New cymbals from Zultan

Since I got my acoustic drum kit I have been thinking about getting better cymbals. The guy who had it before had acquired some basic ones that I suspect were second hand. Cheap cymbals tend to be made of brass, which is pretty durable, but it can be lacking in sound quality. The best cymbals are made from various types of bronze, but that comes at a price.

I read lots of reviews and considered various options. All the big companies have a vast range with differing prices. I kept seeing some good comments about Zultan Cymbals. These are made in Turkey where companies like Zildjian started hundreds of years ago. Zultan make theirs by hand with good materials and the comments said they were similar quality to others that cost a lot more, so I decided to take a chance on them. In the UK they are available via Thomann.

They arrived well packed and within the box they were in a branded cymbal bad, so I now have two of those. First impressions were that they are loud and I see more need for some ear protection when practising. They also have lots of great sounds with plenty of variation depending on how and where you hit them.

This is just a short demo and you can find others online that go into far more detail with better audio. The Caz range are aimed at the less 'brash' market and so should suit my jazz group. They have others that are better for rock. We have another rehearsal coming up, so I shall take them along.

I shall have to try and keep them clean. I saw this tutorial on Hive, but it looks a bit abrasive and I want to keep mine looking like new.

If you are wondering, the red nose on the high hat is just there in case I should trip as I do not want a metal rod poking me anywhere.

I am starting the final week of the latest jazz course on Drumeo and have learnt a lot. I have to keep working to make these techniques instinctive.

Rock on!