After a few weeks of exhaustive research and constant product returns I have assembled my new set of cymbals for my drum kit.  I purchased all of these online as used cymbals and let me tell you these guys rock!

• Zildjian 20″ K ride
• Zildjian 18″ A medium thin crash
• Paiste 16″ full crash
• Paiste 14″ Alpha medium hats

One thing I like about this setup is that the larger cymbals are made from B20 alloy (80% Cu, 20% Sn) with a darker tone and the smaller cymbals use B12 and B8 alloys with a brighter tone.  Using low Sn alloys in the smaller diameter cymbals extends the range of pitches in the group.

Getting to this group took a lot of searching!  I started off looking mostly at the Zildjian lines to replace my 18″ and 20″ Sabian XS20 cymbals.  My first guess of 20/18/16 A Custom were nice but the 20″ was way too lively and the bell volume was just off the charts.  The 16″ also must have been bent or something because it would turn dissonant at higher volumes.  The 20″ K ride swapped in and had the restrained wash and high-pitched bell I was looking for.  Then I realized that I hadn’t properly given the A Series a try and picked up the 16/18.  The 16″ was severely bent and sounded terrible, so I gave up searching and grabbed a Paiste full crash.  The 18″ A Series vs A Custom took some serious soul-searching but in the end the great attack of the A Series won out.

Whew we made it!