Let me tell you that after being a loyal Zildjian guy for years, after hearing some paistes live with my band I'm totally sold on Paiste. The only Zildjians I have and will keep are my 1950/60's Zild A's. with that said, I play a different style of music, mostly hard progressive rock, but after trying some new Zild I ended up selling them all and invested in the following, I;m not an expert by any means but I did some reaserch and found that the paiste lines are easier to understand than other brands. For me I bought

2002 16" med crash (the best crash I have ever heard)

2002 17" power crash

Rude 20" thin crash

Rude 18" thin crash

rude 18" novo china

Sig 15" fast crash

Sig 14" fast crash

in addition I use my vintage A's

this set up is killer for me

I would call the tech guy on Paiste web site, they are really helpful and will put you in the right direction

by the way I have a pair of 2002 sound edge hats I'm sellingif interested, they go for $300, selling mine for $200. good luck you have made the right choice with paiste G

Thanks for the advice. I saw a 16" black label 2002 crash in exellent condition for $109.99 but it was gone before I got to it. Are your hats 15"

Hats are 14"

[COLOR="DarkRed"]There are differences here.

Giant beats and 2002's are B8 alloy. Trads and Sigs are B15 alloy.

Most Zildjians are B20 alloy (most vintage cymbals, for that matter, are B20).

The B8's are goint to cut a little more...and have more high and midrange overtones. Slightly more metallic in their sound.

The B15's are warmer-sounding. They are often described as "glassy" and "shimmering"...which is apt. IMHO, the B15's feel more buttery under the stick and are more responsive. I find them to be capable of a bit more subtlety.

However, of all cymbal companies, Paiste hands-down produces the best B8 alloy cymbals. They have worked that alloy into an art form; they have proven that the alloy, when properly done, can produce as good a cymbal as B20's are. Which is why the 2002's and such are so popular.

Really, LL...you gotta just go to a music store and try all of 'em. The sonic difference between the B8's and B15's will be noticeable right off the bat....[/COLOR]

I will go to GC and check some out. Once I find some I like I will hunt for used ones. Tday I will be receiving a pair of Paiste 15" Soundedge's I got from GC's used gear site for $95.00. I was shocked at the price and am still wondering what the catch is but I will find out as soon as they arive.

I have some Paiste crashes I want to get rid of. Pm me if interested.

You should check out the Paiste website (paiste.com). They have great sound clips of all series of Paiste cymbals. They also make it easy to compare cymbal sounds without having to click through multiple web pages at a time (and in the process forgetting what the last cymbal you listened to sounded like). The sound clips are very clear and are true to sound. I recently bought a few of the 2002 series cymbals (15'' sound edge hi hat, 22'' ride, 18'' and 20 '' medium crashes) and they sound great. Good luck and enjoy those sound clips!

James

You could always listen to older recordings of certain artists for ideas on what the cymbals basically sound like. For giant beats, any Led Zep album up to about the 4th album, or Pink Floyd up to the Wish you were here album. For 2002's anything by the Police (studio works) anything by the Faces, anything by the who from about the Quadrophenia album, Bill Bruford era Yes. For Rudes.....pretty much anything metal from the 80's, but I don't think you are looking for that type of sound by what you describe.

Think of it this way, Paiste B8 cymbals cut through......Zildjians B20's blend in. The Beatles, Stones, Cream, Hendrix were all Zildjians......listen to both, try them both and see what you prefer. I have and I still prefer Zildjians to Paiste, but that's just my ears. Yours may prefer Paiste.

I would most likely mix and match the cymbals. Best thing you can do is go to a 5 star drum store (Forks Drum Closet, Memphis Drum Shop, Buffalo Drum Outlet, etc) and try out the cymbals en masse. Put a 22 Big Beat with a 19 Twenty crash, a 19 2002 crash, and a nice set of 15 Twenty M/H hats. That would be one of many many many nice blends.