The best hi-hats Zildjian NEVER made!
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- Опубліковано 21 кві 2024
- Zildjian never made these hi-hat sets...but they should have. Explore your cymbal bag to make unique and interesting hi-hat sounds that you love to play and make your drum kit sound like YOU.
#drums #drumming #cymbals #commonsensemusician #commonsensedrummer
@ZildjianCompany
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I bought a set of the old Zildjian Remix Jungle hats for a steal years ago with factory-installed tambourine jingles riveted into them, which basically kills any life the cymbals have. Drill out the rivets and remove the jingles and you suddenly have some of the best sounding hi-hats I've ever played. Deep round K-style hammering and the rivet holes prevent air lock. Fantastic.
Oh, man. I would LOVE to hear those. What a find!
I have 13 a pocket hats. Perfect for funk and hiphop that I play. Cuts through like a knife
Yeah! Those are GREAT hats. Wish I had a pair!
I've been playing a regular K on top and a New Beat on bottom most of my life. I don't wanna overthink it and even really try anything else. I am happy with it and it is my sound.
I'm going to have to try that combination. I bet it sounds great!
My brother!
My favorite hi hat combo is a 14” A Zildjian New Beat top over a Paiste 2002 Sound Edge bottom. It gives me a perfect “Ringo wash”.
That’s gotta be a great combo. Would love to hear that!
Love all your examples! My uncle uses two old Beverly cymbals. 20” ride on bottom and 20” crash top. Crazy config but wild results!
I bet those sound killer. Thanks for the comment!
My friend bought a drumkit for about $300 from some weird online store back in the day when online shopping was just about to become a thing. The drums got delivered wrapped in glad wrap and paper. Long story short, that drumkit had the best sounding hi-hats I have ever played on. The ride cymbal cracked, as did the splash, but my lord those hi-hats were so freaken sharp and crisp. My drum teacher at the time, who was a professional jazz musician, borrowed them for a show he played at a local pub after hearing them for our school performance. This is a true story. So, yeah - I complety get chasing a certain sound. Yours sound really sweet.
I love this story! You never know where you’re going to come across a gem. Thanks for stopping by!
I have a 17” remix ride that I use as a hi hat bottom. As a ride it sounds like a big hi hat bottom
Nice. What do you use as the top?
I agree. I've been mixing cymbals for years. I played Paiste until Zildjian came out w/ the Mastersounds. I tend to favour the Amir/Impulse lines because they remind me of my college days. I picked up a matching set of Quickbeats and I was shocked at how good those sounded! Up until those, I always favoured the rippled bottoms. I've since learned that I prefer heavier hats and I use crashes as rides. I play Jazz.
Nice. I love the lighter rides, too. I’ve had a couple pair of Quickbeats, and I love them!
I personally like having 2 10" splashes as a fun effect hi hat :)
I love this. Which splashes do you use?
@CommonSenseMusician Currently I have a Zildjian Z Planet on the bottom and then an A Custom on top
@@namwob7214 Nice. I bet that sounds great!
@@CommonSenseMusician oh yea I love them
I loved the old 13” K/Z hats from the 90s. I made a 16” version with a Z rock crash for the bottom and a 16” k dark thin for the top. My favorite hi hats I’ve ever played
I'd LOVE to hear those 16s. That sounds amazing. Just today I came across an old set of those K/Zs, and it reminded me of my old ones (that I mentioned in the video). Maybe I'm just a little more mature of a player, but they sounded and felt great today. Better than I remember them!
my first crash was an 18” k custom special dry crash. when i got an 18” k paper thin to replace it, i hammered the dry crash a bit so i could use it more like a small ride. i tried them as a pair of hi hats and they sounded absolutely massive. super low, dark, and washy but because of the thinness of the paper thin crash, still relatively easy to control
EXCELLENT. I would love to hear those!
I've used 14" k custom dark top hat with a 14" A series Newbeat brilliant bottom for at least 15yrs now. They sound great, hard to beat.
Sounds like a great combo!
