I haven't read anything except the first post because meh.
The fact is that when you are buying drum gear, you are buying for yourself. What is the point in playing stuff you hate the sound of? Why then do you think there are a million different cymbals out there to choose from? Because we all have different tastes.
Not once in my entire 15+ years of drumming have I ever thought "Gee, I hope the ladies in the corner of the pub like the sound of this here Paiste crash."
You should buy and play what sounds good to YOU.
Who cares what other people think? That's what I don't get. Since when was this about what the audience thinks of your cymbals? That will never extend beyond a fellow drummer going "Hurr, your Paistes are crap, you should get Zildjian."
It's the exact same reason gear snobbery is utterly pointless. I love my Gretsch, and I would never bother buying anything else because of how awesome it is. This is why I play it, because *I* love the way it sounds. Of course I'm going to be proud of compliments from other people on how the kit sounds, but all that does is reinforce *my* opinion of the kit.
Bo, you may be almost 100% right: Nobody cares. But why should you care that nobody cares? Do YOU care about how your drums sound? If not, fine. Play whatever the hell you want. That's entirely the point: you are playing what YOU want to play
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But just for the record, as an audience member, I do care what your drums sound like. If you don't bother to tune your drums, then I am JUDGING YOU because it's obvious you don't put the effort in. Lazy!
