Hm, thanks a really good tip - to bring them along, thanks.

Thanks Kevin. (:

I'm keeping the K's, which is why I want the best sounding cymbals, because I don't want them to be.. 'put away', or for it to ruin the kit (:

Well, I know you won't be able to test drive these, but for a good little crash and presumably the rest, a 20 and 22, ytou can go here. I got a 16 and it sounds good, not like a K, but musical and a nice little crash for not a lot of money. Mid-East. They are a big company and sell mostly student type gear, not lioke 2koolforskool crap, a little nicer. The story is they got in at the wrong time and are now selling off the last of the cymbals. They are still very much a viable company, just not in the cymbal sector. The cymbals are made by soimeone else and in a little bit, maybe the gurus will tell us who actually produced them. A 20 is just over 100 shipped and the 22 is less than 135 shipped. Nice, light cymbals to boot. My 16 has some very cool tones to it. I messed with it a bit last night. Now, they only have 2 or 3 16s, and less than 10 each of the others, and they have a ton of others as well. Go here:

http://www.drumfactorydirect.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=13_300

[COLOR="DarkRed"]Oh lordy.....no !

That's like mixing wine and vinegar.

B8's are...well....B8 alloy...

Now....if you have to match cheapies up with very good quality, old B20 handmades....you don't pick a B8 alloy.

It'll be a disaster. It really, really will. The Sabian B8's will sound like hubcaps.

I seriously cannot think of any contemporary B8 alloy line which would match up even half-decently with old K's. Meinl Amuns were probably the darkest-sounding B8's ever made, but I believe they are out of production now; and even when they were made they were hard to find on this side of the pond. And they were still too far away sonically to ever use with a set of K's.....

This Question wasn't specific enough. I am assuming you mean: what newer cheap cymbals match up well with....?

Wuhans and Dreams were actually pretty good suggestions. IMHO Wuhans just get outta control in the overtone dept, BUT...with that said, I believe they are usable as crashes or 'hats when matched up with a nice old vintage ride. They usually just need to settle down a bit; they are, as Mastro noted, too trashy quite often. Maybe bury them in your backyard for a couple of weeks....(?)

Dreams are better because they are darker in tone generally. Although nobody is really gonna ever mistake a Dream for an old K...they are a pretty decent modern, budget "in the ballpark" facsimile and they do a lot of what Jazz drummers want a cymbal to do.....

Another would be, believe it or not, Sabian SR2 thins. They don't look pretty, but the Thin ones actually generally sound nice and dark, which is the direction you wanna go if you have to match up to some nice old handmades....stay away from all but the Thins, though....

Now, quite honestly....what I would suggest is just go the eFlay or C'list route and find yourself some decent old A's. They are ubiquitous...and therefore they never get very pricey. Just a good 'ol '50's-'60's one. No Trans-stamps or any of that biznisssssss.

My other vintage suggestion would be trying to nab some old Italians...but you have to sorta bone up on 'em because oftentimes they aren't very obvious, since the labeling was so obscure....

Again, in all the vintage cases, it's more of a shot in the dark since you would likely be buying 'em online (unless you find C'list ads).

But you really have to stay with B20 Alloy cymbals, and probably on the thinner side.

Best of luck.[/COLOR]

I'm not 100% certain, but I think they were made by Amedia. Amedia has made other "house label" cymbals and a few details seem to match up pretty well, like the silkscreened (not ink-stamped) lettering, the "Classic" name for a model line, and even the typeface for the word "Classic".

I have two Mid-East cymbals: a 20" Classic crash ride and a 16" Classic crash. I absolutely love the 16" crash and it was a steal at $65. The 20" crash ride has nice tone, just a little bit trashy, but so much wash that it's difficult to keep under control.

If I`m repeating myself- well.... there`s a reason for that....

Don`t think in terms of "cheap"! Buy what you need and that you will satisfied with 10 years from now. One ride, one crash and hats- that will satisfy for 10 years.

There have been many good suggestions here- but the to sum it all up- know what sound you need and then hunt individually for each piece- everywhere.

I have gotten 60s A Zildjians for less than 100$ several times- these are timeless pieces and versatile - As I said I like Dream cymbals alot (for new cheap cymbals). Know your needs- buy used when you can.

That's it. I'm using the same cymbals I bought in 1972. I wouldn't waste time on cymbals that aren't the best, and that doesn't mean the most expensive. Cracked old K's are the bargain. I don't know why people don't look at cracks the same way bass players look at the lacquer worn off on old Fender basses - a sign that they are the good ones. Almost all my favorite cymbals are slightly damaged. Then I have Zildjians that are perfect looking that some bozo would give me 10x as much for as my prized good ones that have repaired cracks. :(

Part of it is that using crap cymbals makes your ear listen to the wrong thing. Also, there's a phenomenon that when you play two identical sounds that if one is louder most people will think it sounds better. And most cymbals are louder and have more of everything than the old K's.

If you did specs on an old K like you do on a stereo speaker or microphone it would come off as a disaster compared to a cheap piece of junk cymbal.

[COLOR="DarkRed"]MS...I lost you completely at your last sentence...I have no idea what you are saying there electricit Help2 ????[/COLOR]

I don't think there's a generic answer. because it depends on what you play. My first choice is jazz - for that the Dream Bliss work well, BUT you have to hear them to decide. Since they're handmade, some are great and some totally suck.

I see a lot of decent vintage Zildjian's on ebay that go for pretty cheap because of a keyhole or edge ding. If I played a lot of blues, country - basic versatile gig cymbals - I'd look at those. But I'd also look for 60's an earlier, because I think they sound better.

If it's thrash metal, then ... I dunno... I saw a pic of the thrasher playing ZBT's. Why not?

Great advice given above: test drive if you can...