Just a joke, no worries. Am planning on buying some for myself. From what I've heard, they're really good for the price...and that's one thing I really look for. Still a beginner, but as opposed to the ZBT's that are ruining my ears now, most anything would be an improvement. ;)
Jim Workman yeah, the Meinl HCS hats have a reputation for sounding terrific given their price. I played Meinl classic hihats for years and loved them. now have byzance traditional hats and love em more then I thought possible!!!!
Appreciate the videos a lot. I finally went back to an acoustic set after 15 years stuck playing electronic drums and had no idea what I was looking for. These videos helped a lot!
The XS20's or ZHT's aren't really budget hats...they are budget compared to high end hi hats like Sabian Artisan and Zildjian K Constantinople. The PST 5's are half the price of both, and still sound quite decent compared to both...therefore better value IMO. Some Zildjian ZXT's and Sabian B8 Pro's would have been a better review for budget hats.
The ZHT hats are high pitched and cut well through the noise. Comparative to Zidjian Ks and K darks, they're not as sweet, but they're very worth their price. These mid priced hats are well suited for rock, pop and jazz. A used pair is around $99. That's not bad for the sound these produce.
I dont mean to be offtopic but does anyone know a trick to get back into an instagram account..? I was dumb lost my account password. I love any tricks you can offer me!
I can actually see your point there, but what he meant was that he didn't see enough girl drummers where he lived and wanted to help me get started so that I could become something.
First hi-hats I bought was a pair of 14" ZHT Mastersounds. I think they were $160. I'd recommend them to any drummer on a budget. I couldn't find one fault with them considering that they were $160. That is really cheap for hi-hats. I've since upgraded to a set of 14" Zildjian A Mastersounds. One of these days I'd like to upgrade even further and grab a set of K's.
I purchased my first cymbals for my new Tama RM52 silver galaxy finish :-) after one month of listening to RU-vid tests... This is what I have chosen : Ride : Sabian 21" medium Ride XS20 (112€) , Crash : 17" Zildjian ZBT crash (90€) and Hi-hat : 14" paiste PST3 (70€), which is by the way the best hihat I ever heard on youtube and sounds great in my home studio. I am not sure you tested a PST3 because I do not recognize the sound, maybe it's a PST5, I don't like this one, nor the PST7, and if it's a PST3 it must come from poor miking or a phase problem . I hesitated between the new Zildjian planet Z 14" which sounds quite good too, but I finally prefered the PST3 the sound is really fantastic. Honestly I was very disappointed with the sound of higher range cymbals, especially with Zildjian and Paiste expensive models which most of the time sound well in ONE type of situation or music style. Just to say to the people listen and listen again before buying !
it would of been cool if the hats had there own mic, as you can't get the complete picture of how they sound, that being said, they sat nicely in the mix and overall had a satisfying timbre. yh man
I am going on stage this summer along with bands like Slayer, Rob Zombie, Avatar etc. And i am looking for cymbals, till now i have 20 inch AAX metal ride, AAX xplotion 16 inch and a 18 inch AA crash, and my favorite sounding hi hats of all time and the pair to go along with those cymbals will be the Paise pst 5's 😂
I have a 98' B8 Sabian Hi hat and after all these years I think the sound it produces is very very good, lots of crispness, great stick articulation but also beef and body wich is what many hi hats lack of and I think the reason for this is that the Top cymbal is not medium weight like it usually is but it is medium-heavy wich is not standard. so I really think this detail makes a big difference in the sound the hats produce, after all I think hi-hats are meant to sound on the heavy side and not the contrary. So for this reasons I have decided not to upgrade and keep on playing my old B8's. Cheers!!
I just bought a Pearl Roadshow kit and it's supposed to ship with the factory crapola hi-hats. This was a great video to help me decide on upgrading them, thanks!!
I'll have to see what they have when I go to pick it up (it's in transit to the store now). Needless to say I don't think I'll be waiting much longer they're supposed to ship pretty fast.
Ben Minal Yep I'm a guitarist, but I still enjoy watching them, overall the presentation/editing, content and production quality gives the channel a very pro feel, I pretty sure your subs will take off as this becomes the "goto" channel for drummers everywhere. Good job Ben and team.
+Dana Thursday Though I'm not a drummer, from all the comparisons I've heard of Sabians and Zildjians, Sabians seem to have a better value for money through out their range. All their cymbals seem to sound consistently good. With Zildjians their is a definite difference in sound quality from their cheap cymbals to their high end and mid range cymbals. Just my 0.02 cents.
+Doug Payne well Zildjian really knows what they are doing. I actually have those ZHT hats. They are fantastic. I have played on the XS20 before at school. I personally think they are too high pitched for me. Also Zildjian has been around way longer than any other cymbal company. The Zildjian family invented cymbals. Check it out. Look up Zildjian family on Google. It's actually really interesting.
+Senor Gamer Also worth noting here that Sabian was started by a Zildjian. Robert Zildjian started the company in 1981 after a supposed family feud. Robert formed the word Sabian from the two first letters of the names of his three children Sally, Bill and Andy (a nickname for Armand) and "-ian" (indicating Armenian descent).
+Dana Thursday I knew that actually. I personally don't think he knew as much. But really they all sound awesome. Every drummer wants a different sound for them. Cymbals are a great way to express yourself on the kit.
the first hi hats I ever bought were ZHT mastersounds. really a decent sounding pair of hats for $160 US. of course though, I wouldn't trade them for my zildjian A mastersounds. exceptional sound for $330 US.
Great demo and nice playing! Man have the budget high hats ever come along way I thought they were all good I thought the ZHT’s were the best. Sabian was right there too.