The quest for the perfect hi hat pair or ride cymbal is the one thing unite all drummers around the globe. After many years playing Zildjian top models I found my perfect hi hat and ride from other brand. But Zildjian cymbals helped me to find what sounds express my playing.
Yes. I feel like Zildjian is a great starting place. They are reliable for just about every playing need, and give you a good baseline for what cymbals traditionally sound like. But branching out to other brands is always a good idea! There are great sounds all over the place. Thanks for the comment!
I chuckled when watching this because I was like “he’s gonna make his own K Custom Dark Top / Z Bottom combo” and then you went the other direction! My main hats are a 16” K Custom Dark Crash on top of a 16 Z Custom Rock Crash and they are just the right buttery wash. Love your sense of adventure for trying new sh!t out!
I wish I still had that combo! Your 16s sound like something I need to try. Thanks for the comment!
Jeremy Taggart (formely of) Our Lady Peace had the arguably best hi hat sound imho
He used a 15" bottom K Zildjian as a top hi hat and an 15" bottom A Custom Zildjian on bottom until he switched to Istanbul cymbals. You can hear that combo on OLP's records "Gravity", "Live" and "Healthy in Paranoid Times"
I LOVE that sound! Thanks for the comment!
Sounds great. I just recently decided the bottom hat on my Paiste 14” traditional medium light hats is just too chonky for a jazz trio I’m doing, so I swapped it out for a New Beat top hat from the 80’s. It’s still a little bright but it definitely mellowed out the sound enough that I’m going to keep using the combo for a while.
Sounds interesting! It's amazing how much difference switching either cymbal out can make. Thanks for the comment!
I was using a K 10" splash on top of a Zil oriental trash hat top (top on the bottom) as an x-hat but the K splash was really to thin and weak .I reversed them and it was better, but bit of a shame to be using a K splash as a bottom hat. I then found a 14" A custom bottom hat with cracks in it cheap, I cut that down in the garage with a grinder to 10" and as a 10" cymbal on it own it's thick and horrible, but as a bottom hat to the oriental trash top it great. I now have my new X hat set up. My normal hats are Sabian AA 13" regular hats. Great all rounders for funk.rock,pop. I think that splash/china set is similar to the Oriental hats set that by top is from (I never had the bottom)
YES. This is exactly what I'm talking about. Sounds amazing! I'd love to hear it if you've got any audio or video of it. Upload a UA-cam video, maybe?
@@CommonSenseMusician I dont have any video/mic equipment, I tried my phone but it sounded awful.
@@krusher74 No worries. Thanks for replying!
There's something special about the sound in your head. I fell in love with the modern K Custom Special Dry 15" hats about 7 years ago. I've since gone to Paiste and I've tried to find a replacement for the Ks but I just can't. They are the sound in my head right now. And now I want to do something silly like drill an air hole in the bottom cymbal like the old quick beats to prevent the vacuum foot chick sound.
Those Special Drys are a killer sound. Paiste has a ton of great stuff, of course, but I agree there’s nothing quite like that.
Hat combos I currently use:
Go-to: 14" Paiste Signature Dark Crisps. Nothing special about them, just a fantastic-sounding, versatile set of hats.
2) 14" K Zildjian Light top, ZHT Mastersound bottom. These actually sound pretty similar to the Dark Crisps, but slightly lower pitched.
3) 14" A Zildjian (70's hollow logo) top, A Zildjian Quick Beat top on the bottom. Very low-pitched and jazzy (912g/1158g). For the above two sets, occasionally I will swap out the top for a 14" Paiste 2002 Medium top. Slightly lower pitched, but brighter.
4) 13" Meinl Byzance Traditional set. Again nothing special, just a fantastic set of hats I tend to use for proggier stuff.
5) 12" A Zildjian Re-Mix set. Used as auxiliaries. Low-pitched and slightly trashy, same series as the Breakbeat ride.
Would like to get a set of 15" hats at some point, though I have not settled on which yet. Maybe Paiste 2002 Big Beats, Meinl Pure Alloy Mediums, or Keropes.
Those are all EXCELLENT hats, and quite the collection! I just got a set of 15” New Beats (I think they’re from the 70s), and I am loving the size. It’s a great sound. Thanks for checking in!
