Avedis Zildjian Company K Mastersound Hi-Hat Cymbals - 14 Inches

Purchased three Zildjian cymbals from Amazon recently. I found Zildjian.com’s mp3 samples of ride patterns / crashes for each of their cymbals very helpful in finding the cymbals I liked (personal preference). I was somewhat hesitant to order cymbals through the mail at first, and overall, had a relatively good to mixed experience purchasing cymbals from Amazon (directly, not fulfilled by third party). I had visited some retail stores, but often, they didn’t have the cymbal I was looking for in stock or were marked up with fingerprints already. Please see my comments and purchase experience for each.Zildjian K 16” Dark Crash Medium Thin – (also considered Zildjian K Custom 16” Dark Crash)Cymbal Review : (5/5 stars) – Sound quality excellent. When crashed, sounds almost exactly like Zildjian.com mp3 for this cymbal.Overall experience: This was the first cymbal I purchased from Amazon. Arrived in a box in Zildjian plastic bag with about 6 small air-pillows thrown in. No protection for cymbal edges. Cymbal arrived in good condition.Zildjian K 14" Mastersound Hi Hat Cymbals Pair– (Also considered Zildjian K 14” Hi Hat)Cymbal Review: (5/5 stars) Sound quality excellent. Clean “chick” sound. Pattern, crash and chick sounds very similar to Zildjian.com mp3’s for this hi hat pair.Overall experience: This was the second set of cymbals I purchased from Amazon. Again, arrived in a box in Zildjian plastic bag with about 4 small air-pillows thrown in. No protection for cymbal edges. Hi Hat pair was bundled together metal on metal with a plastic insert through center hole to hold them together. Cymbals arrived in fair condition, bottom cymbal slightly scuffed.Zildjian K 22" Ride Cymbal – (also considered Zildjian A Custom Med Ride 22”)Cymbal Review: (3/5 stars to 5/5 stars) Sound quality good/excellent, deep and warm when crashed. True to Zildjian.com mp3’s for the 2nd 22” ride.Overall experience: Poor. 1st 22” Ride, arrived in an oversized box in Zildjian plastic bag with one piece of brown paper – heavy cymbal slid around, and must have broken through the box (hit asphalt or concrete?) and one edge was damaged/scratched/scuffed (see K 22” ride review photo 1). Immediately requested replacement. A few days later, the 2nd 22” Ride arrived. Same problem, oversized box, this time no Zildjian plastic bag but had two pieces of brown paper – again heavy cymbal slid around, broke through the box, and this time in addition to being scuffed on one edge, it was slightly bent, like it hit something metal (see K 22” ride review photo 2). I was upset and prepared to return both, but decided to put both on cymbal stands to check the sound. 1st 22” ride resonated with noticeable harsh bright overtones when crashed – ride pattern sounded somewhat “bright”. 2nd 22” ride sounded deep and warm when crashed, ride pattern sounded “dark”, as it should. Although the 2nd 22” ride was scuffed/slightly bent on one edge, it sounded great. So I decided to keep it.Conclusion: Zildjian K cymbals are some of my favorites (again personal preference). I would consider purchasing smaller cymbals from Amazon again. But for larger (heavier) cymbals, I would think twice. These cymbals are expensive musical instruments, and should be treated with the respect they deserve when packaging for transit.

Soooooooo sweet

If you play music that requires a loud hi-hat beat on two and four these are perfect. Do bear in mind if you play music where the hats are mainly for riding in a near closed or tightly closed position you may want to look at the  Zildjian A Series 14-Inch New Beat hats .As another reviewer said, these are warmer hats. They do have enough brightness to provide excellent attack and project over louder music. Moreover, they are easy to control with your foot, and you can coax some complex nuances from these with sticks. They are a little too heavy for picking up the subtleties of brush work the same way you can with a much thinner pair of hats designed for acoustic and lightly amplified music. On the other hand they are ideal for fusion, funk, rock and a plethora of other styles.One final note: the design of the inner sides and the channels in the cymbals aid in preventing air locks when these are flat on your stand. You may have to tilt the bottom cymbal a fraction of an inch, but for the most part you can keep the bottom level if your playing style requires a tighter, more controlled ride sound.

Dream hi hats. Warm loud closed hi hat chick. Sweet stick response and stick articulation. The great craftsmanship of the mastersound formula with bottom edge grooves really add to the tone and sound of these hi-hats. Using these with my 22" K light ride really dont need any other cymbals.

The best i have ever owned and will ever own. Yes there expensive but will last years to come ,don't cheap out on your sound or you will suffer the consequences .Watch the you tube videos to see what you like for hi hats, its pretty close to what you'll get for real (these are amazing).