Yup Zildjian are bringing back the Z Customs! They are a totally different disk, built upon the lessons learned of the original Z's. They are lathed and thinner to boot, they really dialled them in and are a classic 2000's sound. Nice to see them back! The original Z's on the other hand...
I swear to God, this exact cymbal is my first cymbal! It used to have some tape that was impossible to remove, so before I sold it, I had to scratch it hard! That's why there is a big clear spot near the Z ! i sold it in France in 2020 it's so random i don't have the photos i used to sell it but i still have som random picture on which you can see it !
"We've used computer assisted hammering and all of our metallurgic knowledge to make this B20 cymbal sound like you closed the lid on a trash can too hard..."
That Z has what we inside Zildjian called “cancer”, basically some contamination & porosity from a bad melt process. Even at the perfect thickness, those inclusions that break up the pure B20 cut the sustain down a comical amount. For lathed cymbals, once you start cutting, it’s easy to visually sort out, but without lathing you can often only hear it. And I’m betting for this series, it was anything-goes on what the cymbal “should” sound like, given the target market.
So has it been a recurring problem with Zildjian? Because when I was in band from 82-86, I used Zildjian cymbals for marching band and even with softer crashes? I cracked 2 pairs during 83-84 alone. Now they did sound bright and the sound more natural during crashes, but they just cracked and fell apart. We ended up getting Sabians, not as good sounding, but heavier and more durable.
Every original Z crash I ever tried sounded like that. I always put it down to them being way too thick for what they were supposed to do - there was so much bronze there they couldn't vibrate properly.
It honestly made me laugh. After he said he hated the rude at the beginning I didn’t think it sounded too bad, so I expected the Z to not be too terrible. Boy was I wrong.
i love the fact that, even though it’s not a good sound, it’s literally exactly what someone is looking for. someone out there has been searching for that exact sound. that’s what i love most about music and instruments, even if it’s not what you want, it’s someone else’s dream
@@bubbillusionexactly. This guy and everybody commenting is just saying that it's automatically bad because it doesn't work for the context he's using it with. If you aren't the target audience then of course you won't make it sound good. Just look at china cymbals. They sound absolutely ugly on their own but with the right player and in the right context, they can sound absolutely amazing.
Hate to say it but some cymbals are objectively terrible, this is definitely one of them. It may be someone's favorite sound if their goal is to repel entire audiences
Yes! Every time he hit it I was like omg in the right context that sad kinda bonk would add so much tension to a good nu metal song. Even industrial stuff.
Good point. Especially since I actually like a lot of cymbals that go for this sort of sound but now I know exactly what that sounds like when they fail horribly at it.
They reissued the Z Customs NOT the originals. Those are VERY different cymbals. 🤷 Z Customs kick ass! As a metal drummer first & foremost, I've used a Z Custom as my "main squeeze" crash (the 16" "Z Custom Rock Crash" to be specific) for like a decade now! 🌝 With me only being in the market for a replacement in my "default lineup" just recently due to its "FINALLY just too damn bad to keep ignoring" cracking/splitting. 🤦🤷 And I'm SERIOUSLY considering just replacing it with one these reissues while I still have the chance!... Although sadly the Rock Crash in particular wasn't reissued MUCH to my dismay, but at least the regular one was! (And thankfully the standard & Rock crashes are FAR more similar than different! Although I definitely prefer the louder, higher pitched, and more piercing sound of the thicker Rock crash if given the choice. 🤷 It cuts through the chugs & thugs of a kickass metal breakdown like a hot knife through buttah!!! 😁 It's almost like it has just the sliiiightest bit of quality small size china cymbal DNA in its sound profile that the standard version has much less of. 🤷 Aka very loud, bright, and forward in the natural acoustic mix [aka cuts/pierces through], but also somehow without a ton of sustain for how crazy damn thick it is! 😳🤯 Or at least not for its primary sound anyways! Which again, makes it IMO damn near the IDEAL metal breakdown crash! Hahaha. 🤣 Although ofc on what's usually the most hard hit primary cymbal, the Rock crash's epic thickness which makes all those bits of unique goodness happen also makes it VERY liable to slowly start to crack after a few years, as I've unfortunately gotten to experience first-hand... 🤦 That could very well be part of why it wasn't reissued with the other Z Customs. 🤷)
The decay reminds me more of a dark plate reverb than a crash cymbal. In fact, with a couple of transducers you could probably turn it into a reverb plate like that guy did with the IKEA table.
