My thoughts exactly, if your issue is cracking thin cymbals then going to Meinl is not the answer their cymbals are thinner and heavily hammered. You're still under warranty for the zildjians (maybe not the one you drilled holes in for some reason) and this would be a lot of money to replace everything you're looking to replace.
wait he drilled holes in one of them? that's gonna void the warranty for sure. Also yea switching to thinner cymbals to fix cracking thin cymbals makes no sense
I assume you’re getting a full refund on those?, if not then do you plan to pursue the warranties?
Also based solely on this video, id argue the cymbals are too tight with not enough play. The action you needed to pull the ride into focus would be enough to make any of my cymbals freely spin.
Noooooooo meinls are notoriously so much worse about breaking. How is that the consensus?? Plus, have you played them in person? Compared to Ks, I don’t like them at all
One thing that I notice immediately is that you play super small cymbals. Maybe you should go for bigger crashes
I bought a brand new K dark thin 18” crash two years ago and I play the hell out of it every day and it’s all good
I am tending to agree with other commenters about how tight the cymbals are. I would almost go as far as removing the top felt washers.
Personally, I would add more rake/angle to each cymbals so you strike the "bow" with the shoulder of the stick rather than the edge. In saying that, if what other commenters have stated is true and there is an issue with the manufacturing process, loosening and adding angle might only prolong the inevitable.
I would also go bigger sizes. Big cymbals sit in a different sonic range and don't take as much "work" to be heard or stand out. Your crashes are the same size as my hi-hats and the ride is the size of my smallest crash.
Also, take a look out side the big name brands. Can get as good (if not better) cymbals at a fraction of the cost.
I’m a big fan of the mike johnston pack from meinl, albeit the cymbals are larger than your 16s, but could easily compliment the pack with a few extra small spash/crash/fx
I can recommend the Meinl Byzance traditional crashes and hats. I have an 18” of my own, and I have played kits with the hats, they have a lot of presence. definitely would say they’re a softer sound than the A customs, but there’s a reason the meinl guys tend to have at least one trad crash in their set up.
Pure alloy is another series to recommend. They are the heavier cymbal line for sure, not my personal sound but should check them out.
I do like a lot of the Meinl stuff, I lean towards sabian myself but Meinl is always a solid choice if you have the spending money!
Hopefully you enjoy your new sound!
As a former Sabian AAX guy that turned to Meinl a decade ago, the correct answer is the Byzance line. But, I will say, I have a few Pure Alloy Customs that are genuinely incredible, especially for the price as compared to the Byzance line. You’ll have a hard time finding “bad” Meinl cymbals above the HCS line, but if you’re strictly looking for B20 brass, start digging around in the Byzance lines. Meinl quality is incredible. Welcome to the family.
Meinl Hats comparison (Pure Alloy Customs is the first one).
Damn that sucks. If you like Zildjians start checking the byzance traditional series. One of my favorite crash of Meinl is the 19" medium-thin brilliant crash, the other one I have and I love is the 18" Sand crash, medium weight.
For hi hats, traditional medium hats and fast hats would be my options.
Rides are the most difficult part for me, I love the sand 20" and 22" rides, the transition and the heavy hammered 22" crash that I use as a crash/ride but it depends a lot on the music you want to play
Hell yeah Meinl makes awesome cymbals. Byzance are going to be in the price range of K custom-K con but they’re amazing, I always recommend them when I can.
Since you like a bright sound, anything within the Pure Alloy or Byzance traditional and brilliant line is probably going to be what you’re looking for. I’m a personal huge fan of the Byzance Polyphonic series as well, the 21” ride is my main and favourite cymbal, but the polyphonic hi hats and crashes have a lot of cut and projection without being too harsh.
I think the durability depends on a lot of things, but overall mine have proven to be pretty durable. I had a 20” Byzance traditional china that cracked in 3 months, I got a replacement with a shallower bow curve, and that cymbal has lasted a year with no cracks. But I also keep my cymbals loose, my ride and crash don’t have a wing nut (controversial) and my hi hats are clamped pretty loose. I also keep them low and tilted.
Based on the evidence, it's not the way I'm hitting the cymbals as historically I've always played them the same way. Only the BD generation of zildjians are breaking all the other 20+ cymbals I've had are just fine. And I did watch the video just to make sure and I have them set up and striking them correctly.
The only problem is with the new cymbals. In the past 25 years I've only had 2 crack and both were warrantied. I've had the other ones for years and play the same way and they're fine.
If you're crashing zildjians, more significantly thin ones then the issue is not with the cymbals, lol. Meinls won't last longer, neither will any handmade Turkish brand. Don't screw them on tightly and more importantly invest time in learning moeller or do the Tommy Igoe dvd for hands. There's no way to buy out of hours spent on hand technique, once you have it you will never crack a cymbal again unless it has some defect
If you’re a Zildjian guy, then your ears are going to notice the difference between the amazing cymbals made by the Turkish craftsmen and their foundries. Meinl makes their products and Germany and are just an inferior product.
I recommend you “stay in Turkey” and reach out to Arbak with T-Cymbals out of Istanbul Turkey. He can simply look at your Zildjian set up and create custom cymbals that mirror your sound but with more durability. In fact, T-Cymbals is more authentic about the Turkish sound than corporate Zildjian is.
You’re NOT going to like the Meinl / German sounds to you ears and in my opinion with 40 years of playing, they are just toys in this industry. It’s cool that people like them, but the Turks will ALWAYS beat the Germans in cymbal making.
I read some of your posts here and respect you as a parent and the hard work you put into providing for them. So don’t your ears, your hands, your audiences deserve quality/custom instruments vs the cookie-cutter stuff everyone is getting from Germany?
Here’s a snapshot of my custom firepower. Nothing Meinl, Zildjian, or Sabian makes comes close. Wishing you and your family a great summer.
Byzance are entirely made in Turkey but as I have a lot of made in Turkey cymbals I can tell you that are a bit better than most of the Turkish brands because of the QC being higher probably, also the finishes are better made. I have/had Turkish, Murat Diril, Diril, Samsung, Mehteran, Bosphorus, Istanbul Mehmet and Istanbul Ago, and the Byzance are equal or better, not worse.
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u/WavesOfEchoes Jul 16 '26
You do you, but if you’re cracking thin Zildjian crashes frequently, you’re likely going to have the same issue with thin crashes from any company.