Zildjian ZBT vs ZXT

I am a new drummer, and now I have to buy some cymbols for my setup. I have seen the ZBT and ZXT lines and I want to buy one of them simply because they fall in my price bracket. I am playing punk music. Are the ZBT or the ZXT lines any good? I am having a lot of trouble finding which cymbols are right for me. Does anyone have any suggestions or comments. Thanks so much.

If you're looking for cheap cymbals, try looking at Wuhans. IMO they are cheaper and much better sounding than low-end Zildjian cymbals.

So are the ZBT or ZXT anygood at all. I've heard great things about the Custom Z series as well but I can't afford that right now. What Wuhan's are good and in a similar price range as the low-end Zildjians? Thanks.

The ZXT's actually aren't too bad. I've heard the Titanium series and played them and they aren't too bad. For what they are, I'd take them over the Wuhaun's.

I'd run from the Z series like the plague.

I don't like ZXTs or ZBTs too much. The ZXT hi-hats aren't horrible.

They both suck. Save your money for some cymbals that actually sound decent.

Just a pet peave of mine, but they are "cymbAls" not "cymbOls."

I don't really care for the ZXT's or ZBT's, I'm more of a Sabian guy myself. The Sabian XS20's are pretty good. You might try the Wuhan's too. They're cheaper but I've heard good things. Really like their china's.

Dustin

Pet "peeve" .... not pet "peave"..

just one of mine.

I used to have some ZBTs - trust me, they suck. The ZXTs I've heard aren't much better. I wouldn't waste your money.

If your budget is in the $200 range, click HERE. Those are probably the best bang-for-your-buck cymbals on the market, IMO. And that's the best price for them that I've seen.

Originally posted by HulkBlood01 Pet "peeve" .... not pet "peave".. just one of mine.

I knew as soon as I said something about spelling, I would misspell something myself.

You can hear a bad representation of ZXTs on the short sample I posted on the "Speed?" thread (link). They're the ZXT Titaniums, 16" crash, 18" crash, 20" ride, 14" hats, 7" (?) splash. I've also got a beat to hell china but I don't think you can hear it in that clip. The other cymbals are pretty obvious.

I don't have any problem with the way my Titaniums sound; I cracked one within six months though, and Zildjian had a replacement on the way immediately. I don't believe this one sounds as good as the last one I had, so I suppose they are indeed hit-or-miss; I lucked out with mine I guess. I've never played the ZBT series, so I can't compare them, but maybe someone else will have a {censored}ty sound sample you can hear.

That recording was made with a $10 Nady mic hanging from the ceiling about two feet above the drum kit. The two crashes are actually about a foot away, the hats and splash about three feet away. Leave any expectations of a quality recording at the door, please.

I agree that you would be better off saving a little money and trying to find a good deal on some good used upper-level cymbals like Sabian XS or Zildjian A's. However, I can't speak from personal experience, but I've heard some rave reviews about Saluda cymbals. Just a thought.

So, what is the difference between the Sabian Performance XS20's and the Rock one's? I've heard samples of Rock cymbals from Zildjians and imo, they sound pretty bad compared to the other ones.

"Rock" cymbals are usually thicker/heavier than other cymbals. They'll be louder, higher pitched, have a longer decay and often less musical/versatile.

When I first started playing I was suckered into thinking that because I played mainly rock music the Rock cymbals would be the best choice from me. I know better now. The Z Customs present pretty much the same problem IMO.

+1 on Wuhans.

If I were looking for NEW cymbals and not able/willing to spend a ton, I'd definately check out Wuhans.

A friend of mine who has a TON of great cymbals to choose from bought a set a few months back and gigs with them weekly. They sound great.

I believe he got a prepack of them ---- a set of hats, ride, crash, splash and a (cheap) Wuhan cymbal bag for just a little over $200.

Any budget Zildjian I've ever played sounded like {censored} to me. I stopped trying them out after the Scimitars/Amirs - maybe the ZXT or ZBT are better but I am doubtful. I do like my late 80's Avedis Zildjians and my Quick Beat hihats (of course these aren't a cheaper line of theirs).

What line of Wuhans is good?

Also, how do you pronounce that? WOO-HAN or WOO-HON?

It wasn't too long ago that I was asking this same question. I went with everyone's advice and decided to buy my cymbals piece by piece; right now, I only have Zildjian Avedis New Beat hi-hats (from the 1970s ). I plan on slowly buying cymbals once i get the money; not to mention, once I need them. With just hi-hats, I can really focus on hi-hat foot technique, which seems to be something a lot of new drummers disregard.

Try looking at ebay, as well as the xs20s if you really want all your cymbals now.

I've never played Wuhan cymbals, but they are dirt cheap. And they're supposedly hand-hammered? http://cgi.ebay.com/Wuhan-S-Series-Cymbal-Box-Set-14-HH-16-20-IN-BOX_W0QQitemZ7343588937QQcategoryZ47083QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

You also might want to check out Meinl Classics. I think they're cast cymbals, and they're reasonably priced.

I believe the Wuhan set of cymbals that my friend uses that I referred to a few posts ago are the Wuhan Western Traditional pack, although I'm not positive.

music123.com has the "S" Series and Western Trad packs.

zbt suck ZXT are alilttle better. but zbt and zxt are B8

the new ZHT are b12 go for those if you get anything

more musical and stronger

or check out used stuff

i found an A zildjian crash ride at rossi music fer 20 bux

bye

Remember this picture? The drumset (provided by the sound company) has ZBT's on them. After I was done, Burleigh Drummond (Ambrosia) played them with Ambrosia, John Ford Coley, and Terry Sylvester (the Hollies).

Not one audience member or stage crew or entertainer made any negative comments about the cymbals...and they were mic'd!

I guess they're good enough - especially if you're on a limited budget.

Of course, it's very true that 'you get what you pay for', but sometimes, you just gotta make do with what you can afford.

$0.02

Dont get zxt's or zbt's or b8's. LIke everyone said, try xs20 or some wuhan s series. And DW, i dont mean to sound like an ass, but just because non drummers dont think they sound bad doesnt mean that they dont. I had zbt hats and they were atrocious.

Wow, I thought this thread seemed liked deja vu....

especially when I saw that I had already added to the thread !!

Why are we digging up threads from a year ago? Strange...

What I was driving at is since the original poster was limited on cash, a set of ZBT's will get him going, and the audience won't know the difference.

But yeah, I don't own any myself. Then again, my budget was a little bigger than $200.

Knowing what I know now, if I had to start all over again and could only afford a couple of bills, I would have no reservation going with ZBT's or xs20's or some similar package. Yeah, they don't sound anywhere near as good as what I'm currently using, but I could make them work.

Oh well....

it doesnt really matter if hes in a punk band.

and punk audiences DEFINITELY wont know the difference.

listen to Rise Above from black flag......no punk listener would notice if those were ZBT's, ZXT's, or xs20's