I turned a cheap Craigslist crash cymbal into a plate reverb in college. Don’t remember what it was, some bottom line Zildjian probably. It’s a fun project. Line-to-speaker amp, wire it a cheap speaker under the cymbal, stick a piezo to the cymbal, mic to line amp, bingo bango. You can throw a feedback line from the line out to the line in with a control knob if you want, pretty easy addition, or you can do the feedback in DAW. Probably cost like $50 plus the cymbal. It sounded GNARLY, tons of character. If it sounds fun to you, it would be.
Seeing all the "computer generated" marketing in that magazine ad at 0:32 I am convinced Zildjian would be marketing this as "ooooh AI designed" if these cymbals released today
While it is quite horrible, i think it would be perfect for some funeral doom sort of metal project, i have heard some bands wich have this style of cymbal and it fits perfectly with the music.
Yeah, the only use I can think of is in like a big prog kit where you want a ton of different cymbals to add variety. It could be used every once in a while, but certainly not as the main crash cymbal
Gotta say, I love the way The Drum Thing operates now. I think this is a lot more fun and engaging. Love the rework Wade! Keep up the great work, you madlad!
I'm a musician but I do not have an ear for drums at all, usually when he pulls out a nasty cymbal I'm like "sounds fine to me" until he puts it in context. When he played this thing my jaw literally dropped right away it sounds so BAD
Idk why but this video makes me want to see a CNC cut cymbal. I don’t think anyone would be willing to throw away that much bronze for something that probably sounds bad lol
ABSOLUTELY agree. I test drove one of these the first month they’ve were released in-store. It was horrific sounding. At the time, though, not wanting to appear stupid, I pretended like it was going to be a game changer. Which just made me look stupid.
Can't tell if the K at 6:58 has it too, if it does it much much quieter than the brass' ring. But I also could just be imagining it 'cause the brass one is still in my brain.
The 16" Republic Percussion cymbal is made from B20 bronze. The hammering indicated it's a Wuhan district cymbal, just like Stagg. You'd find a lot of those under different names like CB Drums and bundled with entry level kits. To drummers out there, they may be cheap but can sound like something 10x the price!
A cymbal that might take it to the Z is the Peace 12" Disc of Hate that you found at cashie's. I actually think the disc of hate has a use as a very niche effect cymbal though so i think i'd rather have that than the Z
i will never have enough of dank videos lol, and i never paid attention to the different sounds of cymbals so i'm learning all on this channel. and it's so interesting as well, i'm proud to be a new sub :)
I like the Paiste rudes tbh. Especially the sound edge hihats… super crisp sound! Best hihat I have owned. Looking forward to buy a new pair when they are back in stock!
Tape 2 PKCELL's together and attach to the bell with 8ga wire in parallel. It'll change the composition of the metal to "double turd" bronze and it'll sound so much the same.
Can confirm from experience the Zildjian Z heavy crash was a bad cymbal . However I thought the now deleted Z custom line wasn’t to bad at all, I always regretted selling my Z custom hi hats .
I kinda like it as an effects cymbal, i have a krusty old cymbal .. maxtone.. rust af and it sounds like your banging on a rusty old 40 gallon drum / tank, i love it
Great to see you Wade! I can't believe they got such a terrible sound with B20. The worst cymbals I have used (other than generic unbranded) has to be the Paiste 101 - pretty much the same vibe as the Z you have there 😁
I had a pair of 13" K/Z hi hats (K top, Z bottom) that were popular with the fusion crowd, drummers such as Dave Weckl, Steve Smith, and Vinnie Colaiuta played them. They sounded great, got them at a steal of a price because I told the guy at the shop that the cymbals didn't match, so he gave me a discount lol. I played everything with them including a band with two Marshall full stacks and they cut through. The rest of my cymbal setup were all 80's K's - chinas, crashes, splashes - I had a 22" Zildjian Earth ride, another A medium ride, and an A swish from the late 70's. I also had a pair of Paiste red Color Sounds that I hated. But I used those on an X-Hat. The Z Custom's were horrid back then, all the metal guys I knew used them, and my Earth Ride killed any of those Z Custom rides, especially the bell.
Yup Zildjian are bringing back the Z Customs!
They are a totally different disk, built upon the lessons learned of the original Z's.
They are lathed and thinner to boot, they really dialled them in and are a classic 2000's sound.
