Low Volume Cymbals - Sabian Quiet Tone vs. Zildjian L80 

Thank you for showcasing the products. I see a lot of "reviews" with people busting out the killer chops and crazy grooves and it's so distracting.

I live in a town house and have used regular cymbals and gotten a noise complaint. Got the Zildjian ones for Christmas (also with the Remo silenced heads) and they're amazing! Definitely would recommend.

Finally, a comparison video that establishes a control to compare the quiet cymbals to! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I have a set of L80's for my kit at my house. I love them and they definitely are quiet but still feel like real cymbals

I play the Zildjians along with Aquarian OnHead pads. Great low-volume solution.

I use the L80s and RTOM Black holes, and the result is a great practice kit for apartment drummers such as myself. I tried out both the quiet tones and L80s and you can't go wrong with neither imo. Go with the Quiet Tones if you still want a brighter, more natural-like feeling cymbals, and go with the L80s if you just want to really tone down the volume. Keep in mind the Quiet Tones are a bit louder than the L80s.

Finally a drum shop guy with a nice touch on the intrument - thank you!

These are both awesome. Personally I prefer the sabians because they have that real cymbal brightness. After all the goal is to simulate Real playing as much as possible. It's why I don't like playing an electric kit just for quiet's sake

Also drummers can use hot rod sticks. This will lower the volume even more. To keep the volume on a more even key, Remo Silent Stroke Heads are a excellent choice. Another option for your bass drum using a standard drum head and a TAMA BSQ10S Soft Sound Beater. Again, it comes down to your personal preference.

I love my L80 Zildjians!!! Just as a thought, you guys should do a full comparison using Remo Silent Stroke heads also. It's nice to see that we drummers finally have some pretty cool options for bringing the volume down!!!

Sabians are stainless steel vs. a proprietary bronze alloy with the L80's. To me the Sabians are a bit "clangy" metallic (I've played both up close) - Zildjians sound warmer and more pleasing to me. Also check out the Meinl HCS low volume...even though the HCS are a beginners cymbal, the low volume versions are a brass alloy that sounds actually pretty good...

Sabian are louder and sound better to my ears. I normally play A Customs. They need to come out with in between, like a medium volume. Heads too. The mesh heads are just a little too quiet. I don't have people under or next to me, I'm just too loud at night and that's the only time I have sometimes

Great video! Thank you for the side by side by side comparison style - it really puts into perspective the differences to expect.

I've always been a Zildjian player. But if I'm going to be honest the Sabian sound better. Darn it!

I have a four piece Remo practice pad kit from probably, the late 60's--early 70's.. which, I love. Would enjoy having some noiseless hihats and a ride to practice with for *RELATIVELY* low-volume..... referring to the Remo practice kit, not the silent cymbals. Actually, disturbed a neighbor in my (next door) apartment with my Remo practice kit. What a major WIMP.

The Zildjians sound like cymbals...the Sabians sound like dinner chimes

Honestly, I like the Zildjian better Sabian, if you are reading this, I love your products and Zildjian's Sabian:50 Zildjian:50

Thanks so much for the comparisons! I was already leaning towards the Sabian and thi as clinches it for me. I'm actually gonna try using them in the bars and outdoor gigs I play.

People think these are for quiet gigs but honestly the ride is perfect for drum and bass too :)

I'm digging the sabian quiet tone Cymbals

The sabian FRX are awsome for low volume stuff also! They’re not super quiet like these here but still amazing and the sound quality is great

Thanks Tom, have a good day.

comments below say sabians sound better. sure they do, but we're going for sound suppression here and the L80's are the clear winners. we're going for muscle memory and mechanics for apartment dwellers here and not sound quality, necessarily. ima get the zildjians.

*sees RimRiser* "Ah, I see you're a man of culture as well."

Agean Cymbals R-Series..works and sound the best for my preferences..

lmao that Lars outta nowhere

Zildjian for the win!

$45 FOR RIMRISER? ITS JUST A TINY PIECE OF WOOD

I'll be getting those for christmas this year

I'd like to hear the silent cymbals recorded close-mic'd (from underneath perhaps). Thinking about a silent band practice setup. Drum trigger module hi hat and cymbal samples always suck. Plus the crappy electronic hi hat pedals have no "in-between" open and close. Wondering if these (mic'd up) would sound better mixed in with the triggered drums.

Does the rim riser have an option with a longer lug for DW True Pitch?

As a Sabian guy, I'll admit the Zildjin's are a tad quieter however I barely if at all heard any sustain from them, unlike the Sabian's making them sound better.

I’ve recently bought a 16” and 18” HCS set of meinls. I like them,but they should be listed as low volume. A friend took back his 18” Zildjian medium thin Z cymbal and so I bought two of these to accompany my zbt 14” and 20”...until I’ve saved enough to buy a quality set of cymbals,the company will be chosen at such time. Maybe you guys can help me identify my zildjian hihats? Zildjian never got back to me through emailing the serial number. They’re really thick 14” cymbals and the ink has worn off and I can’t figure out what they are? The bells aren’t lathed,either. Serial # isn’t noticeable,but I think they’re avedis? It’s inked and not stamped.

i love my sabians.mesh heads on acustic drums

Thank you much for this video helped alot. It helped because i am looking to get quieter cymbals and this video showed the difference in sound and volume between Zildjian and Sabian. I like some Zildjian cymbals but have leaned towards Sabian due to their "cleaner" sound. But, though the Sabian quiet volume cymbals sounded a little better, i will actually get the Zildjian low volume because they were even still quieter. Plus that rim shot was real cool of which i need to get. Well done and thanks alot.

