If you could only have a 4-piece cymbal setup, what would it be?

diegobxr

diegobxr

Silver Member
Hi friends,

I was just thinking about my setup and what to buy next and all that kind of stuff.. you know.. and this came to my mind.

Just for the fun of it, I'm curious, if you could only have 4 cymbals, no more, what would you have?? Remember that you have to gig and record with them.

Personally, I think I would run:
14" A New Beat hi-hats
18" A Medium Thin Crash
22" A Medium Ride
and an effects cymbal.. not sure what, maybe an 18" china, IDK.

I look forward to see what you think.

Cheers! :)
 
diegobxr said:
Personally, I think I would run:
14" A New Beat hi-hats
18" A Medium Thin Crash
22" A Medium Ride
and an effects cymbal.. not sure what, maybe an 18" china, IDK.
Click to expand...
We have very similar taste in cymbals! That's pretty much what my list would look like too, that and a 19" K Medium Thin Crash (used since Zildjian doesn't make them anymore).

But I could just as easily come up with a similar Sabian list:
14" AAX Stage Hats
18" HHXplosion Crash
19" HHXplosion Crash
21" AAX Stage Ride
 
Now I've never actually played on this exact set-up, but in theory...

14" A Zildjian New Beat HiHats
16" A Custom EFX
17" A Custom Crash
21" K Crash Ride
 
I'm still searching for the final cymbal, then I will have my ideal 4-piece cymbal setup.

Currently, I'm using....

22" K Con Bounce Ride
20" K Light Flat Ride
14" Zildjian K Hats

On loan is a 19" Bosphorus Sizzle Ride. I'm looking for the perfect cymbal to replace it.
 
This IS what I usually use:

All Sabian
AAX Raw Bell Dry Ride 21"
Paragon Hats 14"
AAXplosion Crash 15"
AA Thin Crash 17"


Peace and goodwill.
 
Until just recently, my setup has been
22" A medium ride
20" A crash-ride
16" A thin crash
14" A new beats

If I had to swap anything out, I would probably change the crash-ride with my new 18" Stagg Lion China
 
diegobxr said:
Hi friends,

I was just thinking about my setup and what to buy next and all that kind of stuff.. you know.. and this came to my mind.

Just for the fun of it, I'm curious, if you could only have 4 cymbals, no more, what would you have?? Remember that you have to gig and record with them.

Personally, I think I would run:
14" A New Beat hi-hats
18" A Medium Thin Crash
22" A Medium Ride
and an effects cymbal.. not sure what, maybe an 18" china, IDK.

I look forward to see what you think.

Cheers! :)
Click to expand...

I only have four cymbals, and most times I only use three:

14" New Beats
18" A Thin crash
20" K Custom Dark Ride
17" A Thin Crash (maybe)

Like Louie Bellson once said, "if you can't say it with a bass, snare, a couple of toms and a couple of cymbals, you might wanna just go home" ;)
 
Alright!

It seems like New Beats and A Series in general have quite a few fans, don't they?

I only have four cymbals, and most times I only use three:

14" New Beats - 18" A Thin crash - 20" K Custom Dark Ride - 17" A Thin Crash (maybe)

Like Louie Bellson once said, "if you can't say it with a bass, snare, a couple of toms and a couple of cymbals, you might wanna just go home" ;)
Click to expand...

Yeah, Bo, I'm using just three cymbals at the moment (14" A Mastersounds - 18" A Med Thin Crash - 20" K Ride) and they do the job.

However, right now I'd like a louder ride and possibly a second crash with some character.. I'm thinking about the 20" A Custom EFX.. It's like a crash mixed with a china.

Cheers. :)
 
diegobxr said:
Alright!

It seems like New Beats and A Series in general have quite a few fans, don't they?



Yeah, Bo, I'm using just three cymbals at the moment (14" A Mastersounds - 18" A Med Thin Crash - 20" K Ride) and they do the job.

However, right now I'd like a louder ride and possibly a second crash with some character.. I'm thinking about the 20" A Custom EFX.. It's like a crash mixed with a china.

Cheers. :)
Click to expand...

Not sure if you're into staying with a certain brand or not, but I always thought those Sabian El Sabor's were pretty cool. Light enough to crash, and it makes a nice ride too with a great bell - not sure if the new Omni accomplishes this and then some, but I've seen other guys use the El Sabor to great effect.
 
...for me it would be the only cymbals that I would run into my burning house to save.

They are my 20" HH Manhattan ride, 14" HH dark hats, 16" HH thin crash, and 17" HHXtreme crash.

I have been playing this combo for about twelve years now, and they just seem to get better with age.

Barry
 
If I may expand a little on the premise of your thread.

I also you had to stick with these cymbals for a really long time and once you pick your four cymbals, you can't change your mind, ever.

My choices would be

Zildjian 15" A Mastersound Hi-Hats
Zildjian 21" A Sweet Ride
Sabian 20" HHX-plosion Crash
Paiste 19" Signature Crash
 
Bosphorus Versa Ride 20"
Bosphorus Antique Thin Crash 18"
Bosphorus Master Crash 16"
Bosphorus Oracle Hi-Hats 14"

What's all this zildjian/sabian/paiste rubbish???? :p
 
Last edited:
paiste 602 crashes 16/18
Sabian Paragon hats 14
Sabian Paragon ride 22


F
 
My 31 year old 14" New Beats
18" Sabian AAX X-plosion crash
20" Sabian AAX X-plosion crash
22/24 Sabian AA or A.Zildjian Medium ride.
 
Bo Eder said:
Not sure if you're into staying with a certain brand or not, but I always thought those Sabian El Sabor's were pretty cool. Light enough to crash, and it makes a nice ride too with a great bell - not sure if the new Omni accomplishes this and then some, but I've seen other guys use the El Sabor to great effect.
Click to expand...

I only had a couple of Sabians that I traded for other cymbals and I sold them immediately.. They didn't grow on me. However, my real problem with Sabian and the others is that I have 20% discount in Zildjian, and Sabians are amazingly overpriced where I live (aprox. 15% more than Zildjians, so go figure). :/

But if I come across some second-hand "El Sabor", I'll go check it out, haha, thanks. :D

Cheers.
 
I only have a 4 cymbal set up

Meinl 14" Byzance Dark hats
Meinl 20" Byzance sand ride
Meinl 18" medium crash
meinl 18" Byzance extra thin dark crash (this thing is beautiful...sounds like something between a dark china and a crash)
 
moontheloon said:
I only have a 4 cymbal set up

Meinl 14" Byzance Dark hats
Meinl 20" Byzance sand ride
Meinl 18" medium crash
meinl 18" Byzance extra thin dark crash (this thing is beautiful...sounds like something between a dark china and a crash)
Click to expand...

Oh man, that's just a lovely setup. Some pics would be N-I-C-E. :D

(There are no Byzance's or Meinls whatsoever in this neck of the woods) :(
 
Meinl 14" Byzance Vintage Sand Hi-hat or Meinl 14" Byzance Dark Hi-hat
Meinl 18" Byzance Traditional Medium Thin Crash
Meinl 20" Byzance Vintage Sand Ride
Zildjian 24" K Light Ride

<3
 
Wanting to play all styles of music in any situation, I would have to pick the most versatile cymbals available:

Zildjian A's - 13/14" hats
- 16" crash
- 18" crash
- 20/21" ride
 
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