Nice to see them back!
The original Z's on the other hand...
Nice!
Speaking of the new Z Customs I was blown away by the 22 inch ride and 20 inch crash they sounded soo good!
Z
damn finally a video
I swear to God, this exact cymbal is my first cymbal! It used to have some tape that was impossible to remove, so before I sold it, I had to scratch it hard! That's why there is a big clear spot near the Z !
i sold it in France in 2020 it's so random
i don't have the photos i used to sell it but i still have som random picture on which you can see it !
It bonks and gongs at the same time. It bongs
i love bongs
gonks and bongs
I bong everyday
Load up that swish og
That's a bong I wouldn't be happy to be with.
It’s a bonk but it realizes that people don’t want the bonk about mid way through so it gets self conscious and tries to stop
This is fuckin gold man thanks you gave me a good laugh
haha I swear there's a split second when you can hear how it's supposed to sound but then it just doesn't
i laughed so hard i choked
If the St. Anger snare was a cymbal.
No, wait, Lars used these.
Because of course he did.
-_-
@@blackett412that's hilarious
@@blackett412 Wait what songs they use that in because there is no way anything rememberable used these
@@nickrustyson8124I would guess it's the select few songs in MoP and AJfA that soundnlike there's no crash cymbals in them
@@nickrustyson8124the mix compensates for many things. That's the upside for playing thrash metal I guess...
As someone with 0 musical understanding
that thing sounds like its underwater
Probably because it has a lot less high end presence than a normal cymbal
I too have zero musical sense, and I agree it sounds like a hubcap.
As someone with musical understanding, I agree
@@mrblack5145 funny thing is that hubcaps would probably sound better lol
its strangely quiet??
It sounds like a gong that is rapidly being pulled away from you
The Gonplar Effect
this is so vivid that its all i can think about when i hear this cymbal now
i've never heard a more accurate explanation for a cymbals sound
You have a wonderful way with words
Finally, the cymbal that tosses itself!
"We've used computer assisted hammering and all of our metallurgic knowledge to make this B20 cymbal sound like you closed the lid on a trash can too hard..."
Yes! Galvanized garbage can banging on concrete!
I thought for sure I wasn't going to be able to hear a difference, but it's truly awful!
You clearly never heard of a Swish Knocker.
Zildjian really figured out how to make a B20 bronze cymbal sound like a stop sign huh?
Nah, stop sign is unique.
Introducing the Zildjian Aluminum.
i was so hoping he'd bust out the stop sign
Yeah, good idea for a sheet of metal , even appliances work too. A guy used to make cymbals with sheet metal on youtube!
I mean Wade has done a video on the stop sign symbol... it sounds like you think it'd sound
That Z has what we inside Zildjian called “cancer”, basically some contamination & porosity from a bad melt process. Even at the perfect thickness, those inclusions that break up the pure B20 cut the sustain down a comical amount. For lathed cymbals, once you start cutting, it’s easy to visually sort out, but without lathing you can often only hear it. And I’m betting for this series, it was anything-goes on what the cymbal “should” sound like, given the target market.
So they just never played it before sending it out? Should have been caught in QC.
So has it been a recurring problem with Zildjian? Because when I was in band from 82-86, I used Zildjian cymbals for marching band and even with softer crashes? I cracked 2 pairs during 83-84 alone. Now they did sound bright and the sound more natural during crashes, but they just cracked and fell apart. We ended up getting Sabians, not as good sounding, but heavier and more durable.
Every original Z crash I ever tried sounded like that. I always put it down to them being way too thick for what they were supposed to do - there was so much bronze there they couldn't vibrate properly.
That's not even a crash cymbal. It's a bonk cymbal.
The jaw drop I experienced after hearing that first 'clonk' is rivaled only by the introduction of the 20" steel DXP from the egg cymbal video
I had to go back to the egg cymbal to listen to the 20" DXP steel again after this video. The sound of that thing is still special and hilarious.
It honestly made me laugh. After he said he hated the rude at the beginning I didn’t think it sounded too bad, so I expected the Z to not be too terrible. Boy was I wrong.
i love the fact that, even though it’s not a good sound, it’s literally exactly what someone is looking for. someone out there has been searching for that exact sound. that’s what i love most about music and instruments, even if it’s not what you want, it’s someone else’s dream
yeah honestly i can think of a lot of contexts where it would sound really cool!
