Why do people play such bad Cymbals?

[Nick Mc]

I recently saw someone on Kijiji looking to sell his kit. This guy had a 6-piece Tama Starclassic with a Black Panther snare, travel cases, a rack for his cymbals, double kicks...and ZBT cymbals!? This is maybe one of the more extreme examples but I see lots of kits like this. Decent mid-level (and up) kits with ZBTs or B8s or whatever. I always learned that you can make a crappy drum sound decent with the right heads and tuning but a crappy cymbal always sounds like a crappy cymbal.

What general rule of thumb are people who know what they're talking about using? Maybe I've gone too far in the other direction, I don't know. I have a Tama Imperialstar (all poplar) with Sabina AAX cymbals. I always thought your cymbals should cost about the same as your kit (mine came with hardware so maybe I miss calculated) but I'm seeing cymbal sets that cost a fraction of the kits they're paired with. Who's missing the target here? Is it me, or them? Or both of us?

 

[Tama CW]

If I'm selling a Starclassic kit worth $1000 I surely will NOT include pro level cymbals that I will net about 50% or less on. I would rather pick up a cheap set of ZBT's or B8's for $100-$150 and toss them in the kit to "complete" it. And I'll keep the pro cymbals.
The next owner can sort out what cymbals will make them happy. Regardless of what cymbals you include, the next owner will likely get rid of them at some point with something else.

 

[cruddola]

Maybe it's just that your ears are not up to it.

 

[fun2drum]

Probably different reasons. Sometimes it may be like Tama said above, others may be that as beginners they didn't have the money to buy nice drums AND nice cymbals, then they decided to sell the whole shaboom and upgrade all at once. I've got a friend who plays some decent higher mid level drums, and has a world of interesting cymbals around him - but none of them are high end. It's a curious thing because this guy buys the best of everything else and boasts about it all the time. lol.

cruddola makes a good point that some people's hearing may not be able to pick up the frequency differences between high end and entry level, so why spend the extra bucks if they're the same difference?

As for me, I just try not to play good cymbals so bad.

 

[stuart s]

Same reason people drive Volvos

 

[cworrick]

Same reason people drive Volvos

or they got them free:

Volvo to give away $2M worth of cars if Super Bowl Sunday includes a safety

 

[drumsforme]

Some people just don't realize the importance of good cymbals. Saw a local band end of 2019. Drummer had a beautiful vintage Yamaha 9000 kit with ZBT cymbals......was going to ask him about that on break, but decided not to.

 

[bigbonzo]

Two reasons:
1 - They can't afford anything better
2 - They think they sound good.

 

[Stickclick]

Maybe they want to keep their good cymbals.

 

[bassanddrum84]

Mike mangini has been known to use zbt and lower line models.

 

[lossforgain]

or they got them free:

Volvo to give away $2M worth of cars if Super Bowl Sunday includes a safety

Thanks for the heads up! Just entered.

The other day on Facebook I was watching someone talking about his Zildjians, and some other guy chimed in with an arrogant opinion. But his Facebook profile is full of giant drum sets covered in Meinel HCS low end cymbals. I don’t get it either.

 

[idrum4fun]

I think that many here have hit the nail on the head with the reason that including lower-line cymbals with a higher-end kit just makes a more attractive sale. The person who buys them just may have another low or mid-level kit that the cymbals will pair well with.

As for myself, I have some A Zildjians that don't sound that good to me. I rather include them when selling a kit and increase the chances that the kit will sell!

-Mark

 

[Ickybaby]

There are plenty of high end cymbals that sound bad. Frankly, most dry crashes only sound good to the player or a recording. Out front in a live situation, little to nothing....like hitting a $400 splash.

If you're playing cover tunes at the local sports pub.... a Zildjian S class will sound better than a K Custom dry in that environment.

 

[Tama CW]

Some people just don't realize the importance of good cymbals. Saw a local band end of 2019. Drummer had a beautiful vintage Yamaha 9000 kit with ZBT cymbals......was going to ask him about that on break, but decided not to.

I bought a similar kit about 2 years ago. 1980 - Yamaha 9000D with Zilldjian ZBT's. It was a good deal. I use my own A's on that kit now. In this case I don't think the previous owner really knew or cared about A's vs ZBT's.
And the same thing happened when I bought my early 80's Yamaha 8000 series Tour kit......it came with Sabian B8's. On the flip side, all the USA-made pre-1980's kits I've bought have always come with pro cymbals (Slingerlands,
Ludwigs, Rogers). Well, that was the main reason I bought them.

 

[shilohjim]

I'd rather have some sheet metal cymbals over some of those foul sounding Istanbul and Bosphorus cymbals everyone goes crazy over, but to me sound like poopy.

 

[multijd]

It took me a long time to zero in on what cymbal sounds I like and what works for me. A lot of cymbals bought and sold along the way. I think the ear has to adjust and learn how to listen. Plus you have to develop a touch that is very different than how you hit a drum. If you are doing this without guidance from a teacher, mentor, knowledgeable band members or even audience it could be a long and ardous path to discovery. I find that many of my students have no real clue. But then they hear some of my cymbals or even play them and it opens their ears.

 

[Demonslayer]

inflation

 

[rikkrebs]

I think many drummer may want to sell their kit, but keep their cymbals. Many buyers want to buy a ready to play kit.......so sellers throw in cheap cymbals.

 

[drummerfriend]

Like all gear - 'good' or 'bad' is an opinion, not a fact.

I've played 'expensive' cymbals I thought were simply terrible. Someone could play it after me and it could be their dream sound.

I've played and do own some 'less expensive' cymbals that I think are not too bad.

 

[Rock Salad]

Mid level kit at the store new, hey, what is a comparable set of cymbals? Well, here's a pack of mid level Zildjians. What kind of mid level sticks and hardware you got? Oh and the cheapest throne please.