Only 83 quid. Great! What's a quid? 0:48 The Paiste PSDs don't cut through. They're dull and have no bite. 1:51 The Sabian XS520 are higher pitched and have more edge and cut through better than the Paiste. 3:15 The Zildjian ZHT are almost as bright as the Sabian, but are slightly darker yet still have a brightness. IMO, they're a good buy. And don't forget, you can always mic 'em a little louder.. one question: Why wasn't the bell of the cymbals demonstrated?
For the money, the Paiste PST's are a really good line, not sure I would have them as a main hat as they are a bit to "washy" in the loose/open position, be not bad as an X hat though. (I'll stick with my medium 2002 13" hats)
The XS'20's are the best ones out of the one's featured. Even better are the new XSR's that have replaced the XS'20's and are pretty cheap as well, too cheap if you ask me
I've had B8, Cambers, ZBT, and ZHT Mastersounds. ZHT mastersounds are the only ones that sound any good. They sound amazing actually. I wish you could have had the mastersounds in this vid.
It would have been worth mentioning what pst cymbals they were’ as most of us know there are pst 3 which are entry level hats then pst 5 which I take it those ones were’ then pst 7 which are very similar to the 2002 bronze and then u have the pst 8 reflector series’ great vid tho’ the Paiste pst 5 are a great choice for anyone on a budget who wants some high hats that sound nice’ I personally use the first of the paiste alpha series 14” medium high hats at the moment’ but am thinking about going back to some 2002 sound edge which suit more of an all round feel’ imo 🤘🥁🤘
I own the ZHT mastersounds. They cut thru everything. Very top bite heavy IMO. I really want some high end 16inch hats. Must talk to soultone about making some for me. I like them over the top big and boomy: ) Doom metal requirements I guess: ) As always...great vid Ben. Look forward to many more. Cheers!
I wonder which PST's he uses here. According to the lettering style used here they could be either be a pair of PST3 or PST5. I know they are not the Sound Edge version since the bottom hat is not ribbed. What I can not make out is whitch PST series are they and whitch version, (rock/ heavy, medium or light)
this video is the demonstration that more important than gear is learning to play the drums WELL, so to the young drummers/learners I would say, buy cheaper gear and use what you save to get drum lessons with a good teacher. Good drummer will make brass hi-hats sound better than a not so good one will make his hi end b20's sound.
Good review, definitely making my next hi hat decision more enjoyable and easier to decide. What is that ride you are working with? I really like that sound
I have always played Paiste and never felt the need for anything else. Don’t spend lots of money just because you can though I did once spend the best part of 200 notes on a bass drum pedal so all depends what is important to your playing.
0:12 People screaming in the background...either there are carnival rides nearby or the zombie apocalypse has begun! Of this lot, only the XS20 are made from B20 bronze...the same material used for higher end cymbals. For that reason, they are going to sound smoother with less of the ting-y overtones that you usually hear in cheaper cymbals. Of course, they are machine stamped and lathed/hammered so no hand work. Hence less tonal complexity. Discontinued now, but a bargain on the used market.
i doubt anyones still commenting on this, but i need a word of advice. Im (obviously) looking for a new pair of hats, 14", suitable for anything in the punk or rock genre, and I'm basically really torn. I've been playing for just over six years and 100% plan to pursue a career of sorts in drumming - I would love to spend more money because of this, however I'm only 14 and have a budget of around £150 (although im saving up for a crash ride too, so I'd rather keep it around the hundred mark). I passed my GCSE grade in drumming just last year with 84%, if thats any pointer to what level I'm at. So if anyone has any recommendations, I'd gladly look into it :)
Hey Ben when recording this video what kind of China cymbal where you using? I'm shopping for China's right now and the one you where using sounded outright awesome.
Hey, ben what cymbals are better the paiste 302 or meinl hcs series i got a used drumset with realy bad hi hats and i dont think those are even ment to be hi hats they are 14 inch crashes i think and they are too loud and i wanna buy new cymbals so i wanna buy one of these but i cant make a choice can you please tell witch one of these hats are better
Cheers Josef, I normally use a few more bits on the kit but I wanted to cut it back for these videos. I tend to lead fills with my left hand, but I I often break up phrases and swap to the right hand if I I want to finish on something on the right hand side of the kit. Doubles and paradiddle phrases are really useful for that.
there's more to consider than sound and volume(which is also what you'll compromise with cheaper cymbals), but also durability. i dented some zht's with not that much battering. you certainly won't have that happen with some proper hi end cymbals. for practicing maybe in my opinion cheaper cymbals, but i think you're better off buying second hand decent cymbals or new. the alternative can be a total false economy
Love your drumming, man. What's this weird china of yours? Also - why don't you include Meinl cymbals in your comparisons? Does it have something to do with your name (lol)?
Thanks man :) That's a Sabian HHX Chinese, little beast! The same one Jose Pasillas from Incubus, that's the reason I got it a while ago. I needed to keep these reviews simple, so I just chose 3 big brands to start with and I'll be exploring Meinl, along with others, in more videos down the line. Glad you're enjoying the show
Would you say that the Xs20's are viable for more open/ washy playing? I have a pair of PST Rock high hats and they just cutting the mustard anymore. Thanks for the help, great video!!
I had XS20 hats, and crashes and rides for years. The XS20 are great hi hats, lower in pitch, B20 bronze, fairly heavy feel as he says. If you turn em upside down they have a bit more of a gummy, springy feel.
This was sort of an unfair comparison, which Pst Paistes did you use? If you used PST3 that’s like Sabian B8 level and Zildjian ZBT level. And yeah, honestly the Sabians were the best