@@bubbillusionwhat like the boff sound to go with the words from the 66 batman show
@@bubbillusionexactly. This guy and everybody commenting is just saying that it's automatically bad because it doesn't work for the context he's using it with. If you aren't the target audience then of course you won't make it sound good. Just look at china cymbals. They sound absolutely ugly on their own but with the right player and in the right context, they can sound absolutely amazing.
Hate to say it but some cymbals are objectively terrible, this is definitely one of them. It may be someone's favorite sound if their goal is to repel entire audiences
@@jayall00 skill issue
The "lower quality" cymbals are all EXCELLENT nu-metal percussion...
One of my local nu-metal bands literally uses a trash can lid for an effect bonk. The drummer's nickname is Neil Dirt lmao.
I find that even my least favorite cymbals sound perfect in the right context.
Slipknot?
@@dcurry7287 What a rad nickname
Yes! Every time he hit it I was like omg in the right context that sad kinda bonk would add so much tension to a good nu metal song. Even industrial stuff.
he's adding his custom hammer marks to the cymbals he throws, what an entrepreneur
Ballistic hammering!
Sometimes you have to have your definition of “sounds good” recalibrated by hearing the things that sound bad.
Good point. Especially since I actually like a lot of cymbals that go for this sort of sound but now I know exactly what that sounds like when they fail horribly at it.
Ive played radiators that sound nicer than this Z
It got to the point that by the end of the video I forgot what a cymbal is supposed to sound like.
The no name children's kit cymbal actually makes for a quiet decent splash cymbal.
LMAO that cymbal sounds like its soul died or something. Never knew drums could lose the will to live!
😂😂😂
When the music is playing it sounds like instead of hitting the cymbal you are throwing a beanbag down a hallway and accidentally hitting a cymbal.
That cymbal sounds like a refund.
I never though I'd hear a cymbal that literally sounds depressed.
Timed it too well because Zildjian just reissued the Z's.
They reissued the Z Customs NOT the originals. Those are VERY different cymbals. 🤷 Z Customs kick ass!
As a metal drummer first & foremost, I've used a Z Custom as my "main squeeze" crash (the 16" "Z Custom Rock Crash" to be specific) for like a decade now! 🌝
With me only being in the market for a replacement in my "default lineup" just recently due to its "FINALLY just too damn bad to keep ignoring" cracking/splitting. 🤦🤷 And I'm SERIOUSLY considering just replacing it with one these reissues while I still have the chance!... Although sadly the Rock Crash in particular wasn't reissued MUCH to my dismay, but at least the regular one was!
(And thankfully the standard & Rock crashes are FAR more similar than different! Although I definitely prefer the louder, higher pitched, and more piercing sound of the thicker Rock crash if given the choice. 🤷 It cuts through the chugs & thugs of a kickass metal breakdown like a hot knife through buttah!!! 😁
It's almost like it has just the sliiiightest bit of quality small size china cymbal DNA in its sound profile that the standard version has much less of. 🤷 Aka very loud, bright, and forward in the natural acoustic mix [aka cuts/pierces through], but also somehow without a ton of sustain for how crazy damn thick it is! 😳🤯 Or at least not for its primary sound anyways! Which again, makes it IMO damn near the IDEAL metal breakdown crash! Hahaha. 🤣
Although ofc on what's usually the most hard hit primary cymbal, the Rock crash's epic thickness which makes all those bits of unique goodness happen also makes it VERY liable to slowly start to crack after a few years, as I've unfortunately gotten to experience first-hand... 🤦 That could very well be part of why it wasn't reissued with the other Z Customs. 🤷)
Got a 16 and 18 Z Custom hanging out on my kit right now and they are great
You gotta do a whole video about the Rudes, they’re iconic at this point
Now you can have that “brother practicing drums downstairs” sound on your own kit!
The comments couldn't prepare me for how soul-destroying that sound would be.
WAKE UP BOYS NEW DRUM THING JUST DROPPED
WOOO GADIES AND LENTLEMEN, A CYMBAL THINGY!!!!
Only took him two months
@@Miles6400 true, but he’s also managing 3 channels and making a website for his museum
@@mariothedevil1537 yoooo i forgot about that u know what its called (the website)
This gave me “Get up co**suckers, it’s all over…” vibes 😂😂
The decay reminds me more of a dark plate reverb than a crash cymbal. In fact, with a couple of transducers you could probably turn it into a reverb plate like that guy did with the IKEA table.
