Can You Hear The Difference Between Cheap and Expensive Cymbals? - Ft. @StephenTaylorDrums

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I made the great pilgrimage to visit @StephenTaylorDrums and brought some cheap cymbals along to do a good ole cymbal comparison with his fancy expensive cymbals. We put the Wuhan 457 Rock series, the INFAMOUS 12" Wuhan china, and a 6" splash I found on Amazon up against some Zildjian Ks, As, and Oriental Series!

Keep in mind this is not meant to be a Wuhan vs Zildjian comparison. I just searched for the cheapest cymbal set I could find and the Wuhan 457 3 piece cymbal set happened to be the cheapest and I already had the splash so I figured we could include it. Wuhan does make higher quality cymbals than these, but of course they are more expensive.

Drop a comment and let us know which ones you prefer!

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Cymbals used! (affiliate links)
Wuhan 457 Cymbal set w/ free china:
6" Wuhan Splash:
14" Zidjian K light hats:
16" K Con Crash:
20" K Con Renaissance Ride (this is probably my favorite cymbal ever lol):
18" Oriental China:

Can You Hear The Difference Between Cheap and Expensive Cymbals - Stephen Taylor & rdavidr

[rdavidr]

Who here HASNT owned a Wuhan china?
Check out Stephen & I compare a cheap and expensive snare drum:

Keep in mind this is not meant to be a Wuhan vs Zildjian comparison. I just searched for the cheapest cymbal set I could find and that Wuhan set happened to be the cheapest. Wuhan does make higher quality cymbals than these, but of course they cost more.

[ZackGrooves]

That comment about every drummer somehow owning a Wuhan China is so accurate 😂😂😂 great vid as always bro 💪

[StephenTaylorDrums]

Let me get this straight:
You fly to Nashville
Stay at my house
Eat my food
Hang at my studio

And in return I get to play your Wuhan's???

This bromance is on thin ice David.

[IAmInfinitus]

Neil Peart used a Wuhan 19" China and can be heard on the intro of Mystic Rhythms by Rush as the first cymbal you hear. The Paragon 19" China by Sabian is based on this particular model.

[RhymesWithCarbon]

When I worked at a drum shop, I played every type of cymbal from every price range. I always encouraged customers into better cymbals because they’re so much more rewarding to play. Can’t fix lame cymbal sounds but you can make most value drums sound great with the right heads and tuning.

[jonblachley]

Please note: No one has every walked out of a club or a concert and said "gee, that was a good concert, but the cymbals didn't sound so great " Again, as always, its is always about who is playing, not what brand instrument they use.

[Rberg]

You should do this with the Wuhan traditional series. They’re made of a proper b20 alloy. Very inexpensive, but considerably better than the 457s.

[marcpatzelt]

You should've picked the Wuhan western cymbal pack to compare because it's only $300 and it sounds killer and also I think they're quite comparable to the Zildjians because they're B20

[alessandrogambino]

I LOVE WUHAN CYMBALS!

I have 3 of them.
My A custom zildjians and paistes lasted me 3 years. I have had the lovely and warm sounding Wuhan for 11 years now. Not a single crack, they font change color...they are PERFECT.

[spiked-b]

Actually, I was quite impressed by the HiHats. Sounds pretty decent.

[dogfartok]

Over the past 46 years I have probably owned every marque of cymbal and within every range there has always been one cymbal that has sounded better than its 'pedigree' suggested.
I had a Paiste 101 ride which recorded as well as my K dark ride!
Sometimes a cheap one can just jump into your face and surprise everyone!

[leethaxor]

A blind test with the same drummer would be great. Varying levels of pressure and the location of hits adjust the sound a bit; quite a noticeable difference when it swapped on the crash ride from 5:58-6:15. Not a huge deal, but it'd help to keep the tests more controlled.

Either way, thanks for the comparison.

[BoogieWoogieCat]

It's a shame you didn't try some b20 Wuhans. I have a full set of the Traditional and S series and they're actually surprisingly good.
I did buy them used though, so I tested them. I don't know how unlucky you could get by buying them online.
But when you don't have a lot of money, they're life savers.

[TheOGNoName]

My biggest struggle back in the day was my hi hats. Started out with Ziljian ZBT 13". Then I got ZXT 14" thinking it would be a big upgrade, but I absolutely hated the sound of the ZXT hats (and the ride). After a while, I ended up getting Sabian AAX 14" hats and I haven't used anything since. I actually ended up switching ALL of my cymbals to AA, AAX and HHX over the years. I love the sound and look of the Sabian cymbals. They are well worth every penny.

[manuelalfonzoml]

I think if you buy any other set from wuhan that are not the rock series, they would be even better.

[aaronraulston]

This comparison shouldve definitely been with the NT series. And Wuhan now has their flagship Koi series

[dirkayala]

Never thought I'd say it but the "Wuhan" Koi Dark China is my next wishlist cymbal.
Aside from that dark, the rest of series look pretty darn good as well, maybe a follow-up to this video on the Koi series!

[jimtobakos]

Should have tried out the Wuhan Traditional b20 series. Cheap and great.

[polyduckwanaland]

I’ve noticed some Persian rugs in your videos and they are very pretty. I also use a Persian rug for my drums.

[benjamin.kelley]

When my church switched from sabian Bates to a zildjian dark worship cymbal set (k custom hats, crashes, ride), my mind was blown at how easy the symbols opened up, and how good they sounded, both with a lower, more rich tone, but then also a more "exact" stick sound compared to the crappy brass cymbals.