@@CommonSenseMusician Yeah, 15s have a nice, low-pitched kind of sloshiness to them that seems to work pretty nicely in certain circumstances. I've never used them, but would like to see what can be done.
I have been playing drums for 36 years now, and I caught the cymbal collecting bug a long time ago! Some have come and gone, but I think the only other hi-hat cymbal I have that I didn't mention is the bottom Quick Beat cymbal, which I haven't used at all since I bought the Dark Crisps. If anyone is interested, I'd be happy to trade it to a new home!
I'm right behind you. Been playing for almost 33 years. It's rare that a cymbal or sound comes along these days that completely changes how I play, but some of these hat combinations have inspired some new ideas.
@@CommonSenseMusician Definitiely. You got me thinking about getting a 14" china of some sort (Meinl GenX Filter China?) for use under one of the 12" Re-Mix hats.
I had a 15in Zildjian k custom special dry hi hat top on a 15in Zildjian k light hat bottom and it sounded absolutely amazing. Slightly gritty but still great chick and projection
That sounds like it's right up my alley. Gonna have to check it out. Thanks for stopping by!
14” Quick Beat
Solid choice. You can't go wrong with those hats.
The first serious pair of hats I ever bought was a pair of Zildjian 14" A Custom Mastersounds, and looking back I think I made a great choice. I am looking for a new pair of hats that are drier / crispier, though, to add to my arsenal.
I think the A Custom Mastersounds are a killer hi-hat. Definitely a great choice!
I've got 13" K custom dark bottom on top of a z. Seemed like a good idea after trying both top k and bottom k on top. The thicker bottom beefs up the sound making it sound closer to 14" but with the playability of 13's
That’s a great idea. Love it!
I’ve enjoyed mixing different top/bottom hihats for many years now and with 5 matched pairs of both Avedis and K Zildjian 14” hihats and the odd top/ bottom cymbal I’ve picked up along the way I’ve plenty of combinations I can choose from. My favourite is an Oriental trash hat top over an Avedis Rock top as the bottom cymbal and I find this gives me a slightly dirty stick sound but with a nice clean chick sound from the heavy Avedis bottom. However I’ve never thought about about placing a splash cymbal over the top of a regular hat bottom (two 18” cymbals would unfortunately be too big for me but a great idea) and having recently purchased a 12” oriental trash hat top and unable to find a bottom hat (or pair) at a reasonable price your video has given me a great alternative to using this new purchase. Great video and great ideas for different sounds, as you say the best hihats that Zildjian never made!
Great ideas - I love it! The original series those 18" rides came from also included a 12" set of hi-hats called Remix. They were also re-released a couple of times, so they are easy to find if you're interested. If you have any UA-cam videos of you playing those hats, send me a link. I'd love to hear it!
Almost 15 years ago we got a set of Sabian XS20 cymbals at church- the super set that came with 14 hats, 16/18 crashes, 20 ride, and a "free" 10 splash and 14 crash. I experimented with all possible combinations of those 14" cymbals and the best combination for me, hands down, was the 14" crash on the bottom and the hihat top on top. This inverts the traditional wisdom of a heavier bottom, but with those cymbals it worked well. Since then I've mixed and matched a ton, and I very rarely use a matched pair of hihats. I also find hihat pairings are a great use for cracked cymbals, which I've picked up for next to nothing on marketplace.
I'd never thought of buying cracked cymbals for this purpose. I'm going to have to look around! I love those XS20s. For the money, they are/were a great bargain on a good sound. Thanks for the comment!
I just finished playing the game “Will It Hi-Hat!?” Hahaha
I paired my 16” Paiste Giant Beat hi hat bottom with my 16” Zildjian K Dark Thin Crash, and it was like magic.
Great video, thanks for sharing!
That sounds like magic to me. Thanks for stopping by!
that china on the bottom is so rad! definitely gonna make a pair of those, thanks for the inspo!
Yeah! Glad you liked it. Thanks for the comment!