Sounds more like the metal grate that covers the central ac system intake than a cymbal.
I don't know, I suspect it would suck horribly as a reverb plate but could be wrong.
Brillant idea!!
I turned a cheap Craigslist crash cymbal into a plate reverb in college. Don’t remember what it was, some bottom line Zildjian probably. It’s a fun project. Line-to-speaker amp, wire it a cheap speaker under the cymbal, stick a piezo to the cymbal, mic to line amp, bingo bango. You can throw a feedback line from the line out to the line in with a control knob if you want, pretty easy addition, or you can do the feedback in DAW.
Probably cost like $50 plus the cymbal. It sounded GNARLY, tons of character. If it sounds fun to you, it would be.
I never fail to laugh when something you hit with a stick just goes *CLANG*
Finally, pre-choked
Dankpods looks like hes on a Las Vegas vacation
That was the bonkest sounding pot lid I've ever heard 😂
Seeing all the "computer generated" marketing in that magazine ad at 0:32 I am convinced Zildjian would be marketing this as "ooooh AI designed" if these cymbals released today
That broken tossed around Pearl ride cymbal sounded 1000x better than that POS. Very trashy and awesome
nothing could have prepared me for how that sounded, that is absolute garbage
Zildjian made a metal table 😭😭
7:35 The "EAK, challenge everything" joke awakened some nostalgia deep in my brain
Zildjan really said, “We are determined to never be satisfied with our quality. Here’s what that feels like.”
the DXP steel sounds like a frying pan hahaha
Well, it basically is one. It's a frying pan coated in gold glitter paint.
Same materials :P
A garb time and a drum thing? You're spoiling us mate
Even on expensive studio monitors the Zildjian just ... disappears in a mix lmao
We need to have a "really that bad" cymbol bonanza. A whole drum kit of skyscraper grade steel.
Hearing the first strike of that Zildjian Z has made me laugh harder than it should have. It sounds awful
it sounds like it's trying to pretend it's painted
The funny thing is...when he played a "good" and combined it with the "bad" one, it sounded pretty damn cool.
Wade is looking more and more like the embodiment of "60s/70s" everyday... And im all here for it.
Well it lives up to RUDE, it had a bad day so its a bit grumpy
While it is quite horrible, i think it would be perfect for some funeral doom sort of metal project, i have heard some bands wich have this style of cymbal and it fits perfectly with the music.
Yeah, the only use I can think of is in like a big prog kit where you want a ton of different cymbals to add variety. It could be used every once in a while, but certainly not as the main crash cymbal
Yeah, this could be useful as an effect cymbal, but it's definitely not a Crash, at all, and it's not going to make anyone switch from Paiste RUDE.
It has a wonderful "Ehh, good enough" attitude. The bonk of a tricycle crash and the hiss of a wet fart. 10/10
It genuinely sounds like you smashed it with a super soft marimba mallet and held the mallet on there
Hell yes just what I needed this morning.
Also first lel
yay drum dude is back
BELLY laughing when you hit the Z Custom
The best feature of the Z is the mesmerising ripple it does after being hit
Gotta say, I love the way The Drum Thing operates now. I think this is a lot more fun and engaging. Love the rework Wade! Keep up the great work, you madlad!
I'm a musician but I do not have an ear for drums at all, usually when he pulls out a nasty cymbal I'm like "sounds fine to me" until he puts it in context. When he played this thing my jaw literally dropped right away it sounds so BAD
I think we’re looking at it wrong. More of a ‘pocket gong’ than cymbal. Now it sounds great.
It's been so long since a new drum times been uploaded. Excited for more
Idk why but this video makes me want to see a CNC cut cymbal. I don’t think anyone would be willing to throw away that much bronze for something that probably sounds bad lol
If I have some laying around (I always have stuff around), I could try to make one, and try to make it sound good?
@@cubiclelemur that’s definitely a video i would watch. I didn’t even realise people have bronze just laying around lol
@@Flapjck it's weird, I have like everything lying around, from car parts to collectable toys, weird stuff
ABSOLUTELY agree. I test drove one of these the first month they’ve were released in-store. It was horrific sounding. At the time, though, not wanting to appear stupid, I pretended like it was going to be a game changer. Which just made me look stupid.
just go for stupid, you are better off (but never go full retard)
There are literally brass-stamped cymbals that come included in a drum starter kit for $300 that sound better than the Z power crash.
