I started drumming with 3-pc Planet Z's (came with my LA drumset) to keep time and accent my initially crude beats. Yeah, brass sila, but for me, the 18" Crash Ride was bright and cutting for a Crash, yet had enough ping on the bell to fulfill the Ride role! The hi-hats? Utter crap. Hehe. Then I bought Sir Dennis' 14" Zildjian Scimitars and a dozen or so gigs later, they're still intact with neither keyhole nor crack! Yeah, I envy the Avedis Rock and New Beat hi-hats na nasa studio drumkits, pero I'm still a college student with no steady source of income, so pagtipid lang ng allowance ang pang-GAS ko.
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A few months later, I wanted a RIDE. I couldn't afford a Toyota Fortuner, nor a Camry, nor a Mazda 3. So I once again settled for Sir Dennis' 20" Zildjian Scimitar Ride. Sige, sheet bronze nanaman. Low-end, sasabihin ng iba. Pero I liked the bell sound so much that I gigged with it. So eto na ko, with my Scimitar Hats, Planet Z Crash-Ride for a Crash, and Scimitar Ride. I gig with these babies, and like their sound so much that sometimes I replace Edges, Amirs, Paistes, and Z-Customs (too noisy for me) on bar drumkits with my own cymbals! (Kaso ibang usapan na pag Avedis, A custom, K's at K Constantinople na yung nakalagay. Minsan lang makagamit nun! Hehe!) So far, my band members and friends among the audience don't complain that my cymbals sound weird or "tunog-lata", so I guess my current cymbal setup isn't necessarily bad. There's plenty of room for upgrade, but til I get money to GAS, I'm sticking with my metals.
Ang haba ng kuwento ko. The moral lesson I learned? Brass, Sheet Bronze, Cast Bronze, Nickel-Silver - they're priced accordingly for a reason. Totoo namang mas dekalidad ang mas mahal dahil sa mas refined na production techniques. Pero it still boils down to the sound YOU like, and what YOU think suits you and the type of music you play. So what kung Sabian B8 (hehe, para di sabihing biased ako sa Big Z) lang ang gamit mo? If it sounds good to you and your band, then don't force a Z custom into your setup dahil lang mahal siya and Cast Bronze.
Hindi bakal, hindi presyo, at hindi brand ang magsasabing maganda ang music na ginagawa natin. Our ears are still the judge. PEACE! 
