Well ... there are gobs of cymbals that have a nice traditional sound. Zildjian would be a choice, but fairly low on my list ... unless you had to have an exact duplicate visually speaking. I would look at Byzance, Dream, Isty, UFIP, Turkish, etc etc etc etc. If you are SOUND focused, there are an unreal amount of nice traditional vintage sounding cymbals available.

Thanks for the reply Roger. Luckily, I've found authentic hardware for the kit, so I want the cymbals to be authentic as well - in looks and sound. I'm thinking more in terms of Ks or As from that era. But again, thanks for the reply. I've heard of those cymbals and I'm sure they're great, but I'm looking for the real deal.

Stephen

http://www.ringosbeatlekits.com/cymbals Interesting... it's a bit of mystery. Paiste 602's are being reintroduced.. that seems to be what he played at one point.

That site, which I have seen before, equates the Paiste Stambul(not 602) bell profile with the Ajax bell profile. I have examples of both, made around that time and the Stambul , first of all is a far inferior cymbal to the Ajax and although, it has a very broad bell, it also has a very tall bell, almost as though it was punched with a softball----perfectly rounded. The Ajax bell is broad and flat and although, some of the Ajax cymbals, that I own( of 9) are really poor, 2 of the larger ones made out of slightly thicker stock are really excellent-----way beyond what one would expect. Tony Meehan played a 20" for years and loved it. No doubt ,Ringo found one that worked for him for a while too.

A Zildjians from the 60s. 20" medium ride, 18" med. thin crash/ride, 14" Hi Hats

These A Zildjians are easy to find as the market was flooded with these sizes in varying weights during the 60s and 70s. My first cymbal was a 20" A Zildjian Ride which I bought brand new in 1960 for $50.00. The problem with buying these "vintage" cymbals today is the mark-up. You will pay more than double the cost of the cymbal when it was new. If you look around on CL and Ebay you can probably get a 20, 18, and hi hats all for under $400. Still a bargain compared to today's new cymbal prices. Alternatively, you might consider the Armand Zildjian Series cymbal package. For around $700 you get this:

Zildjian Recalls that classic Zildjian "A" sound of the '60s.

Zildjian gives you a complete setup with this cymbal package that includes a 21" ride, 16" medium-thin crash, and 14" hi-hats, plus a free 18" thin crash. It also includes the 22" limited edition Armand Zildjian Deluxe Cymbal Bag in vintage blue with gold lettering.

Based on the popular 19" Armand Ride and the inimitable sound of the 60s, Zildjian proudly introduces the Armand series into the A Zildjian range. During the explosion of rock and pop music of the 60's, the great drummers of groundbreaking bands used A Zildjian cymbals to make their mark. You can hear Zildjian's distinctive sound in the great recordings of that era, from The Beatles to The Beach Boys, from Cream to The Jimi Hendrix Experience, from The Rolling Stones to The Spencer Davis Group. Zildjian has now resurrected that nostalgic cymbal sound with these exciting cymbals.

New shaping techniques create a slightly lower profile than A Zildjians and help to offer a special warm and smooth blend of overtones. Lighter weight specifications promote a fast cymbal response with special lower-pitched overtones without the loss of projection potential.

Zildjian left these babies without any protective coating to help promote the aged look and patina that cymbals from the 60's would have today. A tighter lathe on top combined with the current A Zildjian lathing on the bottom results in a unique feel for each cymbal.

Features

21" ride

16" medium thin crash 14" hi-hats

FREE 18" thin crash

Includes 22" Limited Edition Armand Zildjian deluxe cymbal bag

Zildjian Armand cymbals—the sound of greatest hits!

Fair enough. If you want correct Ringo Zildjians ... depending on era ... you would lean towards a thin 20 on the left and a nice washy 18 on the right, with either 14 or (debatably) 15 thinner hats. These were obviously not from the K line (considering the timeframe). Eventually, he stuck a very vibrant 16 to the extreme right.

I coudn't add anything better to this, except to make sure and get round ones... Lame

Again, I'm not tied to using exactly what Ringo did. I'm not joining a Beatles tribute band or anything. Maybe I should've said 'authentic '60s'. Anyway, I went ahead and bought the kit I was contemplating. $1700, but nearly perfect BDP Classics. From the pics, they look like they've been in a time capsule. I'll post some photos when they get here.

Thanks very much for the replies.

Stephen

You should try to track down some vintage Italian Pashas or UFIPs.

Everybody goes Zildjian, Paiste has been 'round for a long time but from what I've heard they didnt get big til after the 60s. Sabians are an off-shoot of Zildjian. So if you don't get an old Italian cymbal you can't go wrong with an old Zildjian A or K.