The zed: "all of those songs are not quite my tempo"
It sounds like 707 crash cymbal. That's why I like it
God that brass cymbal at 5:40-ish has such a high ring to it, tinnitus type sound. Yeouch.
Can't tell if the K at 6:58 has it too, if it does it much much quieter than the brass' ring. But I also could just be imagining it 'cause the brass one is still in my brain.
A cymbal that straight up sounds like a vine boom. Marvelous.
The 16" Republic Percussion cymbal is made from B20 bronze. The hammering indicated it's a Wuhan district cymbal, just like Stagg. You'd find a lot of those under different names like CB Drums and bundled with entry level kits. To drummers out there, they may be cheap but can sound like something 10x the price!
Sounds like a bit of aluminum siding underwater
Better sound from a bin lid
A cymbal that might take it to the Z is the Peace 12" Disc of Hate that you found at cashie's. I actually think the disc of hate has a use as a very niche effect cymbal though so i think i'd rather have that than the Z
I’ve been waiting so long for a stream highlights video, and it’s better than I could’ve asked for.
DRUM THING!
That's as BONK as a crash cymbal can BONK
I still have my first ride cymbal which also was a Headliner and I love it. Very gong-y sounding with mallets.
i will never have enough of dank videos lol, and i never paid attention to the different sounds of cymbals so i'm learning all on this channel. and it's so interesting as well, i'm proud to be a new sub :)
0:49 *RUDE*
Not gonna lie, paired with a good quality cymbal, a crap one can be used with its 'unique' sound
It's good as an accent sound, to be used like every second bar at most.
That's amazingly bad! Thanks for sharing these little bits of history!
been subconsciously waiting for this vid and its finally here, nice.
These would fit great on a certain metallica album
why do you say Z like a british person?
Because he's from a prison island aye
Because he's basically a British person with extra step
The production quality of this is... actually insane lol
Man i had a genuine chuckle when you hit that cymbal for the first time
It literally chokes itself. No grab required. Genius
I audibly went “Zildgian, why?” Multiple times during this video
That zildjian wiggle😅
Finally. I’ve missed the drum content!!!
Great video 😂! Best cymbal of Z series 21" mega bell
Bro your channel is 🔥. I actually learn cool info, and it’s hilarious. Cheers!
I like the Paiste rudes tbh. Especially the sound edge hihats… super crisp sound! Best hihat I have owned. Looking forward to buy a new pair when they are back in stock!
Never a bad day when a drum thing video drops
How can B20 big pizzas sound like a splash and a bonk at the same time...? You gotta respect the craftsmanship, it's probably not easy
Tape 2 PKCELL's together and attach to the bell with 8ga wire in parallel. It'll change the composition of the metal to "double turd" bronze and it'll sound so much the same.
I laughed so hard at this! Thanks for making my day dude!
Wow, never knew my first electronic set had a genuine Zildjian sounding crash
You’re killing me! 😂😂this was great. Thank you!
Can confirm from experience the Zildjian Z heavy crash was a bad cymbal .
However I thought the now deleted Z custom line wasn’t to bad at all, I always regretted selling my Z custom hi hats .
I kinda like it as an effects cymbal, i have a krusty old cymbal .. maxtone.. rust af and it sounds like your banging on a rusty old 40 gallon drum / tank, i love it
Hey I appreciate the new quality put into the drum thing, aside from terrible cymbals
Great to see you Wade! I can't believe they got such a terrible sound with B20. The worst cymbals I have used (other than generic unbranded) has to be the Paiste 101 - pretty much the same vibe as the Z you have there 😁
This is the best drum thing video yet
That k perfectly fits with the high hat. Crisp
I had a pair of 13" K/Z hi hats (K top, Z bottom) that were popular with the fusion crowd, drummers such as Dave Weckl, Steve Smith, and Vinnie Colaiuta played them. They sounded great, got them at a steal of a price because I told the guy at the shop that the cymbals didn't match, so he gave me a discount lol. I played everything with them including a band with two Marshall full stacks and they cut through. The rest of my cymbal setup were all 80's K's - chinas, crashes, splashes - I had a 22" Zildjian Earth ride, another A medium ride, and an A swish from the late 70's. I also had a pair of Paiste red Color Sounds that I hated. But I used those on an X-Hat. The Z Custom's were horrid back then, all the metal guys I knew used them, and my Earth Ride killed any of those Z Custom rides, especially the bell.