Recently, I started using a Meinl Classics Custom Dark 14” trash on top and a Zildjian I 14” Hat bottom as an aux hat. I have it mounted on a Meinl X-hat stand so I can change the sound depending on the song.
It has a nice, tight closed sound that almost sounds like Zackgrooves’ hats. I use that for fusion and funk when the song calls for it - just today, I used it on a Jeff Beck song. But I use it as a sloshy stack when I play metal, especially Garstka’s stuff.
I’m not sure what it would sound like if I went out, bought those same cymbals, and stacked them today, since I only started stacking them when the Meinl trash started cracking, but I’d imagine I could mount them without the trash flipping inside out 😂😂 I like using stacks and hats as a way to repurpose broken cymbals, though. Gets me some interesting sounds.
Very interesting sounds! And I love the idea of using cracked cymbals as stacks or x-hats. Thanks for the great ideas!
I like your 1st example. I even have those two…. Well, the k top is a mastersound but I believe they’re about the same. I’ll have to check them out.
I'm a huge fan of Mastersounds. Great sounding cymbals!
The coolest sounding set of hi hats I have played was when a college classmate and I combined his K Light top with my Paiste Twenty Custom bottom for our showcase. His hats were too dark, but mine were too bright. Combined together, they were MAGNIFICENT! The weirdest "set" of hi hats I have played is my Sabian HH Duo Splash on top of my Paiste 2002 Wild Splash. Both 10". VERY crispy!
YEAH! This is exactly what I love to hear. Both are excellent ideas. I’d love to hear them both!
Those two 18" rides as hi-hats sound the best to me (on iPhone speakers). I've never played hi-hats bigger than 14" that I can remember, so now that I've heard much larger ones I'm wondering if they're the key to getting rid of that strange upward scoop sound I hate so much when playing open hi-hat parts. I guess larger, heavier cymbals don't flop around as much when you hit them as smaller, lighter cymbals.
There are a ton of 15" pairs you might try if you want to go bigger. Like I said in the video, I'm not sure I'd play anything that large unless it was a very specific situation. That said, I've played 13s for most of my career. Thanks for commenting!
About 4 years ago after decades of drumming, I finally stumbled upon my perfect hihats, actually 3 pairs. A private dealer friend of mine wanted to shift two sets of zildjian A's. One from the 60s and one pair from the 70s.
The seventies hats are the hollow logo. They are light but close really nice and tightly with a lovely stick sound. They are easy to keep tight and articulate. They sound great for jazz or pop. The 60s set also sound great. They are actually slightly heavier than the 70s pair but are not overly heavy. . Still plenty of stick definition and a slightly louder chick with the foot. Also , the sixties top works great with the seventies bottom. Another cool thing is that if you turn the 70s pair upside down they also sound great, with a really crisp/hard stick definition coming from the bottom hat. I also scored an absolutely magic K top hat from the eighties. It is an early 80s k. There is no logo left on the cymbal but if you hold it in the correct light you can still see the markings where the logo used to be. With the seventies A bottom it is an absolutely magic combination.
I went from having constant hihat frustration to being spoilt for choice in just a day. The Eighties k also came with an Eighties new beat on the bottom, and that is also a magic combination.
I got both pairs of A's for $100 a pair and traded a set of 13 inch K Customs (which were nice but not for me) for the magic eighties K that came with an 80s new beat on he bottom.
Wow! That's an amazing collection - I must admit I'm jealous! Thank you for the comment!
I play a 15 A New Beat Top on a 15 K Fat Hats bottom, gives me good articulation but isnt too overwhelming when open. I play in an acoustic trio so the K Fats by themselves sound great but i noticed when i play 16th notes or more, they kinda get lost in the mix. Mixing and matching Hats is the way to go!
I love it. I've never played the Fat Hats on a gig, but I'd like to. Thanks for stopping by!
I have k custom dark top/new beat bottom 14 in. They sound fantastic.