At this time, Grux-X Percussion has released the X-Click, a redesigned Groove Wedge, sounds better than the original.

There's gotta be a solution somewhere in between for lower volume electric & acoustic gigs. Sabian FRX is headed in right direction, but still too much alot of the time

I got the Sabian Quiet Tone cymbals from Sweetwater, which is weird because I play Zildjian cymbals. Oh well.

Do you think these would be a good option for a church drum kit where regular cymbals are just too loud without putting me behind a shield.

Now that trick, evans and wuhan have entered the chat, there should be a head to head with all of them.

I honestly feel like these will improve my playing, I can let my hands go a little more without killing the rhythms I’m trying to accomplish by washing them out with cymbals

If I were to buy those cymbals to record with, and trigger replace shells, would I get enough OH and room mic volume and would it sound “normal”?

Zildjian L80 for me when it comes to decibel down

The zildjian crashes sound the same, so, for the first time I'll say i liked a Sabian product.

Hmmm....gotta give these a try with the silent heads.....I gotta e -kit with mesh heads not to bother neighbors...but these might work out to...

Wow. Remarkable! Thanks!

Love the Sabian hats! Ride too. I'd be stoked to play them in a coffee house gig or indoor gathering. Cost on the Sabians?

I'm so torn. I literally don't know which ones to get. I love the look of the Sabians ad they'll cut thru when im playing with headphones on my electronic kit. But The Zildjians are even quieter so... I think i'll go for volume over looks in the end but i'll save up the money for set & stands first then decide.

sabian's ride was much better, but I like the L80's for every other kind of cymbal.

I wanna get these and put Triggers on them for my Electronic kit...

Very useful, thank you man!

The wuhan quiet cymbals are actually decent as well, especially for the money!

What is the hihat used to compare?

Which one of the two brands fits better with the RTom Black Hole pads? Volume wise

Just bought the sabians

Zildjian awesome 🤩 best !

Sabian sound better especially in section at 3:08 The Zildjan cymbals comparison after sound too similar.

Which low volume cymbals do you recommend?

Does anyone know the sound intensity level of the Zildjians in *dB* ?

Thanks for this. Just made me 100% sure I'll stick with "normal" cymbals. They sound like toys. Not at all a knock on the video, more so just saying the manufacturer has a long way to go.

L80's are the obvious winner of the quiet war. But for tonality, I'd love to see a shootout between Gen16 and Quiet Tone.

Will the Rim Riser fit die-cast hoops?

Hey, Tom, do you like drums made from...wait for it...Ash? LOL. Sorry! Me and my little jokes...

they look cool

Agean R Series low volume cymbals may be a better option.

Thx a lot!

The sabians sound better, look better, and each cymbal has its own tone and much more definition than the zildjians.

Does anybody know how these fair at a live gig? I love the idea of having a quiet stage

What size are the L80s used in the video? Cheers

Do you have a brother named Sam? 😉😄

Ha, those Istanbuls sound pretty good. 🤭

Kool!☝

Are the Zildjian L-80s made in the US?

I'm a Zildjian fan and I must admit the Sabians sound better here.

What is the snare!

So for practice, these would be good...but probably not for recording.

Don't know that we needed the real cymbals in there for comparison...?!? LOL

Team Zildjian

So if you are on a budget, buy some used sabians and sandblast them? Either that or sell one of my kidneys I guess.

I literally only picked Sabian because it's cheaper!😂

Drums are so loud that drowns out the cymbals. They don't sound anything like any of the videos. You need to hear them live.

Then should make something called quiet drums, i know it’s an oxymoron, but it would be nice to have everything quiet so someone won’t have to leave the room just so you can play drums

z > s

in this category Sabians are brigther than Zildjian.

けけけけけけえ

am i the only one who thinks the sabians absolutely blow zildjian away on this one?? i can't stand the zildjian i would rather bang on a lid then pay for those things... but that's just me

Devonecaldwell🥁🎼🎲⛸️💰💴💯🤟♠️🏀

The sound guy is on drugs

Zildjian made in USA, Sabian QT made in China

that was the saddest and winded explanation I have come across

I’ve recently bought a 16” and 18” HCS set of meinls. I like them,but they should be listed as low volume. A friend took back his 18” Zildjian medium thin Z cymbal and so I bought two of these to accompany my zbt 14” and 20”...until I’ve saved enough to buy a quality set of cymbals,the company will be chosen at such time. Maybe you guys can help me identify my zildjian hihats? Zildjian never got back to me through emailing the serial number. They’re really thick 14” cymbals and the ink has worn off and I can’t figure out what they are? The bells aren’t lathed,either. Serial # isn’t noticeable,but I think they’re avedis? It’s inked and not stamped. Don’t get me wrong,I like the ZBTs...especially the bell on the ride.