I don't mean to knock on Zildjian, but I just think that since the early 90's, their quality and consistency has gone downhill. And it shows. They certainly have lost a TON of market share. 20-25 years ago, your local drum shop would carry about 50 Zildjians and about 10 of everything else combined. Now everything is pretty much equal.I go to drum shops/music stores often, and even the really good quality Zildjians (K Custom , K Dark, A Custom) just sound very clangy, harsh and un-musical anymore to my ears. The days of a true "splash" cymbal from Zildjian are long gone. They might as well just re-name it "Clang".(Off soap box).
It's okay I feel the same way. I really do not like the new ones at all. I love the sound of the older Zildjian's. Music has changed much since that time though. I still think it would be better for them to release like a Zildjian Classic Series. Take the best out of the the 50's 60's 70's and just make them new for the 21st century. That's where there money is. Gosh I should really run more business's than my own. I could make much more money making everyone happy. I even keep them cheap so people could actually afford them too :) ha