Customer Reviews

Zildjian Pitch Black Box Set

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

i hv read both reviews here. i think both are being quite forthright. here s mine. 1st let me say that these are not for everyone. serious musicians will not be happy with these. for several reasons. the crashes all lack violent strong attack.[my opinion]+ i found that they dont record v.well. they hv their own sound...thats4sure. they dont pierce thru other instruments v.well also[my opinion] no way to play a jazz festival+then kick heavy metal if u know what i mean. the other major drawback is that wise buyers will purchase 2 complete sets. a simple drop or 2 of these scraped together will result in u needing to replace em...+ zildjians now discontinued them...u could easily pay $200 for just 2 pcs. u now hv all the problems revealed. are there gd things abt them?...yes...wonderful things! these are a bargain when compared to the only other similar product...[paistes slipknot] u will note they are VERY expensive+although they do hv more attack. u cant put together a full set for under $1,200. + the paint holds up better bt it still comes off. i purchased 2 complete sets of pitchblacks...[15'' hats] [13''splash] [16''crash] [18''crash] [18''china] [20''crash/ride]+ a 22''ride. after i replaced the drum heads on my $300 drum set with evans onynx covers [$55]...it is so lovely. these simply COMMAND respect+ will be everyones favorite. dont hesitate...buy em. p.s. u cansee+hear em on the video[dopeboyz]the game.

The short review by MG Barber trashes these cymbals. I may be wrong, but I get the feeling that he has no actual experience with them. It is obvious that he has electronics knowledge if you look at his accurate review of JJ tubes for guitar amps. He most likely is a guitarist only. I as a multi-instrumentalist differ in my opinion of these cymbals. I play a black set of OCDP Avalon maple drums which sound outstanding. I have a set of Sabian Hand Hammered cymbals that I have been using with the Orange County Drums. They are over $1000 cast molded cymbals and were the top of the line when purchased several years ago. They are very nice, but have weak projection and do not cut through the mix very well at all. We do not mic my drums when we play. Also, the high hat has a "womp" sound no matter how I adjust the bottom cymbal. Air is trapped in the high hat and it is very hard to get a good "chick" sound and even harder to get it to last through a whole song.

I got these cymbals recently and was immediately stunned at the heavy weight of each unit. The Pitch Black is beautiful and goes great with my black sparkle drums. I was expecting a deep dull sound from them. Instead, I got a bright clear crash from the 18 inch crash, a beautiful clear articulate ride from the 22 inch with excellent wash between strikes and a beautiful LOUD chick from the high hat due to the rippled edge of the lower cymbal. This was a patented feature of Paiste cymbals until recently. Now Zildjian and others offer it as well. I like the size of these cymbals and do not need to use the boom on my stands which also hold the toms (instead of the bass drum). This results in greater stability of the toms on the stands.

As a youth, I had Zildjian cymbals with my Ludwig set and really enjoyed the sound of them. They were cast molded. These pitch black use the sheet metal manufacturing process. I am impressed. They are 80%/20% bronze/tin and are sweet sounding, much better than I expected. They are definitely a keeper. I recommend these cymbals very highly and you simply can't beat the price of $200.

I bought these cymbals separately because, One) they are going somewhat cheap if you shop carefully for them and
Two) they matched my black set nicely and I was curious about their sound. The claim that they are made from an inferior cymbal is not entirely accurate. They are make from the same cymbal as a ZHT, which is a pretty good cymbal. I tend to play my drums somewhat loud and that's where these cymbals do very well. They are heavy NOT just because of the coating but because the actual cymbals are spun thick. My 22" ride weights a ton! As do the 15" hi hats.

Positive is the crashes. IMO, the 18" and the 16" sound GREAT. I also have a Paiste Alpha medium and they both have a very similar strong attack and resonance. The black crashes do NOT sound cheap (Like some of the ZBT's or planet Z's I've bought before) but have a solid, thick resonance.

Negative may be the ride or the Hi Hats, depending on preference. Because of their thickness, they tend to have a kind of deep, heavy sound that some people might not prefer, especially on the Hi Hats. At first I was turned off by it and I used my Sabian 14's (hi hats) instead but the more I used them the more I enjoyed the thick, heavy sound. I use them primarly now.

From my stand point, I like em but I doubt a jazz player would enjoy the thick heavy appeal of them.

The Hi-Hats are excellent on sound and they do record well. I also noticed that I can hear the Hi-Hats when other instruments are playing.

The Crash is to heavy and doesn't quite have the sound that a serious drummer would be looking for. Mainly because I use a K Custom Dark crash is why I think this crash doesn't sound fast enough to me.

The Ride I have mixed feelings about. The bell just didn't have the sound I was looking for in a ride.

one thing they dont mention is the hi hats are mastersound hi hats and there more than amazeing. the ride cymbal is very big and sounds great i love it . but then theres the crash cymbal i dont like it very much 1. it sounds like a small ride 2. crapy sound. Im useto a thin crash cymbal mabye thats why i hate it. but hay you might love it. other than that these are the greatest get them trust me. also dont be wored about the black paint chiping of the paint is on there and isnt comeing off.

These cymbals are made of inferior sheet metal and are painted black to make them look cool,but they sound horrible,in fact,the crash is the worst I've ever heard.If you want to look cool,then these are for you,but if you're looking for sound then look elswhere.

I LOOKED ALL OVER LOCALLY FOR THESE BLACK CYMBALS. ONLY ODD SIZES WERE AVAILABLE LOCALLY. THESE WERE ORDERED FOR CHRISTMAS, AND ARRIVED QUICKLY & WELL PACKAGED FOR SHIPPING. THEY ARE A BIG HIT WITH MY SON, AND LOOK GREAT WITH HIS BLACK DRUM SET.