John Q. Drummer
Active Member
The very first cymbal I had along with my first drum kit way back in the mid 80’s was a Paiste Rude crash. (Don’t remember which size, maybe a 16”?) Even though I was completely new to the instrument and had absolutely no basis for comparison nor had I built up any sort of a discerning ear regarding cymbals, I knew that I hated the sound of that bronze abomination. The next cymbal I got after that was a Zildjian, and then the next 150+ cymbals after that were all Zildjian. I stuck with Zildjian because they sounded closer to cymbal sounds that I heard on records and more importantly, the sound I heard in my head. Looking back, I think I always remembered that I did NOT care for that Paiste cymbal and thus I never bothered to consider them as a viable option for myself for literally decades.
I remember sometime around 2005-2006 or so and one of the first people I met in the industry was one of the upper level folks as Paiste, who happened to live 20 minutes away. At the time, I had been working for years at an independent drum shop with access to almost every brand of drum and cymbal. It was working at a drum shop that gave me the ability to “hear” other cymbal brands, like Bosphorus and Sabian. It was about this time that Paiste guy brought in a huge stack of Dark Energy cymbals which had been released a year or two before. It was at the point that I heard a Paiste cymbal that didn’t remind me of that horrible Rude cymbal from my youth. In fact, I kind of dug it. But at this point, I had already dove head-first into the Zildjian Constantinople rabbit hole and I wasn’t going to be swayed. Not at that point anyway.
Fast forward to the tail end of 2019, I was growing restless regarding my cymbals. I had done a record and wasn’t thrilled with the resulting cymbal sounds. After years of playing them, I started hearing a slightly gongy undertone in a large number of my Zildjian cymbals that I didn’t care for and started to distract me. (Not just recorded sounds, it was present in live performances as well.) For some reason, I starting researching cymbals, something I hadn’t done, well…ever. It had been primarily Zildjian for me since day one on the instrument. Not out of some misplaced allegiance, but simply local availability. Having purchased a few cymbals online, I realized very quickly that sound samples and actual sound aren’t quite the same thing, and some cymbals “feel” different from others. (Looser, tighter, brittle, etc…) I made it a point to always buy cymbals only after hearing them in person first. Well, Zildjian is everywhere hence it was easier to go with them for that reason alone.
After doing some research and listening to hundreds of sound samples, I kind of ended up really being drawn to Paiste. What? After 30 plus years and a terrible first impression, there I was. I came across a new 17” Masters Dark crash and a new pair of 15” Master Dark hats locally. Tested them, bought them and been playing them live ever since. That purchase really whet my appetite for the brand.
So now, where do I go? No idea. I understand the various Zildjian lines and what they sound like, but Paiste is like learning a new language. I want another pair of 15” hats from another line, a couple of more crashes and a couple rides. I actually need a splash cymbal as well. I think I want one of those PSTX 18” Swiss Thin Crashes. It’s gonna be fun. I like everything I heard in the various “Signature” lines, the 602 Modern and Classic sound nice.
The only Paiste lines that don’t speak to me are the 2002’s and Giant Beats.
Oh yea…and the Rudes. They still sound like bronze abominations to this guy.
I remember sometime around 2005-2006 or so and one of the first people I met in the industry was one of the upper level folks as Paiste, who happened to live 20 minutes away. At the time, I had been working for years at an independent drum shop with access to almost every brand of drum and cymbal. It was working at a drum shop that gave me the ability to “hear” other cymbal brands, like Bosphorus and Sabian. It was about this time that Paiste guy brought in a huge stack of Dark Energy cymbals which had been released a year or two before. It was at the point that I heard a Paiste cymbal that didn’t remind me of that horrible Rude cymbal from my youth. In fact, I kind of dug it. But at this point, I had already dove head-first into the Zildjian Constantinople rabbit hole and I wasn’t going to be swayed. Not at that point anyway.
Fast forward to the tail end of 2019, I was growing restless regarding my cymbals. I had done a record and wasn’t thrilled with the resulting cymbal sounds. After years of playing them, I started hearing a slightly gongy undertone in a large number of my Zildjian cymbals that I didn’t care for and started to distract me. (Not just recorded sounds, it was present in live performances as well.) For some reason, I starting researching cymbals, something I hadn’t done, well…ever. It had been primarily Zildjian for me since day one on the instrument. Not out of some misplaced allegiance, but simply local availability. Having purchased a few cymbals online, I realized very quickly that sound samples and actual sound aren’t quite the same thing, and some cymbals “feel” different from others. (Looser, tighter, brittle, etc…) I made it a point to always buy cymbals only after hearing them in person first. Well, Zildjian is everywhere hence it was easier to go with them for that reason alone.
After doing some research and listening to hundreds of sound samples, I kind of ended up really being drawn to Paiste. What? After 30 plus years and a terrible first impression, there I was. I came across a new 17” Masters Dark crash and a new pair of 15” Master Dark hats locally. Tested them, bought them and been playing them live ever since. That purchase really whet my appetite for the brand.
So now, where do I go? No idea. I understand the various Zildjian lines and what they sound like, but Paiste is like learning a new language. I want another pair of 15” hats from another line, a couple of more crashes and a couple rides. I actually need a splash cymbal as well. I think I want one of those PSTX 18” Swiss Thin Crashes. It’s gonna be fun. I like everything I heard in the various “Signature” lines, the 602 Modern and Classic sound nice.
The only Paiste lines that don’t speak to me are the 2002’s and Giant Beats.
Oh yea…and the Rudes. They still sound like bronze abominations to this guy.