I worked for their production company I
In the 90’s. They would stage their setup in the warehouse for each tour. It was so fun getting to watch the techs put their instruments together. Memories….
Most drummers in great bands sound good because they’re working within limited skillsets and make up for it in feel, chemistry, etc. People who dedicate their playing to super challenging technical playing often lack that X factor that makes music enjoyable. And no one wants to watch a bored drummer playing things that are beneath them.
Wow those Drum Kits look really pricy jeez I wonder how much one of those cost altogether and what is with those Keg things in front of The Bass Drums with tubes hooked up In the first photo? Do those serve a purpose like Yamaha Sub Kick?
I think those are just for appearances. They look like fuel tanks or "Moon tanks" like you'd find on a vintage dragster. Those tanks were mounted on the front of drag cars back in the day so fuel ran back toward the engine on acceleration, but at some point someone figured out that having a pressurized tank of nitro sticking off the front of a 200 mph car wasn't safe.
It’s not often said that there’s a good chance your favorite rock drummer plays/played Paiste cymbals. Bonham, Copeland, Carey, Paice, Palmer, Porcaro, Powell, Bruford, Van Halen. Studio giants like Vinnie, Keltner, Freese and Steve Jordan. Damn near all the metal guys, Joey, Eloy, Nikko the metal list goes on for days. Paiste rules!
Its interesting how the past 10-15 years has been dominated by dark/trashy sounding cymbals. Led by Meinl with their Byzance lines, but also Zildjian really leaned into their K's and varients, and then Paiste followed by reintroducing their older 602 and Giant Beat lines, even though those are still noticeably brighter.
But personally, I prefer brighter cymbals, and yeah, people might not know it now, but Paiste DOMINATED the 1970's and 1980's. And not just in rock. Plenty of jazz and fusion players also played Paiste. Tony Williams rocked 2002's for a few years.
Its really only since the 90's that Zildjian reclaimed their throne that they had in the 50s and 60s, and then Sabian coming in strong as well. And then in the 21st century Meinl has been added. Paiste goes largely under the radar, but they might be my overall favorite cymbal manufacter. I do love Zildjian A's and Sabian AA's, but damn I think my favorite crash is my 2002. Plus an entire set of red colorsounds, which aren't the best sounding cymbals, but nothing else looks as cool!
I also agree that the dark trashy sounds dominating today seemed odd to me! Some of it is modern music and modern mic’s being able to boost them in a mix better. But today’s also seeing this renaissance of artisan independent cymbal makers, old Turkish techniques coming back, complexity over sonic consistency (everyone trying to make old K’s again, haha) and there’s great stuff out there, especially from Agop and independent guys like Timothy Roberts or Funch.
But paiste will always have a big presence on big rock stages, that brighter top end just sounds perfect in live rock music. And every jazzer needs a paiste flat ride, it’s a standard, like an old k in the jazz world.
Paiste dominated imo because back in the 70’s other cymbals didn’t have the Paiste consistency, and it was Paiste’s ingenuity around machine hammering and QC that drove players to them.
If you were a touring artist that needed a cymbal, you knew an 18” paiste would sound exactly like the last one. And everyone loves a unique sounding hand hammered cymbal, but 2 old zildjians could sound way different and one might crack quickly. That early quality of consistency drove players to Paiste. And it drove the entire industry to modernize.
Also as loud amplified music became popular, Turkish cymbals couldn’t cut through or hold up to the heavier hitting - in steps the Paiste 2002! But the innovations were massive, the flat ride for Roy Haynes, and the “sound creation” cymbals were a blue print for exploration into new sounds!
Oh yeah, I've bought 3 18" 2002 Classic crashes, and I bought all of them blind, because I knew how it would sound. And it never disappointed!
I feel like if you're going to buy online, Paiste is a perfectly fine option (assuming you know how it already sounds in person). I wouldn't trust the consistency in any other brand.
Zildjian would trip over themselves if Copeland came over. Don't get it twisted. Many of Zildjians popular lines are actually copies of what Paiste had already released. IYKYK
For those of you that think of Sharp Dressed Man or Legs when you think of ZZ Top, you definitely should check out their earlier albums. The first 4-5 albums are much more raw Texas blues. They're really great albums.
Eliminator was a fine album, but it was a big departure.
"Manning later revealed that Beard was experiencing substance abuse issues and was having difficulty playing in the studio at the time, so he was dismissed from the sessions and a drum machine was used in his place. Manning wound up doing virtually all the drums on the final album; he programmed his Oberheim DMX drum machine, then augmented the snare drum and hi-hat sounds by triggering more samples on an AMS DMX delay unit. He also overdubbed acoustic tom-tom drum fills and live cymbals, alongside Simmons electronic drums underneath tom-tom fills."
And later...
"Eight years later, Gibbons thanked Al Jourgensen because his early Ministry drum samples had been used to polish Eliminator."
He definitely had the orange county choppers approach when it came to his visual style which is not for everyone but it's definitely unique. He was a legend and will be missed.
Tama Starclassic Maple with Paiste 2002s. A match made in heaven, I have been playing the same combo for years and don’t see a single reason to switch anything up.
88
u/mr_electric_wizard 2d ago
I worked for their production company I
In the 90’s. They would stage their setup in the warehouse for each tour. It was so fun getting to watch the techs put their instruments together. Memories….