I'm going to have to try that combination. Thanks!
ive been using paiste formula 404 heavy bottom with a sabian bottom hhx groove hat on top,B20 and B8 sizzling together sounds good and never to loud or bright.another combo i used was a paiste 505 green label heavy bottom with a zildjian new beat hollow logo bottom hat i found being used as an ashtray at a local practice space with a sharpie drawn pentagram i scrubbed off,paired up and played.all were 14inch variety,good video.
Nice. The ashtray cymbal - great find. Sounds like some great combos! Thanks for the comment!
Perfect hats for jazz!
Yep! I love them. Thank you for stopping by!
15" k light bottom on top
15" new beat bottom on bottom
17" a custom rezo crash on top
17" z3 medium crash on bottom
Those 15s sound like they'd be GREAT. I've never tried 17s before, but I'm going to have to! Thanks for stopping by!
The best hi-hats zildjian never made are Paistes!
You're not wrong!
I have a few pairs that i created:
15" small stamp Zildjian 1050 gram top over a 15" trans stamp zildjian 1225 gram
15" Paiste giant Beat top over 15" paiste 2002 sound edge bottom
14" small stamp Zildjian 820 grams over 14 pre serial paiste 602 1050 gram
All beautiful combos!
Those all sound FANTASTIC. I have one pair of 15" New Beats that I love, too. I don't have any other 15s, so no crazy pairings yet, but soon! Thanks for stopping by!
You should get ahold.of.some.of those tri hats from sabian
I've never played those. I'll have to check them out. Thanks!
Bro, I too bought the special K/Z hi hat pair from watching under the table and drumming vhs. Ended up trading them to a friend for a pair of new beats. I’ve been playing them ever since. I’m in a new project now and wanting something different for it.
Yep. I have that VHS on my shelf as I type this! You can't go wrong with New Beats (my opinion), but there are a ton of good options out there. Good luck finding something awesome!
@@CommonSenseMusician The K cymbal came in kind of warped or at least not flat, which was accentuated with the hard Z bottom. I could never get a good chick sound and chokes felt "off". Overall I dug the tone but that fact and the accompanying diminished playability finally made me hate those hi hats. Which I suggested an even trade with a friend who accepted. The new beats are fine in that way though. I kind of want some 13" now for the style I'm playing. btw this trade was probably 10 years ago or more lol Like I said, been playing the new beats ever since.
Huh! I've never played a hat that felt warped. I'll bet that got really frustrating. Sounds like the trade was exactly what the doctor ordered.
@@CommonSenseMusician Yeah when you'd step on the hi hat pedal, they wouldn't clap together all at once like normal.
I prefer Paiste SoundEdge hats myself. Blue ColorSound 900 series 14".
Absolutely! Those are a great set of hats!
Recommendations: 1) 14" K Custom Special Dry bottom, 14" K Constantinople top. Both must be original version. 2) Two 16":K Dark Thin Crashes. 3) Two 16" Sabian HH Medium Thin Crashes.
YES. Those all sound great. I'm a fan of the Special Drys, too. Can't wait to give them a shot!
Funny, I like the way you think. Before I saw this video, I have had a pair of hi-hats for a while that someone told me Stewart Copeland liked, dunno if it's true, but they sound good, my favorite pair of six. An A Series Mastersound top and a Mastersound Z Custom bottom. I recently sold the sixth pair, a Saluda SS Rock pair, only took a $20 loss, never quite bonded with them, although they were cool in their own way. Today I ordered a used mismatched Zildjian Mastersound pair of a Z Custom top and an A Custom bottom, that sort of reverses my existing mismatched pair in a way. Thought that might be interesting to try, and to mix and match with my existing A Series and Z Custom Mastersound pair, for various possibilities. Good Video.
Thank you for the kind words - I'm glad you enjoyed the video. I'm a huge fan of Mastersounds - all that I've ever played or heard have been great. Saludas are cool, but also not really my sound. Would love to hear some of your hats if you ever upload some playing to UA-cam. Thanks for stopping by!
A custom top, on bottom
On top, a kerope top
14”
I bet that sounds amazing. I haven't played Keropes much, but I'd love to try that out. Great idea!
24” k light ride on a 24” a medium ride
What! Did your hat stand even move that thing?! That’s awesome!