Have no kit anymore!! :( need cymbals

My housemate recently sold her kit, which i have been learning on for the last year or so. This was really bad timing, for the last month i've been jamming with some friends of mine (2 guiartists and a bassist) at a rehearsal studio, for which i hire a drumkit to save lugging gear there and back. The problem is that this kit that i hire has no cymbals, i used to just bring my housemates.

Since we were really starting to get somewhere, and the fact that i am a damn poor student with no hope of getting the money together for an entire kit in the near future, my first priority is to get hold of some cymbals (even if it's just hihat cymbals to begin with) so we can continue practicing properly.

So this brings me to my questions......

Would i be better off buying an el - cheapo cymbal pack, for example a zildijian planet Z pack, or just getting some cheap hihat cymbals to begin with?

What terrible quality cymbal lines should i avoid?

Keep in mind that this is just a temporary solution to enable the band to keep practicing whilst i slowly get the money together for a kit. It may also be worth noting that when i do buy a kit, it will most likely be an electronic kit so the cymbals i get in the mean time wont be used on my next kit. As much as i would prefer an acoustic kit, an e kit would easily triple my potential practice time.

Also, if anyone has some old cymbals, especially hi hats, that they are thinking of selling, hook me up!

Thanks guys.

Avoid the Planet Z stuff like the plague. You might as well just use trash can lids. They are the worst excuse for cymbals I've ever heard, and I'm a devout Zildjian guy.

If you must go cheap, try the Zildjian ZXT or ZHT lines. Hell, even ZBTs are way better than the Planet Z stuff.

If you're just looking for some cymbals/hihats to get you through temporarily, check out your local drum shops and see what they have used that is reasonably priced.

Ebay is always an option as well!

Here's the deal:

If you buy cheap crap as a temporary stop-gap measure, you'll eventually have to replace them and they'll have no resale value.

So if you can find a set of GOOD used hi-hats for $150 or some cheapies for $75, here's how each scenario plays out:

Buy Cheap First:

Pros: Spend $75 and you're playing something

Cons: Very quickly you'll get sick of how they sound. You might try some futile attempts to make them sound better (put tape on them, drill holes in them, etc.). Then you get your first gig (6 months from now). Now you find that you're embarrassed with your K-Mart cymbals, and you need something else in a hurry. So you spend the $150 on something better.

Net Result: $225 spent in 6 months ($37.50/month)

Buy Good Used First:

Pros: Good probability of buying some hi-hats that you'll use forever.

Cons: You might have to wait to get them. If you can find work that pays $5 an hour, you'll have to put 30 hours of work in to get 'em. That's 2 hours a day, M-F for 3 weeks, or it might be 8 hours of work on Saturdays and Sundays for 2 weeks.

Net Result: $150 spent...over 6 months that's $25/month.

Bottom line, you'll be replacing them one way or another. If you think you'll have more money 6 months from now, then maybe the first option IS a good idea. On the other hand, if being a "damn poor student" is going to be the case for quite a while, I'd lean toward the 2nd option.

Final thought: electronic drums aren't necessariliy any cheaper than acoustics. In fact, once you've picked up the necessary amps or PA gear to make them audible to anyone beyond your headphone range, they can be just as expensive if not more expensive than a decent acousitic kit.

Just something to think about.

^ Yeah, what he said! Ditto!

However, I just had an interesting experience.

A friend of mine (whose band I play in - well, one of the bands anyway) owns a small bar, and just bought a $400 CB 5 pc. drumset for the stage. We rehearsed yesterday, and I expected that the cymbals that came with the set would be worthless. To my surprise, they sounded pretty good! Not as good as my regular A custom and K custom Zildjians, but WAY better than cheap cymbals of just a few years ago! I ended up using them for the rehearsal session.

The point is, don't dismiss inexpensive cymbals out of hand. Try some out. You never know what you'll find!

Another illustration of Old Steve's point about electronic drums...I had switched to electronic drums back in 1998, and bought two Mackie 450's and a subwoofer to amplify the kit. Turns out that it was more of a hassle carrying around and setting up the sound than it was using an acoustic set, because along with the speakers, I had to carry extension cords, wiring, a small mixer, speaker stands, etc. What a major hassle, especially in small stage situations! Add to that the fact that each Mackie weighed about 45 pounds, and the sub weighed 80 pounds!

I switched back two years ago, though I still have the electronic kit for use at home for practice. Sold the Mackies and sub.

the zbt hi hats aren't bad.. but the crashes are bloody horrible. i cracked 3 of them. and cracked them badly. the rides are ok.

Thanks for the responses people. I haven't made my mind up as to what i'm going to do yet, but i'll keep all of your points in mind and head to a local drum store and check out my options first hand.

I understand the points you guys made about electronic kits, but the fact still remains that, whilst i had an acoustic kit here, i wasn't able to practice anywhere near as much as i would of liked to. The abiility to plug headphones in and play at anytime of the night really appeals to me, and i really think my playing would benefit from it overall. I think the fact that an ekit may not feel the same, or have as large a dynamic range as an acoustic kit, will be cancelled out by the increased practice time (i hope!). The olny other option i can think of would be to trigger an acoustic kit, of which i know very little about, but perhaps i will look in to that before commiting to any particular type of kit.

Thanks again everyone.

When you're ready, maybe this will be the solution for the a-drums/e-drums decision:

It comes with regular heads and mesh heads. You could use the mesh heads with triggers and a module for practice or recording, but if you jam or gig with it, just put on the regular heads.

In an acoustic situation, these would probably sound real nice if mic'd up and use a bit of muffling on the toms, or use hydraulic or pinstripe tom heads.

Just a thought.

If you have to get cheap cymbals then look into wuhans. They are the best cymbals in the price category. Better than b8s, zbts, zxts, zhts, planet z's, etc...Your real best bet it to just start of buying the good cymbals. That way you'll never have to replace them (unless you want to try a different sound) and if you decide to quit drumming, they will have a decent resale value.

+1 on the Wuhans. A great alternative to the cheapy version of the name brand types. Great bang for the buck.

What do you guys reckon about this cymbal pack:

http://vintagedrum.com/item/Wuhan-Traditional-Bag-Cymbal-Set-UP-WUMLX50

Trash can lids or not? How does this line compare to the wuhan s series?

Thanks.

I haven't heard all of them, but they're probably worth a shot.

Here's the deal: cymbals, even those with the same specs (brand, size, model, etc.) can sound fairly different from cymbal to cymbal. That's why it's usually best to actually go play them before you buy them.

Anyway, the Wuhan's I actually have heard not only sound pretty good, but when you're told how much they cost, they sound even better. Ideally, try to get to hear them first. If that doesn't work out, make sure they have a good return policy in case you don't like them.

BTW, I own and use a 12" wuhan splash, and a 12" mini-china.