site's websites for recordings.. altho they're not totally accurate

From that, perhaps a bit dubious about the 14" China, I think it might be too small. Also I own a Mega Bell ride, its quite good but not overly bright (can get lost) and FUCKING LOUD. That bell is louder than my snare drum. Can make for some balance issues if your mic'ing isn't quite right; and putting some tape on it kills the sound too much.
 
This may sound silly to some but the Hi hat stand makes a big difference in the quality of the Hi hat sound. I retired a crap DW7000 series hi hat stand when I went Axis and the Axis stand really helps the Hats sound better. The Axis has rubber grommets in lieu of felts. It also seems that legless or 2 leg stands negatively affect the hat sound as well. hard to kick DB bass with a 3 legged hat stand in the way though...
 
Ermz said:
Okay guys, how's this sounding?

AAX Fast Hats 13"
AAX Stage Hats 13"
HHX Evolution Mini-Chinese 14"
AAX X-Plosion Crash 18"
V-Crash 19"
Sabian 16" HHX Evolution Crash Cymbal
zildjian 21" mega bell ride
Click to expand...

You have two pairs of aax hats. I wouldn't get two. You need some dark, complex sounds. Try 14" HHX Groove hats instead of the 13" Stage hats.

I would not recommend that mini chinese as your only china. I would go for the Paragon 19" Chinese (best sounding chinese on earth IMHO) or maybe a AAx-treme chinese. I've done my research on this :saint:
 
Ermz said:
Fark me, that's rather comprehensive Greg. Thanks for all the suggestions.

That ride man... I could've sworn he brought a power bell into the session last time and i loved it. And hearing TWOAF, I absolutely LOVE that bell. Like LOVE 100%. He'll be getting it without a doubt. Unless there is a record out there using the Sabian Power Bell that you could point me to?
Click to expand...

The Meshuggah stuff is the Power Bell:

1:08 in this video:

I love the ride. I'd buy one if I had a place to record drums :lol:
 
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My drummer used to have a Mega Bell ride. Was a nightmare to control, even live or in the room, it was really fuckin loud. It's got so many overtones.

Go with what these guys are suggesting!
 
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